Luxury car dealership run by hospitality figure firebombed
A luxury car dealership run by a wealthy businessman and member of a prominent Melbourne hospitality family has been firebombed.
Police are investigating a suspicious fire that broke out on Thursday night after three men broke into the Aston Martin dealership on Swan Street in Richmond and fled in a car, allegedly using fuel to start a fire.
There were two cleaners at the dealership at the time, but they escaped unhurt. There was only minor damage to the building.
Your dealership website It lists Bobby Zagame as general manager and owner. He is the general manager of Zagame Automotive Group, which has exclusive dealership rights for prestigious brands such as Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, Bently and Ferrari. accordingly the Australian Financial Review.
An employee at the dealership said he could not comment on the firebomb when contacted. Age Friday morning.
Bobby and his brother, Victor Jr., also run the Zagame Corporation hospitality empire, founded by their father, Victor Zagame, in 1971. The family made their fortune from poker bars and last year sold CBD venue The Garden State Hotel for $35 million.
Zagame Corporation owns the Caulfield pub and steakhouse, a 97-room hotel in Carlton and a luxury hotel and casino in Vanuatu.
It is unclear whether the firebombing of an Aston Martin dealership is linked to a wave of attacks on hospitality venues and owners across Melbourne. A police spokesman said detectives would arrive at the business this morning to investigate further.
Age On Thursday, it was revealed that the owners of the venues targeted in the firebombs had started receiving blackmail demands of $10,000 a month. In the messages sent to vehicle owners, it was written: “Your monthly 10 thousand payment starts today.” “Hurry up…”
Threatening messages have previously been sent to venues, believed to have been sent by an Iraq-based gang known as “The Cartel”, including a 23-year-old man who was a key member of Kazem “Kaz” Hamad’s organized crime squad. The crew was behind the tobacco wars.
The Richmond dealership on Swan Street has long been the head office of Bobby Zagame’s auto retail business. In 2013, he paid nearly $10 million for neighboring properties to expand his car empire and control about 9,000 square meters of Main Street.
Bobby Zagame and his wife sold their Toorak mansion, which they bought from Shannon Bennett, the celebrity chef behind Vue de Monde, and his former partner, actor Madeleine West, for at least $30 million in 2024.
Zagame bought the site in 2015 of the age It bought the printing house in Tullamarine from Fairfax Media for $16 million. The Zagame family paid a record-breaking $54.28 million for a suburban office block in Hawthorn in 2019 and tried to sell it four years later.
Angus Delaney is a reporter for The Age. Email him at angus.delaney@theage.com.au or contact him securely on Signal at angusdelaney.31.Connect via email.
