Secret clubhouse spared demolition
The rear of a Northbridge gym - which became the secret clubhouse for the Comanchero bikie gang in WA - has won a reprieve from demolition after an application was made to convert the illegal building into a lodging house complete with a "reading room".
Tucked behind Fitness and Fight Centre in Wellman Street, the two-storey clubhouse never had planning permission and, in the words of the City of Vincent, had become "sinister" and a "threat to the safety of nearby residents".
In February, the council decided enough was enough and the clubhouse, which had hosted the Comanchero Motorcycle Club's most powerful figures in recent years, was destined for a wrecking ball.
History shows the locals have good reason to wonder what goes on in and behind the gym, which is owned by Tekwise - a company directed by Muay Thai kickboxing trainer Ronald Parr.
In 2009, Fitness and Fight Centre was firebombed and a year later, the gym and its add-on building were raided by police as part of an Australian Crime Commission operation against the Comancheros. What the residents, nor the men and women who frequented the clubhouse during those years did not know, was that teams of undercover police officers were watching every move as part of a trans-national methylamphetamine drug trafficking investigation.
Then WA Comanchero president-in-waiting Steve "Shorty" Milenkovski was the primary target this side of the border and last September he was jailed for 17 years, leaving the local gang without a boss.
According to several underworld sources in Perth, the demise of Milenkovski has also caused a split in the club and those loyal to Shorty have stripped the Northbridge clubhouse.
Gone are the "aquarium bar" and Comanchero signage and a number of gang members now call Rockingham home.
Mr Parr did not want to discuss the new plans for the old clubhouse when contacted by _The Weekend West _.
Council chief executive John Giorgi said the demolition has been put on hold until the lodging house plans were considered because there was a shortage of that style of accommodation in Vincent.
