Controversial PR man Max Markson has spoken out in defence of his promotion of notorious former crime boss, Mick Gatto, as well as the possible sale of ‘Carlton Crew’ apparel.
With the Underbelly series done and dusted - and out on DVD – the rest of the media is scrambling to grab a piece of the action.
While Roberta Williams has dropped media hustler Kyle Sandilands, other celebrity agents are getting their paws stuck into the Underbelly honey pot.
Veteran agent Harry M. Miller has listed the Moran family matriarch, Judy, as part of his stable, and PR top gun Markson recently took on board the harsh-mouthed boxer-cum-property developer Mick Gatto.
Markson has come under attack for teaming up with the notorious gangster, but he makes no apologies for having “big plans” for Gatto, including a book, a miniseries, and a range of ‘Carlton Crew’ apparel.
“The whole nation has been enamored with the concept of Underbelly… the book was a best seller, the TV show ran for 13 weeks and the DVD sold 90,000 copies,” Mr Markson told LIVENEWS.com.au.
Markson says Mr Gatto had not made a cent out of the Underbelly series, and that given a choice Mick “would prefer it to all go away”.
But because hasn’t “all gone away” for Gatto, Markson says he’s helping him get some benefit from the wave of exposure the series on gangland killings has whipped up.
When asked about his professional association with a known killer, albeit one acquitted for murder, Markson drew comparison to the level of exploitation other sectors of the media were engaged in and argued his approach was no different.
If Markson’s idea for a ‘Carlton Crew’ clothing line comes to fruition, it will closely echo the actions of Maroubra Beach surf gang the ‘Bra Boys’, whose figureheads, the Abberton brothers, launched a range of ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ apparel – which cashed in on the notoriety of the wild surf bunch.
Markson says that the Bra Boys clothing line was one of the first things he thought of following the overwhelming success of the series and the beginning of his professional partnership with Gatto.
He says that the idea of a person wearing a ‘Carlton Crew’ t-shirt was not far removed from the shirts featuring Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara and that people associated with strong characters like the Melbourne crime figure.
Gatto made news last week when he told Melbourne broadcaster Derryn Hinch he hoped he’d be “in the grave soon”, and said he had a training bag with Hinch's name on it that he “punch(es) the shit out of”
Along with several prior convictions of burglary and assaulting police, Gatto was acquitted of the murder of Andrew “Benji” Venamin – who the crown found was shot in self-defence.
