A former kickboxing champion from Seddon has been charged over the infamous 1994 Richmond “road gang” heist on an Armaguard van.
Pasquale Lanciana, 59, a property developer and former Australian welterweight champion, was arrested about 7am last Friday.
Lanciana appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court later that day charged with armed robbery, robbery, kidnapping, false imprisonment, theft of a motor vehicle, handling stolen goods and money laundering.
The charges relate to a robbery on June 22, 1994, when a gang of men dressed as road workers allegedly stopped an Armaguard truck turning onto a freeway on-ramp just before the Punt Road bridge over the Yarra River.
They allegedly held the guard in the back of the van at gunpoint as they handcuffed together the two guards in the front before putting bags over their heads.
Police allege it took them less than eight minutes to steal $2.4 million.
Lanciana faced the court on Friday afternoon when prosecutor Diana Hogan applied for him to provide a DNA sample.
His lawyer, Melinda Walker, asked magistrate Peter Dunn for an adjournment.
“I’ve been told there’s DNA found on a number of items, but I don’t know what, when, where,” she said.
The case was adjourned for two weeks.
Lanciana made no application for bail. The arrest was part of Operation Tideland, investigating several armed robberies and three unsolved murders, including the execution of Lanciana’s 25-year-old wife in 1984.
