Life has never been so cheap in Sydney’s gangland war – and as the death toll rises, the prizes offered to the killers fall.
The fee for Tuesday’s shooting of convicted crime boss Alen Moradian may have been as little as $50,000, according to an underworld figure.
The botched job was left incomplete when the Porsche Macan used to flee the scene was found only partially burned on a nearby street rather than completely burned, allowing a mobile phone and gun left inside to be recovered.
Until recently, the cost of a hit was six and sometimes seven figures, but an underworld source told Daily Mail Australia that nowadays ‘young Lebanese “soldiers” accept a hit for much less – around $50,000’.
“They are willing to kill anyone to move up the ranks quickly and gain the respect of the bosses,” the insider added.
“Leaving evidence suggests that the attack was committed by an amateur.”
Funeral directors arrive at the crime scene following the murder of Alen Moradian in Bondi Junction
Rumors have it that underworld rivals were planning a $2 million hit on ‘Little Crazy’ (pictured) the moment he left prison
Moradian, the 48-year-old target who has been likened by his own wife to fictional mob boss Tony Soprano, was shot in a hail of bullets in a car park in the eastern Sydney suburb of Bondi Junction after being himself linked to at least four other gang killings in recent years.
The drug lord was still on parole for importing 40kg of cocaine when he approached authorities last August, fearing he would be beaten and a bounty placed on his head.
The brutal shooting is the latest in a string of hits that has rocked Sydney over the past three years.
Some of the violence stems from rivalries within and between criminal ‘clans’ in families, but it is mainly a brutal struggle for control of the burgeoning drug supply within defined but contested areas.
Other motives are only money, silencing a witness and simple revenge.
Former Comanchero boss Mick Hawi (pictured in 2014) was shot 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 a lot if the hits are executed correctly – they sort the guns, the getaway cars and provide an alibi,” the underworld source explained.
Some assassins have been known to charge upwards of a million dollars to “knock someone off” as the hostile criminal networks grow more desperate.
Mohammed ‘Little Crazy’ Hamzy, of the infamous Hamzy clan and a former member of the Brothers 4 Life gang, was given a special escort when he left the Macquarie Correctional Center two weeks ago amid rumors that rivals in the underworld are a $2 million hit on him planned the moment he stepped out.
The 2018 execution of Mahmoud ‘Mick’ Hawi, who was shot dead outside a gym in Rockdale, is believed to have cost somewhere between $300,000 and $500,000 — reflecting months of careful planning and expertise.
Last August, mother Lametta Fadlallah became embroiled in the gang war.
The 48-year-old was shot in her car with her hairdresser friend Amy Hazouri in southwest Sydney.
Carl Williams (pictured) suffered a serious head injury after being hit multiple times with the stem of an exercise bike
Supermax inmate Matthew ‘the General’ Johnson brutally beat up Williams in a Barwon Prison ward in Victoria
Reports suggested that her “hit” cost $500,000, probably performed by four people – each of whom earned themselves $100,000, $25,000 per gun, and then the cars.
It was believed that the attack was related to Ms Fadlallah being forced to talk to authorities to protect a loved one.
While Lebanese gangs have dominated the headlines in recent years, Hong Kong’s notorious Triads – mainly linked to the heroin trade – cut costs when outsourcing a hitman.
“The Triads pay f**k-all for a hit,” the underworld source explained.
“They’ll fly someone out of Hong Kong, give them $5,000 spending money, sort out a gun and a getaway car, and they’ll walk away with $10,000—provided they get the job done.”
Gangland warfare in Sydney among the Lebanese community has been rampant in recent years, but Melbourne had its own share of bloodshed among Italian and English crime figures in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
A series of tit-for-tat murders sparked a protracted underworld war known as the Melbourne gangland murders.
It started in earnest with the shooting of Alphonse Gangitano in 1998 and raged past the murder of Mario Condello in 2006.
Over a 12-year period, 36 crime figures were killed. During the most intense period, 13 men were shot dead in just over two years.
The infamous crimes sparked terror across Melbourne and inspired the Underbelly book and TV series.
Four members of the infamous Moran family were shot.
Drug trafficker Carl Williams allegedly 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 informant $500,000 to kill three underworld figures, Carl Williams, his father George, and a bodyguard.
The payment would be $150,000 each plus a $50,000 bonus.
Others in Melbourne were offered much less at the time.
In the early 2000s, Lewis offered Moran $50,000 for the contract killing of Carl Williams.
It is now more than 10 years since Williams was brutally murdered 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, having committed the cold-blooded murder knowing the entire attack would be captured on CCTV.
Williams probably took a big hit on the head, over $1 million.
However, Johnson’s motive was thought to be less about the money and more about punishing Williams for cooperating with the police.
In prison, as a police informant or ‘dog’ you are immediately qualified for brutal attacks from the regular prison population.