Rosemarie Lentini and Mark Morri
The Daily Telegraph
November 06, 201212:00AM
TO his family, he was a "joker" idolised by his younger siblings and a "loving father" to his girlfriend's young daughter.
But to police, gunshot victim Faalau Pisu was an active member of the Comanchero Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.
It is understood that before the shooting, the forklift driver and churchgoer had attended the wedding of a fellow Comanchero member named "Rok" at the Serbian National Defence Council function centre in Canley Vale. Police had monitored the function for several hours because of fears of possible violence.
Two other men - a 27-year-old gang associate and 25-year-old gang member - were also shot but survived.
Mr Pisu's death has "devastated" his extended family, who gathered yesterday at his parents' Mt Pritchard home to mourn. The family said Mr Pisu had been acting "strange" and appeared agitated in the days before the shooting.
"He was the joker of the family and all the little boys' idol. He was the guy who would pick them up and take them anywhere they want to go.
"My parents could never stay mad at him because he would turn everything into a joke. "When they went to lecture him, he'd always laugh and turn it into something funny."
Ms Ale said the amateur boxer was a "like a stepfather" to his girlfriend Linda Hinton's daughter Leati, 3, and split his time between her Smithfield home and his parents' house.
Ms Ale said her family - who were not aware of the wedding and denied Mr Pisu was a bikie - worried about her brother for several days before the attack.
He was last seen by the family about 1pm on Sunday when he borrowed his parents' car.
"We hadn't heard from him all weekend. He was acting a little strange though," Ms Ale said.
"He normally calls us and finds out what we were doing that weekend. Everything was short answers. So everyone had a bad feeling leading up to this."
Acting Chief Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis yesterday said a "number" of the estimated 100 guests at the wedding were Comanchero members or associates.
It is understood Mr Pisu was a member of the Milperra chapter of the outlaw gang, which has had an ongoing feud with the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.
The culprits, believed to have been wearing black balaclavas, fled in a blue ute after the triple shooting. Strike Force Raptor had monitored the event earlier in the night and pulled over some guests on their way to the wedding. However, the officers left the function centre several hours before the shootings.
Supt Katsogiannis said Strike Force Pindamir, comprising State Crime Command detectives and the Homicide Squad, was now investigating the incident.
Serbian National Defence Council function centre officials did not return calls yesterday.
