Peter Dracos, 70, says he is still dealing with the lasting physical and emotional trauma of a brutal, calculated assault carried out by his neighbour, former ANZ bank manager David Tape, in Melbourne’s Albert Park last year.
On Thursday, the County Court heard that 73-year-old Tape pleaded guilty to a charge of intentionally causing serious injury with gross violence.
Details revealed in court showed that Tape had prepared for the attack by laying a blue tarp over the white floors of his architect-designed home and putting on rubber gloves. He then used knives and a sharpened screwdriver to slash Dracos’s face and gouge one of his eyes.
Dracos, a long-time resident of Little O’Grady Street, had been involved in an ongoing dispute with Tape, who moved in across the road in 2022. Tape alleged that Dracos frequently woke him in the early hours, disturbing his sleep.
