The gangster uncle of Kanye West’s wife Bianca Censori faced being thrown back into jail for life after he was caught living with a suspected paedophile, a court has heard.
Eris Censori, who was once sentenced to death in Western Australia for murdering a waiter, was dubbed the ‘Al Capone of Melbourne‘ before his life of crime crumbled.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal Censori was arrested by Victoria Police detectives in September 2020 on suspicion of fraud.
But the discovery of a mobile phone belonging to his housemate – which allegedly contained child pornography – threatened to put him back behind bars for good.
Eris Censori (right) and his brother Leo, who is the father of Kanye West’s wife Bianca
Kanye West and Bianca Censori. Bianca is the daughter of Melbourne crime boss royalty
Although cleared of any wrongdoing, the bust saw Censori hauled before the Adult Parole Board and faced being returned to jail to see out his life sentence.
In a statement of claim filed against the State of Victoria with the Supreme Court of Victoria, Censori alleged the search that put him in front of the parole board was obtained ‘through misfeasance and in the absence of facts’.
Censori – who has changed his name to Tony Campana – claimed his arrest ‘defamed’ his good character and ’caused him to suffer public ridicule, shame and scorn’.
He escaped his death penalty for murdering waiter Michael Sideris in the 1980s because capital punishment was later abolished in Western Australia in 1984.
He is the brother of Bianca’s father Elia ‘Leo’ Censori, who also did hard jail time after being convicted in 1982 on a charge of possessing a prohibited import after an Australian Federal Police raid found heroin in his kitchen.
Daily Mail Australia last year revealed Leo also has convictions for possession of a pistol and ammunition and served two years of his five-year sentence over the drug charges.
Their eldest brother, Edmondo, known as ‘Eddie Capone’, also has convictions in Victoria for violence, including assaulting police, theft and threats.
Censori’s lawyer Victor Andreou, who once defended former gangland boss Tony Mokbel’s mate Zlate ‘Steve’ Cvetanovski, appeared in court this week on behalf of Censori.
Leo Censori’s ex-wife blew the whistle on his life of crime in 1991 in Melbourne’s Herald Sun
Bianca Censori is the daughter of a former criminal and the niece of a ruthless killer
Kanye West and Bianca Censori. Bianca’s uncle was sentenced to die before having it overturned
The court heard Censori hoped to gain access to documents that will help him prove his case against the government, which he holds responsible for his arrest by Victoria Police detectives.
In court documents provided to the court, Bianca’s uncle claimed police used his sale of a Brunswick property to obtain the search warrant under the guise of investigating an alleged fraud against the Bank of Queensland.
At the time of his arrest, Censori had been rooming in Bulleen, north-east of Melbourne, with two other men.
‘(Censori) was in his bedroom which had a window view of the front courtyard, when he noticed the gate open and an accompaniment of six large men entered all armed with handguns,’ documents stated.
‘(He) immediately suspected the accompaniment were members of Victoria Police. The thought filled him with apprehension.’
Police had alleged the Brunswick property he sold had been purchased off him with fraudulently obtained funds.
‘I think you’ve made a mistake. I am the vendor. I didn’t raise any money with any bank,’ Censori told the detectives.
Escorted to his bedroom, Censori claimed cops asked him to hand over documents related to the sale before being asked for access to his phone and computer.
‘Towards the completion of the search, (Censori) was shown a mobile phone retrieved from the bedroom of another occupant and asked questions about the occupier of the said bedroom and contents of the mobile phone,’ documents stated.
Bianca’s dad Leo Censori was a gambling kingpin who did hard time over a heroin bust
Censori claimed the lead detective told him he was aware of his criminal conviction for murder, that he had served a lengthy prison sentence, and that he was still reporting to the parole board 25 years after his release.
‘Any criminal charges, even the allegation of being involved in crime, could result in a breach of parole, resulting in me being returned to prison and ultimately deported,’ he told the detective.
At the conclusion of the search, Censori claimed he was handcuffed and paraded in front of his neighbours before being taken to the police station to be interviewed.
After being fingerprinted and grilled by police, Censori was cut loose without charge.
Upon arriving home, his house mate ‘Mohamed’ revealed he was arrested for having images of child pornography on his phone and wanted to know what would become of him.
‘Mohamed tried to offer an explanation for why he had the image on his phone and (Censori) replied in terms: “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know”,’ documents stated.
Censori claimed the parole board caught up with him in January 2021 where he was grilled about his relationship with the suspected paedophile.
‘Approximately one week after this interview, the Parole Officer contacted the Plaintiff by phone to inform he was referred to the Full Board of the Adult Parole Board and his attendance before them was required,’ Censori told the court.
‘The Full Board determined not to return the plaintiff to prison for breach of parole but warned any further incident would result in his parole cancellation and him being returned to prison.’
Kanye West, left and, Bianca Censori arrive during last year’s NFL Super Bowl
Censori claimed he told the board he had no relationship with his housemate and knew nothing of the contents of Mohamed’s phone.
‘The Parole Officer expressed disbelief and said words to the effect “you’re being deliberately evasive”,’ Censori said.
In bringing the matter to court, Censori claimed the lead detective ‘displayed contumelious [scornful] disregard for [his] right to privacy and freedom, inflicting harm with malice’.
In a long list of claims, Censori alleged police searched bedrooms and took possession of items not within the purview authorised by its warrant and ‘deliberately encouraged a perception in the eyes of the Parole Board (he) was implicated in another’s crime’.
He further accused police of assault, false arrest and imprisonment and setting a malicious prosecution in motion.
In a statement responding to the claim, Victoria Police defended the way it went about arresting Censori.
‘(Censori) was under arrest for conspiracy to defraud the Bank of Queensland and (he) was formally cautioned following which (he) stated he understood,’ the defence stated.
Police denied assaulting Censori, arresting him illegally or undertaking a malicious prosecution.
It further dismissed suggestions Censori’s arrest had ‘defamed’ his good character.
‘It denies that it defamed the Plaintiff, and says further that the Statement of Claim does not disclose a cause of action for defamation,’ lawyers for the government stated.
‘It denies that any matter published or caused to be published by the Defendant has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of the Plaintiff.’
The matter will return to court in June.
