To his late brother
of O¯ taki. He recalls that one day he made a delivery to Porirua and ran into his older brother. They ended up reconnecting through rugby league.
Several years later, out of the blue, Law popped into Moni’s home and stayed over for the night. Law told his brother he didn’t want him to follow in his footsteps.
“You are meant for better things, Moni,” he told him.
Law’s only work was for the gang, usually up north. He had three children living in state housing in Porirua. They had no hope, and no prospects of a different life. As a patched gang member, he had limited job prospects. Moni knew how much his brother cared about his children and desperately wanted their lives to be better.
“I realised the only way things could turn around was to help Law get a regular job. I thought if I could help him start up with a job and give him a chance to prove himself, he could take on his own distribution area within my business.”
In 2004, the contract was all ready to be signed when Moni got a call from his sister to say their brother had passed away aged 34 years. To this day, he doesn’t really know how Law died, but his death was closely followed by their father’s.
The grief was too much for Moni, and for him, the world stopped.
“I gave up on life really. I shut down the distribution business and just did short term jobs.”
Three years later, Moni decided to get “off his arse” and get his life back on track. He and his new partner set a target to be mortgage-free within five years.
They put everything into buying homes and fixing them up, spending night and day working on properties until eventually they were able to buy Riverslea Retreat in O¯ taki.
Having both set up the retreat business, Moni considered the future of his late brother’s children.
“One of my nieces aged 22 still lives with her aunt and nine children in Porirua. She shares a bedroom with two of her cousins. Her wages barely cover expenses, and her siblings’ prospects are just as grim.”
Moni decided now was the time to look at the distribution business again and how it might help his brother’s children.
“I can’t see any hope of them having their own homes any time soon with things the way they are with wages and rental costs.”
After lockdown, he set up League Beverages distributing wine, gin and vodka under the Law 13 label. The name is in honour of his brother Law, whose birthday was on November 13. The wine is sourced from Ohau vineyards and the gin and vodka are sourced from Tirau Limited in Paraparaumu Beach.
Moni says he will push the business as far as he can so he can employ his nephews and nieces. “I will teach them the ropes and then when they are ready, give them the Wellington/ Porirua/Hutt Valley territory to work. I would still oversee the business and mentor them to succeed.”
Having worked in the highly competitive supermarket business for 30 years, Moni says the wine and spirit business is a more profitable market for investors. He advocates responsible drinking.
Moni is launching the Law 13 range of wines and spirits at Black Bull Liquor in Porirua on February 13, back in the city where he and his brother’s journey began. The range will be stocked by other Black Bull and Liquor King franchised stores in the lower North Island.
“I hope, by giving my nieces and nephews a chance, they can have a better life, and by helping them, I can honour my promise to Law, that our family will never go hungry again.”