Life has never been so cheap in Sydney’s gangland war – and as the body count climbs, the prices on offer to the killers are coming down.
The fee for gunning down convicted crime boss Alen Moradian on Tuesday may have been as little as $50,000, according to an underworld figure.
The bungled job was left incomplete when the Porsche Macan used to flee the scene was found only partially burnt on a nearby street rather than fully incinerated, allowing the recovery of a mobile phone and gun left inside.
Until recently, the cost of a hit was in the six and sometimes seven figures, but an underworld source told Daily Mail Australia that nowadays ‘young Lebanese “soldiers” accept a hit for a lot less – about $50K’.
‘They’re willing to kill anyone to move up the ranks quickly and gain the respect of the bosses,’ the insider added.
‘Leaving behind evidence makes you suspect the hit was done by an amateur.’
Undertakers arrive at the crime scene after the slaying of Alen Moradian in Bondi Junction
There are rumours underworld rivals were planning a $2million hit on ‘Little Crazy’ (pictured) the minute he left jail
Moradian, the 48-year-old target likened by his own wife to fictional mafia boss Tony Soprano, was gunned down in a hail of bullets in a car park in the eastern Sydney suburb of Bondi Junction, having himself been linked to at least four other gangland murders in recent years.
The drug kingpin was still on parole over a 40kg cocaine importation when he approached authorities last August, fearing he was going to be whacked and that a price had been placed on his head.
The brazen shooting is the latest in a string of hits that has rocked Sydney in the past three years.
Some of the violence stems from rivalries within and between family-based crime ‘clans’, but predominantly it is a ruthless fight for control of the burgeoning supply of drugs within defined but contested territories.
Other motives are money alone, silencing a witness, and simple revenge.
Former Comanchero boss Mick Hawi (pictured in 2014) was gunned down in broad daylight
Lametta Fadlallah (pictured) was known to police and had ‘past relationships with other known identities’ in the underworld
‘The Lebs will pay big if the hits are done properly – they sort the weapons, the getaway cars and provide an alibi,’ the underworld source explained.
Some contract killers have been known to ask for upwards of a million dollars to ‘knock someone off’ as the opposing criminal networks become more desperate.
Mohammed ‘Little Crazy’ Hamzy, of the notorious Hamzy clan and a former member of the Brothers 4 Life gang, was given a special escort as he left Macquarie Correctional Centre two weeks ago, amid rumours underworld rivals were planning a $2million hit on him the minute he stepped outside.
The 2018 execution of Mahmoud ‘Mick’ Hawi, who was shot dead outside a gym in Rockdale, is said to have cost anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000 – reflecting the months of careful planning and expertise.
Last August, mother Lametta Fadlallah was caught up in the gangland war.
The 48-year-old was gunned down in her car with her hairdresser friend Amy Hazouri in Sydney’s south-west.
Carl Williams (pictured) suffered serious head injuries after he was struck several times with the stem of an exercise bike
Supermax prisoner Matthew ‘the General’ Johnson brutally bashed Williams inside a Barwon Prison ward in Victoria
Reports suggested her ‘hit’ cost $500,000, likely carried out by four people – each netting themselves $100,000, $25,000 per gun and then the cars.
The attack was understood to be connected to Ms Fadlallah being forced into speaking with authorities to protect a loved one.
While Lebanese gangs have dominated headlines in recent years, the infamous Triads from Hong Kong – predominantly linked to the heroin trade – cut costs when outsourcing a contract killer.
‘The Triads pay f**k-all for a hit,’ the underworld source explained.
‘They fly someone out from Hong Kong, give them $5K spending money, sort a gun and a getaway car and they walk away with $10K – providing they complete the job.’
Sydney’s gangland war among the Lebanese community has been predominant in recent years, but Melbourne had its own share of bloodshed in the late 1990s and early 2000s among Italian and Anglo crime figures.
A series of ‘tit-for-tat’ murders sparking a lengthy underworld war known as the Melbourne gangland killings.
It got underway in earnest with the shooting of Alphonse Gangitano in 1998, and raged past the 2006 killing of Mario Condello.
Over a period of 12 years, 36 crime figures were slain. During the most intense period, 13 men were shot dead in just over two years.
The notorious crimes spread terror throughout Melbourne and inspired the Underbelly book and TV series.
Four members of the infamous Moran family were gunned down.
Drug trafficker Carl Williams was believed to have paid one of his lieutenants $100,000 to carry out five of the murders.
Notorious loan shark Mario Condello, of the Carlton crew, offered a police informer $500,000 to kill three underworld figures, Carl Williams, his father George and a bodyguard.
The payment would be $150,000 each plus a bonus $50,000.
Others in Melbourne at the time were offered far less.
In the early 2000s, Lewis Moran was offering $50,000 for the contract killing of Carl Williams.
It is now more than 10 years since Williams was brutally slain in prison by a fellow inmate.
Matthew ‘The General’ Johnson was found guilty of murdering Williams in 2011 and sentenced to a minimum of 32 years in prison, after committing the cold-blooded murder with full knowledge that the entire attack would be captured on CCTV footage.
Williams is likely to have had a large hit on his head, upwards of $1million.
However Johnson’s motive was thought to be less about the money and more with punishing Williams for cooperating with police.
In prison, being a police informant or a ‘dog’ immediately qualifies you for merciless attacks from the mainstream prison population.
DailyMail
