A maintenance worker accused of killing gangland lawyer Joseph Acquaro has walked from court a free man after his murder charge was dropped.
Vincenzo Crupi, 75, was accused of shooting dead Mr Acquaro as he left his East Brunswick gelato store on March 15, 2016.
He pleaded not guilty to murder and was awaiting trial in the Victorian Supreme Court but prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams on Monday confirmed the case had been discontinued.
Mr McWilliams did not detail in court the reason why prosecutors dropped the murder charge.
Justice Jane Dixon confirmed Mr Crupi was not in custody on any other matters so she allowed him to the leave the dock for the rest of the brief hearing.
Mr Crupi hugged his lawyers outside the courtroom but declined to comment.
He was first charged in 2018 with Mr Acquaro's murder and was committed to stand trial in the Victorian Supreme Court the following year.
But the case was repeatedly delayed due to a legal fight over confidential material.
Victoria Police sought to withhold more than 600 pages of documents from Mr Crupi's lawyers, arguing it could identify a police informant known as Informer Z.
A Supreme Court judge ruled against the police in 2018, saying the documents could substantially assist Mr Crupi in his defence.
The police commissioner then appealed the decision to the High Court, with three justices overturning the judge's original ruling in September 2024.
The case was sent back to the Supreme Court but no new trial date was listed.
Mr Crupi, who has been on bail since March 2021, always denied the allegation he shot dead Mr Acquaro.
Police had alleged Mr Crupi carried out the murder following a dispute over payment for tiling work he carried out at Mr Acquaro's gelato store.
But Mr Crupi claimed Mr Acquaro was an informer and it was reasonably possible he was killed by someone who had learnt of his discussions with police.
Mr Acquaro had represented prominent gangland figures during his time as a lawyer and he had strong ties with Melbourne's Calabrian community.
Following his death, it was revealed he had shared information about at least one of his clients to police although he was never formally registered as an informer.
