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Guest Character Profiles > Rocco Cammeniti Robert Forza

When Lou Carpenter decided to get a coffee machine for the pub, he sent Toadie and Connor to collect it for him. The terrified boys met Rocco and were soon convinced that they’d stumbled upon the Erinsborough Mafia. When the machine then didn’t work properly, the boys dragged Stuart along with them, but eventually Rocco agreed to give Lou a lesson in using the espresso machine. The boys, meanwhile, were terrified of the consequences if they stood up to Rocco and ended up digging mysterious holes in his garden, while Toadie was asked to lend his legal talents to the mob!

After providing the pub with top quality coffee beans for several months, Rocco called in the favour when he asked Lou to employ his spoilt teenaged daughter Carmella. However, when Rocco noticed the looks that Connor was giving his daughter, he threatened the barman, who quickly backed off. However, as time went on, Rocco began to suspect that his daughter was infact beginning a relationship with Connor and set about making sure that it stopped immediately. His suspicions were confirmed when Lou’s new wife, Trixie, phoned him to let him know what Connor and Carmella were up to. However, when Carmella ran away, he suspected that she had gone to stay with her boyfriend, despite Connor’s protests of innocence. When Rocco bumped into Connor in the Coffee Shop one day, he explained that he was about to leave for Sicily to sort out some urgent family business. The trap was set, and the following day, he arrived home to find his daughter with Connor in the sauna. Carmella was immediately packed off to Italy.

Soon after, Rocco was called upon by Lou, who was having serious financial problems. Rocco agreed to help him out, by lending him $50,000 and also providing him with some speakers, which he could sell on for a profit. Rocco made it clear to Lou on several occasions that the loan was only short-term and that he would be back for some repayments soon. Meanwhile, Rocco had also found himself a new mistress – Sindi Watts, ex-girlfriend of Toadie. Although it was only a fling, Rocco enjoyed having someone to spoil and look after, and began to realise how strong his feelings for Sindi had become when she tried to call things off. He refused to give up on her, however, and became very jealous when she lied about visiting her mother, when she was infact having dinner with Toadie. With Lou having disappeared, Rocco decided to concentrate on Sindi and that the only way to win her over would be to propose marriage to her. She was shocked, but had little choice but to accept. However, soon after, Sindi admitted to Rocco that she wasn’t in love with him and couldn’t go through with marrying him. With Lou back in town, Rocco managed to get his car as part payment for his debts, while he sent one of his henchmen, Rusty, out to find out what was behind Sindi’s sudden decision to break up. When Rusty returned with photos of Toadie and Sindi kissing, Rocco was furious and vowed to get Rebecchi out of the picture. He called round to see Toadie and asked him to join him whilst viewing a potential real estate investment. Sindi, who knew that Rocco was aware of her relationship with Toadie, raced back to warn her boyfriend, but it was too late. Despite his denial of being involved, Sindi and Stuart knew that Rocco had played a part in Toadie’s sudden disappearance.

Over the weeks that followed, Stuart was desperate to prove that Rocco was guilty, but could find no evidence, and to his friends and colleagues on the police force, his accusations were looking less and less likely. Rocco, meanwhile, spent much of his time visiting Toadie, who was actually in a coma at a small country hospital. It transpired that while Rocco’s henchman had been transporting Toadie to Adelaide, simply to give him a fright, they’d been in an accident, leaving Toadie badly hurt. Whilst visiting one day, an upset Rocco was comforted by a young woman in the waiting area – none other than Libby Kennedy, on her way home to Erinsborough. The meeting proved fortuitous for Sindi and Stuart, as Libby saw a photo and told them of the hospital where she met Rocco. Stu and Sindi drove straight there and found Mr Cammeniti leaning over Toadie’s bed, unaware that he’d been sprung. Rocco tried to make a run for it, but he was no match for the younger, fitter Stuart. He was captured and finally arrested for his crimes, meaning that he could no longer cause trouble for the Ramsay Street residents.

Three years later, Rocco's daughters, Carmella and Rosetta, were living in Ramsay Street when they received a letter from their father, who claimed to be dying. Sensible lawyer Rosetta was unwilling to give in, deciding that their father was lying and had an ulterior motive, but both she and Carmella ended up visiting. They found out that Rocco had been lying to get them there, but wanted them to help with a problem with the family business. He explained that his brother, Ray, had been trying to destroy Rocco's business, and he needed the girls to dig up $20,000 buried in a local park and use the money to save it. Although Rosie refused to have anything to do with it, Carmella tracked down the money, despite Rosie's attempts to stop her, and tried to prove that she was more than just a pretty face by saving her dad's business from going under.

While Carmella successfully rescued Celestial Fruits from bankruptcy, Rosie was busy planning her wedding to Frazer Yeats but was shocked when her dad got in touch, asking for her and her fiance to visit. After giving them his approval, he then asked if Rosie would be able to help him to get day release, so that he could attend the big day. Though Rosie was suspicious of his motives, Frazer and Carmella convinced her that the day wouldn't be complete without him there and so, a few weeks later, Rocco arrived at the church with a police escort to watch his eldest daughter marry.

Trivia Notes
• Before playing Rocco, Robert Forza previously guest starred as Lech Koca in 1995 and Enzo D’Agostino, Rob’s best man, at Joanna Hartman's wedding in 1996

Episodes Featured
4330, 4335, 4341, 4355, 4378, 4383, 4384, 4386, 4389, 4394, 4395, 4398, 4404, 4405, 4414, 4435, 4440, 4453, 4472, 4473, 5141, 5142, 5251, 5252, 5261

Biography by Steve

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