A suburban Hungry Jack's might seem an odd place to resolve a multi-million dollar business dispute.
But given the colourful participants, it's not surprising the negotiation ended in a pro wrestling-style brawl with a chair used as a weapon.
![Shane Charter: "If [D'Amico] wants to solve it, me and him can just get in the ring and solve it like men."](http://web.archive.org./web/20170728035325im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/c/s/6/9/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxk2b1.png/1501194325581.jpg)
On one side of the plastic table was Shane "Dr Ageless" Charter, the former body-builder, convicted drug trafficker and biochemist who played a central role in the Essendon doping scandal.
Opposite was gangland figure Fedele D'Amico, a nightclub investor, horse racing enthusiast and feared underworld enforcer. Nicknamed "Freddie the Bear", D'Amico has twice been the suspected target of murder plots by enemies as diverse as the Calabrian mafia and a Colombian crime gang.
The meeting had been called to sort out a disagreement over the purchase of a northern suburbs rubbish tip, a cash-rich industry with a reputation for being popular with - and infiltrated by - organised crime.
Charter was representing a syndicate that was buying the waste management business for $5.5 million from its current owners, who include a family with close links to an outlaw motorcycle gang and a Sydney crime figure known as "The Godfather".
There had been a steady stream of interested parties - often with underworld connections - looking to buy the facility, but Charter's syndicate had recently sealed a contract of sale with a $500,000 deposit.
Then the outcome of the deal was thrown into doubt after an intervention by D'Amico, who sources say had tried to buy the tip himself but couldn't get financial backing. D'Amico was allegedly now claiming he was owed a share or compensation.
Charter and D'Amico convened to mediate at a Hungry Jack's not far from the tip. It soon got heated, but who came out on top is a matter of some dispute.
One source says Charter threw a document in the face of D'Amico, who responded by swinging a chair. Others say D'Amico tried to hit Charter with a chair but ended up slammed against a wall.
Both left the fast food outlet before police could be called.
After the fight, D'Amico lodged a caveat on the tip's land title that halted the sale, claiming he had an "oral agreement" that proved his stake.
Both sides have since also filed lawsuits in the Supreme Court of Victoria claiming ownership over the tip, and which tell contradictory stories about how the deal was structured.
But like most underworld disputes, it continues to bubble along independently of the legal system.
"If [D'Amico] wants to solve it, me and him can just get in the ring and solve it like men," Charter told Fairfax Media.
D'Amico declined to comment and threatened legal action against Fairfax Media. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.
It's not the first time D'Amico has staked a claim on a lucrative business deal as it was about to close.
Earlier this year, D'Amico also used a caveat on a $62 million property sale between development conglomerate Stockland and members of the Giannarelli family.
D'Amico claimed he was owed a commission for brokering an "introduction" to Stockland, and threatened to file a lawsuit in the Supreme Court if he was not guaranteed payment. Two days later the caveat was withdrawn and the property deal settled.
A spokeswoman for Stockland said the company "has never had any dealings with Mr D'Amico and has never made any payments to him or any party related to him".
Dean Giannarelli did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.