I didn't know airport victim was being killed: bikie

The president of the Commanchero Motorcycle Club, Mahmoud (Mick) Hawi, insisted today he had not been involved in the death of a man at Sydney Airport in 2009 despite being shown a photo that placed him at the scene of the fight.

Mr Hawi, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Anthony Zervas on March 22, 2009, said he did not even see the fight at the airport when Mr Zervas was hit by a bollard.

Five other Commanchero members have pleaded not guilty to murder before Justice Robert Hulme in the Supreme Court at Parramatta.

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A member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, with which Anthony Zervas was associated, is standing trial for riot and affray.

Crown prosecutor Natalie Adams asked: "What I am suggesting to you is that a number of Commancheros assaulted the deceased and towards the end of the assault you were the one who hit him with the bollard."

Mr Hawi: "No."

Ms Adams: "Can you tell the court you had no idea he was being killed at the airport that day?"

Mr Hawi: "On my oath, Ma'am."

Mr Hawi said he had been involved in a scuffle with Anthony Zervas and his brother Peter Zervas before the fatal fight and that was behind the check-in counter at the airport.

Eleven other Commancheros and five Hells Angels were there but the other Commancheros had all run away and he had been left fighting Peter and Anthony Zervas by himself.

He said someone had pulled off Anthony Zervas and he himself had run; he had just wanted to get out of the terminal.

Ms Adams: "Are you suggesting that not a single member of the Commancheros tried to help you?"

Mr Hawi: "Yes."

Mr Hawi said that he believed that Anthony and Peter Zervas had tried to kill him and he had suffered a wound on his hand that had been bleeding.

Ms Adams put it to him that what had really happened was that there been a brawl between the Commancheros and Hells Angels behind the check-in counter and they had all "tumbled through", including Anthony Zervas.

Mr Hawi: "No, Ma'am."

Ms Adams: "And at some stage he [Anthony Zervas] managed to get away and he was chased?"

Mr Hawi: "I cannot agree with that."

Ms Adams: "At some stage he hit the floor?"

Mr Hawi: "I cannot remember."

Ms Adams: "He was chased by the Commancheros till he hit the ground? He was assaulted by a large number of Commancheros?"

Mr Hawi: "I did not see the assault."

Ms Adams: "He fell to the floor and he was hit with bollards?"

Mr Hawi: "I did not see it."

Ms Adams: "You went over there and you were part of the final assault?"

Mr Hawi: "No, Ma'am."

Ms Adams: "You used a bollard?"

Mr Hawi: "Never used a bollard."

Ms Adams pointed out that though Mr Hawi claimed to have been injured on the hand, he had not shown the injury to police when they charged him two weeks later and not one drop of his blood had ever been found at the airport.

The trial continues.

 

MEN linked to outlaw motorcycle gang the Rebels have been arrested in a series of raids uncovering guns, drugs and hydro equipment today.

Two men were arrested after drug and firearm warrants were executed on four properties early this morning in Bendigo and Redesdale as part of Taskforce Echo's crackdown on bikie gangs.

A pistol, a sawn-off shotgun, long arm rifle, amphetamines, cannabis and hydro equipment were uncovered.

Police arrested two Redesdale men aged 28 and 37, who are both currently assisting police with enquiries.

Acting Inspector Darren Wiseman said it was a "good result'' the drugs and weapons were taken off the street.

"We will continue to target this type of criminal behaviour to ensure the Bendigo community is a safe place.''

Sixth man charged over alleged attempted extortion

Gangs Squad detectives have charged a sixth man following investigations into an alleged attempted extortion at a Burwood caryard.

About 2.30pm today (Wednesday 17 August, 2011), a 52-year-old man was arrested by police with assistance from Corrective Services.

He was taken to a nearby police station and charged with demand money with menaces and participating in a criminal group.

He remains in custody and will appear at Burwood Local Court tomorrow (Thursday 18 August 2011). The man is an alleged senior member of the Hells Angels OMCG.

A subsequent search warrant was also executed by police today at a unit on Pitt Street in Sydney’s CBD, where police located and seized an amount of a prohibited substance, believed to be cocaine. .

During the warrant police also arrested a 33-year-old man, an alleged member of the Hells Angels OMCG. He was taken to City Central Police Station and charged with possess prohibited drug

He was granted bail to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on 7 September 2011.

Gangs Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis said squad members were committed to the continued investigation and prosecution of members of Outlaw Motor Cycle Gang's or Organised Criminal Networks participating in illegal activities.

“Today’s developments follow ongoing investigations into an alleged extortion in which five men approached a car yard on Parramatta Road at Burwood about 3.30pm on Monday 11 July 2011, and allegedly demanded money,” Detective Superintendent Katsogiannis said. .

The five men aged 24, 26, 27, 29 and 30, were arrested at the scene and taken to Campsie Police Station where they were charged.

Strike Force Embark was established to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged extortion as well as an alleged incident at the Burwood car yard just before 3pm on Thursday 7 July 2011, in which a number of luxury cars were driven from the premises.

 

BIKIE member is expected to be charged over two separate shootings earlier this year

Police raided a house in Wetherill Park, in Sydney's southwest, yesterday.

They found three shotguns, three rifles and a large amount of ammunition along with a small amount of cocaine and steroids.

Police also seized several pieces of Hells Angels clothing.

A 21-year-old man was arrested and taken to Wetherill Park Police Station where he was interviewed before being released.

Police expect charges to be laid after forensic testing is done.

"It will be further alleged the man is a member of the outlaw motorcycle gang," police said in a statement today.

The arrest relates to the June 30 shooting in the western Sydney suburb of Merrylands and the shooting in the eastern suburb of Dover Heights.




Police had been called to a home in Holdsworth Street, Merrylands after residents reportedly heard gun blasts.

They arrived to find the front of the home riddled with bullet holes although a woman, 47, and a boy, 7, escaped injury.

Less than 24 hours later, forensic officers went to a home in Dover Heights after bullet casings were found on the footpath.

Police believe the two houses were shot at on the same night.

Strike Force Bairstowe, comprising detectives from Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad, was formed to investigate both shootings.

Associate of Hells Angels outlaw motorcylce club charged with firearm offences

AN ASSOCIATE of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle club has been arrested in relation to alleged firearm offences including AK-47 assault rifles.

Officers from NSW Police Force's Strike Force Raptor have been making inquiries into firearm licence holders and safe storage inspections are being conducted.

"On Friday 12 August, 2011 officer’s attended Claremont Street, Merrylands where a safe storage inspection was conducted. During the inspection police allegedly noticed the safe was not adequately secured and also identifying two AK-47 assault rifles, which are prohibited weapons.

"A 43-year-old man was issued with a notice of suspension for his firearms licence and police seized four other rifles."

The man will be issued with a Future Court Attendance Notice for two counts of possess prohibited weapon and not keep firearm safe.



Strike Force Raptor was established by the State Crime Command’s Gangs Squad in 2009 and is a proactive, high-impact operation targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs and their alleged associated criminal enterprises.

 

an attempt by provincial justice officials to officially designate the Indian Posse as a criminal organization

THEY are Winnipeg's largest street gang, boasting a vast membership that has spread throughout Manitoba and even into other provinces.
But an attempt by provincial justice officials to officially designate the Indian Posse as a criminal organization has fallen short in court.
A high-ranking gang member pleaded guilty last month to charges of assault and uttering threats. In exchange, the Crown dropped the unique offence of participating in a criminal organization, which carries its own set of additional penalties upon conviction.
Jeff Bruyere, 43, was sentenced to 18 months of time already served during the hearing on Peguis First Nation, according to court records. No explanation was given for the dropped charge, which was believed to be the first of its kind against an Indian Posse member. Previously, only members and associates of the Hells Angels had faced such an allegation.
Bruyere was arrested in July 2009 for a violent incident in Peguis, located about 150 kilometres north of Winnipeg, which was alleged to be motivated by gang activity. He admitted to threatening, kicking and hitting a woman who apparently owed a $640 drug debt, court was told. A beer bottle was also smashed over her head.
Bruyere went to a house party the woman was at and told her "he was a high-ranking member of the Indian Posse street gang and not one to be messed with," said Crown attorney Courtney St. Croix. The victim was then attacked by several people, including Bruyere.
She suffered serious injuries that required treatment in hospital, including having her right eye swollen shut.
Two co-accused remain before the courts.
Bruyere's troubles with the justice system are far from over. He remains in custody on a charge of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the May 2006 death of Sheldon McKay inside Stony Mountain Institution.
Bruyere and four co-accused were charged last year following a lengthy RCMP investigation into what is believed to be a gang-related slaying. None of the allegations have been proven, and they are presumed innocent.

Rock Machine prospect recently told Winnipeg police that his involvement in the city’s ongoing biker war is “a badge of honour”

A Rock Machine prospect recently told Winnipeg police that his involvement in the city’s ongoing biker war is “a badge of honour” that he’s ready to die for.

That and other details of the criminal feud between the Rock Machine and Hells Angels, as well as their affiliate clubs, came to light Friday during the bail hearing for Amanda Freeman, a 23-year-old Lorette woman who was arrested Tuesday along with two Rock Machine prospects, including her boyfriend.

Court heard that Freeman, her boyfriend Guy Stevenson, and another man named Joseph (J.J.) Choken were in Freeman’s Dodge Avenger Tuesday, accused of circling a home on Antrim Road in East Kildonan.

Crown prosecutor Brent Davidson told court Stevenson and Choken are known members of the Vendetta Crew, an associate club of the Rock Machine, and that both are considered prospects for the parent club.

Police were watching the house on Antrim Tuesday after receiving a tip that Rock Machine associates were going to target the house and their rivals within.

Fearing something violent was about to happen, the surveillance officers intercepted the Avenger, causing a collision that injured a few of the officers.

Police seized a loaded handgun that was inside a bag in the back seat and a document listing the address they’d been watching. They also seized four photos of local Rock Machine members from one of the men’s wallets.

Davidson said Stevenson wasn’t shy about discussing the gang war when giving his statement to police.

“I don’t think there’s any contention that he’s not a gang member. He admits it clearly in his statement,” Davidson told court. “He says the war is ongoing. He says it’s a badge of honour. He says he’s willing to die for this cause.”

“For Ms. Freeman to come and say ‘I’m simply a girlfriend and my guy is a bad guy and I didn’t know’ simply flies in the face of reality,” he said.

Freeman withdrew her bail application at the tail end of her hearing Friday due to a scheduling concern with the sitting judge, but is expected to re-apply during a new hearing Monday morning.

Jailed Pagan pleads guilty to 2008 attack on rival

Steven "Gorilla" Mondevergine is heading back to prison after pleading guilty Monday to aggravated assault and weapons offenses in the shooting and stabbing of Timothy "Casual" Flood, a rival leader of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, more than three years ago.
Flood, who began cooperating with authorities in 2009, may also be providing information about other acts of violence in the biker underworld, including the January 2005 slaying of a leader of Hells Angels. Authorities have declined to comment about that case.

The Common Pleas Court hearing Monday wrapped up charges leveled last year against Mondevergine. They were believed to be based almost entirely on information supplied by Flood.

Under a plea agreement, Mondevergine, 57, was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison by Common Pleas Court Judge Earl W. Trent.

In exchange for the guilty plea, Assistant District Attorney Brian Grady said his office agreed to drop an attempted-murder charge.

Mondevergine, a former Philadelphia police officer, said little during the hearing, but waved and smiled at family members who had crowded into two rows of the 10th-floor courtroom.

He has been held on $1 million bail since his arrest at his mother's apartment in Washington Township, Gloucester County, in December.

The plea and sentencing came as Mondevergine was about to stand trial for the Jan. 30, 2008, assault in a home in Northeast Philadelphia that authorities said served as a clubhouse for the Pagans.

Flood, 49, was the club president at the time and was part of a group that authorities say was trying to force Mondevergine to give up his colors and relinquish his role as a member of the organization.

At a preliminary hearing this year, Flood testified that he was sitting on a couch in the clubhouse when Mondevergine burst into the room, shot him in a knee, and then stabbed him in the back.

The attack occurred during a period of high tension within the biker underworld.

Several other beatings and shootings were linked to a dispute between the Pagans and Hells Angels, which was attempting to establish a foothold in Philadelphia, long Pagans territory.

Federal authorities, who took part in Mondevergine's arrest in December, are continuing an investigation into the 2005 murder of Thomas Wood, who was gunned down as part of that biker war.

Wood, 36, was a vice president of Hells Angels and one of the top club members in the Philadelphia area. He was killed when the pickup truck he was driving near Vare Avenue and the Schuylkill Expressway was strafed with gunfire from a passing SUV.

No one has been charged in that case, but the arrest of Mondevergine last year led to speculation that authorities were making progress in the Wood slaying.

The key, several sources have said, could be Flood. Flood began cooperating after he was named along with 50 other bikers in a broad racketeering indictment that targeted Pagans activity on the East Coast.

While the case was based in West Virginia, Flood was one of several local Pagans named. He eventually pleaded guilty to a gambling charge and has been cooperating since, according to law enforcement sources.

One of his first acts as a cooperator was to finger Mondevergine as the man who shot and stabbed him. When the incident occurred, Flood told authorities he had been attacked in the parking lot of a bar and did not know his assailant.

Sources said the FBI has also questioned Flood about the Wood shooting.

Grady, the prosecutor in the Mondevergine case, declined to comment Monday about Flood's status as a witness, but said the Wood homicide was "under investigation by the FBI

 

Cop seriously injured in biker war investigation

city police officer received a serious upper body injury in a takedown of a car early Tuesday that resulted in the seizure of a loaded handgun.

The officer, who is a member of the tactical support team, is in stable condition in hospital, police said. Police didn't release his name, age or rank.

The car, a Dodge Avenger, was stopped around 12:30 a.m. as part of police efforts to deal with the feud between the Rock Machine and the Hells Angels-affiliated Redlined Support Crew.

Police said the Dodge tried to flee and ended up hitting three police vehicles. Two other officers with the tactical team were injured, but were treated and released from hospital.

Officers recovered a loaded handgun from the car, police said.

Joseph Jordan Carl Choken, 19, and Guy Wesley Vernon Stevenson, 21, have both been charged with unsafe transport of a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle and possession of a restricted firearm with ammunition.

Choken is also charged with possession of ammunition contrary to a probation order, and it appears he was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant.

Stevenson is also charged with three counts of breaching probation, and several additional firearms charges.

A 23-year-old woman from Lorette, Man., is charged with failing to have a licence and a registration certificate for a firearm. Police didn't release her name.

At a briefing Tuesday morning, police suggested the case is linked to the conflict between rival outlaw motorcycle gangs, but a spokeswoman refused to specify how.

 

Bashed broadcaster Michael Laws has laid the blame for his assault in a Wanganui bar on the local Hells Angels gang

Bashed broadcaster Michael Laws has laid the blame for his assault in a Wanganui bar on the local Hells Angels gang - which he says is "petty, pathetic and cowardly".

Mr Laws suffered a black eye and lost several porcelain dental veneers when he was hit at Caroline's Celtic bar at about 11.30pm on Friday.

Police are investigating and told the Herald they had not identified the man responsible for the assault.

A spokeswoman said the assault was not serious, but police were trying to find CCTV images from the area to help identify the culprit.

But Mr Laws, who alerted media to the assault through an emailed statement on Sunday afternoon, shared his own theory on Radio Live yesterday.

He told listeners witnesses had told him they were "95 per cent certain" the man who hit himwas a Hells Angel gang member or associate.

"That would figure. Hells Angels are not the soundest people in the world, to be perfectly honest with you, and they are cowardly.

"The Hells Angels, they'll do their little bit for intimidation.


"It's always petty, it's always pathetic, it's always cowardly and it's always done never to your face. And they always run away."

Mr Laws told the Herald after the show that witnesses had come forward with the information about the attacker and he would pass it on to police.

"One has identified an alleged gang associate, connected with Hells Angels. I am not able to confirm that information but would not be surprised.

"A Hells Angel member has also boasted publicly of a rock being thrown through my children's bedroom window earlier, and there have been other intimidatory incidents including an earlier incident in 2005 when I was out walking with my two youngest kids and two patched gang members rode at me and shouted obscenities."

On air Mr Laws said because of his part in the success of anti-gang legislation in Wanganui, he had been targeted by local gangs - but it was usually a verbal attack or rude gesture.

"Gangs are cowards. That's why people join gangs. They're losers in life and they join a gang."

Mr Laws said the assault was unacceptable and every New Zealander should be able to go about their business "without fear of assault or affray".

He was at the bar with "an attractive young blonde", and was walking over to check out the band that was playing when he was "blindsided" by a man in a hoodie.

"It's the shock of being hit that always gets you."

Two Finks bikies have been arrested over the shipment of military-style guns from Adelaide to Sydney.

Police said on Tuesday the two guns were found hidden under the boot lining of a car that was stopped at Campbelltown in February this year.

One had been modified to be fully automatic but jammed repeatedly when tested, Detective Inspector Steve Taylor of the Crime Gangs Task Force said.

Ongoing investigations resulted in the arrest and extradition to Adelaide of a 33-year-old man from Kellyville, in Sydney's west in July.

He was charged with two counts of acquiring a firearm and was allowed to return to NSW as part of his bail conditions.

Last week a 39-year-old man from suburban Adelaide was also arrested and charged with two counts of supplying a firearm.

He appeared before the Adelaide Magistrates Court on August 5 but did not apply for bail.

He was due to return to court on Tuesday.

Insp Taylor said the shipment of guns was "fairly typical" of bikie gangs and organised crime syndicates.

"Organised crime tends to go hand-in-hand with guns and drugs," he said.

Two Comancheros bikie gang associates have been charged as a result of an assault at a Northbridge nightclub in May.

Police allege the assault happened just after midnight on May 28 in the upstairs bar of the Library.

One of the men allegedly punched the victim in the jaw, knocking him unconscious.

Police say the victim fell to the floor and the other man kicked him in the head as he lay there.

The unconscious man, who is a 25-year-old from Victoria Park, ended up with concussion, a swollen jaw and a cut elbow.

The gang crime squad charged a 22-year-old Kiara man and a 20-year-old Dianella man with assault occasioning bodily harm.

Both men will appear in Perth Magistrates Court on August 23.

Troy Mercanti leaving prison in a Finks gang jumper emblazoned with "violence" would be illegal under the Government's anti- association laws to be introduced soon,

Troy Mercanti leaving prison in a Finks gang jumper emblazoned with "violence" would be illegal under the Government's anti- association laws to be introduced soon, Attorney-General Christian Porter suggested yesterday.

Mr Porter said the Bill, which would allow courts to declare bikie gangs criminal organisations, was "close to being ready" and he hoped to introduce it this year.

In a display the Opposition branded attention seeking and offensive, Mercanti left Casuarina Prison on Tuesday in a Finks jumper with the club slogan "attitude" and "violence" splashed on it.

He was then greeted with bear hugs from up to eight associates wearing Finks colours.

Mr Porter said once a club was declared a criminal organisation under the laws, anti-association orders could be slapped on members to stop them meeting.

"Bikie gangs gain a lot of their force and are able to engage in a lot of their criminal practices by virtue of the fear and intimidation they create by banding together, wearing colours, being readily identifiable and this helps with a whole range of criminal activities such as standover tactics," he told ABC radio.

"If you make it a penalty for people to identify themselves with a group that's been declared a criminal organisation . . . you take away a very large part of the reason for being in a bikie gang."

Mr Porter said a High Court decision in NSW a few weeks ago paving the way for groups to be declared criminal organisations had provided a blueprint for the WA laws.

Opposition police spokeswoman Margaret Quirk said the writing on Mercanti's jumper would be offensive to the person he was jailed for assaulting in 2008.

"It's clear that prison has not had a rehabilitative effect," she said.

Ann O'Neill, director of crime victim support group Angelhands, said many victims of violent crimes would find the release of their attackers traumatic regardless of what they were wearing.

Mercanti was questioned by South Australian police when he flew to Adelaide on Tuesday night.

No motive yet for bikie gang clubhouse fire

Police say they do not have a motive for a fire which caused extensive damage at a clubhouse of the Rock Machine bikie gang in a southern Perth suburb.

Police say petrol was doused inside the Parkinson Lane premises in Kardinya and set alight just after midnight.

Damage to the building and gym equipment inside is estimated at $60,000.

Police say they do not know if the incident is linked to a fire that damaged a Rebels bikie gang clubhouse last month.

The Rock Machine gang is engaged in a long-running feud with rival Rebels.

Tensions between the gangs escalated in March this year when Rebels chief Nick Martin was shot outside his home in Balcatta.

A 30 year-old member of the Rock Machine has been charged with attempting to murder him.

 

Mercanti's jail release could reignite bikie gang violence

It's been 963 long days since Troy Desmond Mercanti tasted freedom.

And while he's been staring at the ceiling of a Casuarina Prison cell, his brothers in the Finks bikie gang have waged a cold war with his former brothers in the Coffin Cheaters gang.

Make no mistake, the war has had its flashpoints, like the brawl at the Kwinana Motorplex last year. But Mercanti's decision to join the Finks after being thrown out of the Coffin Cheaters "on bad terms" is what sparked the war. And his release from jail, scheduled for August 2, is expected to set tempers flaring, which could send the cold war combatants into red hot battle.

It all started almost four years ago when a senior member of the Comancheros bikie gang, who cannot be named because he has an upcoming trial, was spotted by police in Osborne Park with blood pouring from his nose.

He had been bashed by Mercanti - then a senior member of the Coffin Cheaters - and an associate.

As is usual practice in the criminal world, the Comancheros bikie refused to identify his attackers to police. However, operating under the infamous "catch and kill your own" code of the underworld, the Comancheros swiftly meted out their payback.

Less than two weeks later, the Coffin Cheaters' Bayswater clubhouse was attacked. The Comancheros used fuel to torch a secondary building, destroying up to a dozen of the gang's prized motorcycles and causing up to $500,000 damage.

That attack was a very public challenge to the Coffin Cheaters. But the police played it down. The next day, gang crime operations manager Chris Adams said he did not think the arson attack was done by a rival gang. He also said he was not concerned that it would prompt a retaliatory attack by the Coffin Cheaters. Perhaps he wasn't concerned because, in fact, the retribution had already been carried out. At this point, the majority of the Coffin Cheaters had no idea who was to blame for the clubhouse fire. After all, who in their right mind would want to raise the ire of WA's strongest bikie gang?

But Mercanti's friends knew what was happening. Just a few hours after the bikes went up in flames, so too did a Yokine fish and chip shop owned by the beaten Comancheros bikie's brother.

The next shots in the growing war were fired, literally, in Sydney. Three weeks after the arson attacks, a "sit-down" was organised in an attempt to find a peaceful solution. Senior Comancheros bikies met Mercanti's friends from the Finks bikie gang at Grappa Ristorante in Leichardt. Whether Mercanti was present is still not clear, but the meeting ended with the Comancheros' Marrickville chapter president Mahmoud "Mick" Hawi running for his life as bullets whizzed over his head.

Eventually, the Perth-based Sword Boys street gang brokered a meeting between the Comancheros and the Coffin Cheaters in early 2008 that revealed to the Coffin Cheaters the details of the hostilities. It led to Mercanti's expulsion from the gang for going outside the club to do business with the Finks - a breach of the constitution.

Mercanti was lured to a Moore River goat farm via text message to what he thought was a get-together to mark his first 10 years as a Coffin Cheater. There, he was beaten by several bikies and stripped of his Coffin Cheaters memorabilia. Police sources say senior Coffin Cheater Paul Pellegrino Mule, known as Ringo, was instrumental in Mercanti's expulsion.

It took just a few months for Mercanti to join the Finks - another no-no under the Coffin Cheaters' constitution.

And, if his former gang needed any further motivation to go to war, the theft by Mercanti's partner Tammy Kingdon of $54,000 from a trust fund set up for a dead Cheater's family was just the thing.

She spent the money on the Finks' new Balga clubhouse. Nine months after being booted out of the Coffin Cheaters, Mercanti was riding his Harley-Davidson in Wooroloo with two other Finks bikies when shots were fired. Finks bikie Stephen Wallace, a convicted heroin trafficker, fell from his machine when he was hit in the chest, while Mercanti, too, fell from his bike and suffered injuries to his hand and leg.

In December 2008, police came down hard on the bikies, seizing a small arsenal which was hidden inside the Coffin Cheaters' Bayswater clubhouse, including pump action shotguns, semi-automatic handguns and 100 rounds of ammunition. They also raided the Finks' Balga clubhouse and found weapons, including a stun gun and several swords.

But, by this time, Mercanti was in jail for a nightclub assault.

The war turned cold and only the fight at the motorplex in October last year has threatened the uneasy truce during the 2 1/2 years since.

In that incident, the Cheaters, who boast 49 patched members in WA, beat several Finks mercilessly using baseball bats and other weapons. Finks nominee Troy Smith was badly injured, Wallace was stabbed and had three fingers severed and Fink David Marrapodi was shot in the knee.

Police are now bracing for Mercanti's release from jail on August 2. While both sides suffer in any war, the Finks' Perth chapter has less than a quarter of the Cheaters' membership.

 

latest victim of the Gold Coast's Underbelly-style crime wave may have been executed as revenge for sex crimes.

Police are believed to be investigating whether the victim, 36, was involved in crimes including child pornography.

They have not ruled out bikie gang or organised crime links.

The man was slain on one of the city's busiest roads early yesterday in the Gold Coast's third fatal shooting in less than two months.

 He is believed to have been shot in the back and was found slumped by the roadside on Hooker Blvd at Broadbeach Waters.

The killings and a spate of other violent gun crimes have reinforced fears the strip is being over-run by armed thugs and crime gangs, despite police calls for calm.

An intruder bled to death in a Gold Coast hinterland street after being shot by a resident last week, while Gold Coast police officer Damian Leeding was slain during a hotel robbery in May.



Senior police insist the Coast remains safe, but residents have voiced fear at the rising violence.

The police union said shootings and serious crime were a weekly occurrence and "no one is safe".

The shooting came as the State Government admitted it had slashed funding to the Gold Coast police district by $11 million last year.

Regional crime co-ordinator Superintendent Dave Hutchinson expressed concern at the spate of gun crimes but said most were committed by "specific groups" and the public should not be alarmed.

 

"Every day, we have thousands and thousands of people attend the Gold Coast. They come for the day and they leave without being confronted by any crime whatsoever," Supt Hutchinson said.

"I would reassure the public that the average member of the public shouldn't be concerned and we are putting as many resources as we can into finalising this matter."

But veteran local criminal lawyer Bill Potts said the Coast had become "crime central".

"It's become a sunny place for shady people," he said.

Hells Angels bikie gang boss accused of attempting to extort property from a luxury car dealer will mount an 11th hour appeal for bail to attend his own lavish wedding celebration.

Mostafa Jouayde, 30, from Sydney, was refused bail yesterday despite pleas by his lawyer to allow him to attend the A$32,000, 250-guest ceremony at Lidcome on Saturday.

George Thomas, the lawyer, said Mr Jouayde, a former Bandido gang member and the president of the Hells Angels Parramatta chapter, and his wife, Susie Arida, married in September last year in a small religious ceremony but were yet to celebrate the union.

''They have already paid the hip-hop artists, the magicians, the Lebanese band,'' Mr Thomas told the court. ''The $6000 deposit for the bar ... the wedding dresses, the bridesmaids' dresses.

Mr Jouayde's four co-accused were granted conditional bail on the basis that their involvement in the alleged extortion was less serious but magistrate Christopher Longley initially denied Mr Jouayde bail, despite an offer of A$20,000 surety.

Late yesterday afternoon Mr Thomas returned to the court with a greater offer of surety and was given the right to appeal the bail.

He said that he was under immense pressure from the families of Mr Jouayde and Ms Arida.

Police allege Mr Jouayde and the four co-accused went to the racehorse owner Terry Mullens' car dealership on Parramatta Road on Monday afternoon and demanded a silver BMW M3 valued at A$43,990.

All five men have been charged with attempted extortion and participating in a criminal group.

They are also alleged to have been involved in stealing four luxury cars from the dealer on Thursday before returning them undamaged less than two days later.

Mr Thomas said the prosecution case against Mr Jouayde, the owner of a tattoo shop in Parramatta, was weak.

''I would go so far as [to say] a complete wrong charge,'' he told the court.

He said his client went to the Motor Gallery car dealership on Saturday to ''negotiate'' with Mr Mullens over the trade of a motorbike for a BMW.

Ms Arida sobbed in court as the magistrate refused bail for Mr Jouayde.

''We've just lost all our money because of [the magistrate's decision],'' she said outside the court.

The other four men are due to face court again on July 27.

Sydney police have charged five men who allegedly tried to extort money from racehorse owner Terry Mullens.

Police say the men demanded the money at Mr Mullens' luxury car dealership on Parramatta Road at Burwood, in Sydney's inner west, about 3:30pm (AEST) yesterday.

But within 10 minutes police arrived, including officers from the gangs squad, and arrested them.

Police say the men, aged between 24 and 30, have bikie gang links.

They have been charged with demanding property with menaces and participating in a criminal group, and held in custody to face court today.

Mr Mullens' car dealership was also the target of an armed robbery last Thursday afternoon.

Police say a group of masked men took four luxury cars during the raid.

But the cars were found parked outside the dealership in pristine condition the next day.

POLICE have raided the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle club's headquarters in South Melbourne.

Police executed a warrant on the Thistlethwaite St clubhouse this morning in what is an "ongoing investigation".

Critical Incident Response Teams were involved in searching the premises, which follows another raid last month of a Hells Angels Nomads chapter in Thomastown in which police used explosives to enter the clubhouse.

Several members were arrested in a series of raids.

Outlaw motorcycle gangs are being investigated by a new taskforce codenamed Echo, formed this year.

Mill Park Crime Investigation Unit Detectives with the assistance of Echo Taskforce also executed a number of warrants on properties in northern and northwestern Melbourne this morning.



Early this morning, Mill Park detectives assisted by the Special Operations Group executed a warrant at a residential property in Stirling Parade, East Keilor.

A 32-year-old man from that address was arrested while a business premises in Wedge Street, Mill Park was also raided.

The 32-year-old East Keilor man is currently assisting police with their enquiries.

Coffin Cheaters to face court over Motorplex shooting

Police have charged nine Coffin Cheaters motorcycle gang members and affiliates with giving false and misleading evidence over the shooting and stabbing of members of a rival gang at the Perth Motorplex in October last year.

The Coffin Cheaters members were called before a private Corruption and Crime Commission hearing not long after rival gang members from the Finks, including those injured in the fracas at the popular drag-racing meet, were charged with being in contempt of a similar CCC hearing.

The Coffin Cheaters' six members, including the most senior leaders and three nominees, face 29 charges of giving false and misleading evidence, while two also face charges of disclosing a restricted matter, which relate to the summons to court and potential evidence given.


They face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $100,000 in fines, and a potential further three years jail and $60,000 in fines for disclosing a restricted matter.

Three members are due in Perth Magistrate's Court on July 29 and the others on August 5.

Assistant Police Commissioner Nick Anticich said since police exercised exceptional powers authorised by the CCC, Five Finks members, including Stephen Wallace and Tristan Allbeury, have been jailed for two years over their attempt to keep information from police.

"They are not above the law and hopefully these laws will bring them to heel," he said.

"...Once upon a time they ran wild and free but the world is changing and the code of silence is no longer excused."

He said there were very few Finks left outside jail and he believed the exceptional powers had made a "significant impact" on creating a base in WA.

"There are very few (left) and many are residents at the new club house in the prison," he said.

He said over the past 10 months the police strikeforce squad tasked with targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs had charged 24 gang members and carried out 53 drug search warrants.

They had seized 409 grams of methylamphetamine, 460g of cocaine, 125g of ecstasy, 3 kilograms of cannabis, two vials of steroids, $223,000 in cash, two guns, a Taser, ballistics vest and other weapons.

Also $1.3 million in assets have been frozen, including two houses, a Harley Davidson motorcycle and $30,000 in shares.

Mr Anticich said there was an ongoing concern with the "patching over" of international clubs

 

man was bashed by a bikie gang member while sitting in his car at Seven Hills on the weekend and required hospital treatment.

The 40-year-old man was sitting in his car on Artillery Crescent, about 10am on Saturday, when he was attacked.

Police said the victim had accidentally bumped his car horn when a man in the passenger seat of a four-wheel drive behind him got out and attacked him.

Officers said the 28-year-old attacker punched the victim in the face repeatedly and kicked his car before driving away.

The attacker, who police said was a member of the Bandidos bikie gang, then returned to the scene and continued to bash the victim while he waited for police and paramedics.

When police arrived they found the alleged attacker nearby and charged him with common assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray, and breach of bail.

He will appear at Blacktown Local Court this week.

Mining tycoon's $500,000 car found burnt

Mining magnate Nathan Tinkler is hoping an arrest will be made soon over the theft and destruction of his $500,000 Ferrari after a break-in at his home.

The high-performance car was found burnt-out in bushland off the Pacific Highway at Raymond Terrace, north of Newcastle, at about 2.30pm (AEST) on Monday.

'We hope there's an arrest very soon,' a spokesman for Mr Tinkler told AAP.

Police have taken what's left of the burnt-out vehicle for forensic examination.

Tinkler, the owner of the Newcastle Knights rugby league team, and his family were asleep when thieves broke into their Merewether beachside mansion sometime between 11pm on Saturday and 1am on Sunday.

The burglars made off with a stash of family property including watches, laptop computers and a digital camera.

They also took the keys to the 2010 black Ferrari California, which is believed to be one of only five in Australia.

The family slept through the robbery and no one was injured.

There is speculation the robbery may have been carried out by youths, although police have not confirmed this.

 

Drugs in blood of leagues club brawl

A man who died in a melee at the St George Leagues Club in Sydney on grand final night had traces of amphetamine in his blood, an inquest has heard.

In the early hours of October 4 last year, rugby league fan Steven Bosevski died after he was laid face down by police and handcuffed following an altercation at the club.

The cause of his death was described as 'resulting from the combined effects of hypertensive heart disease and methylamphetamine toxicity'.

Ian McClintock SC, counsel assisting the coroner, said Mr Bosevski was 'morbidly obese', weighing 134kg and standing 181cm tall.

He said the inquest would look at how his 'fragile medical state' led to his death and whether the use of capsicum spray in his vicinity had any effect on his condition.

It would also consider the issue of overcrowding at the club on the night of the NRL grand final game, whether there was any credible evidence that Mr Bosevski was tasered by police, and whether the force used by police officers was reasonable.

The court would also hear whether Mr Bosevski being placed on the ground by police officers and the use of pressure to his back or other parts of his body could have had any effect on his medical condition, Mr McClintock said.

The inquest before Deputy Coroner Paul MacMahon is continuing.

 

Melbourne shootings escalate fears of a violent clan feud

SHOTS have been fired across a Melbourne playground in the latest violent outbreak of what police believe is a feud between warring families.

Several shootings and a firebombing have occurred in Melbourne's north in the last nine days.

Early today, at Sunset Boulevard at Jacana, shots were fired into a house in which a number of people, including at least two children, were sleeping.

As the gunman fled, an occupant of the house ran to his own car and gave chase to a children's playground at nearby Glenroy, where more shots were exchanged.

No one was injured in the shootings, which occurred at about 5.30am.

Police believe this morning's violence is linked to a recent spate of attacks between apparently feuding families, with shots fired at the same house last Thursday.

“We believe this is a targeted incident directed at that house and not a wider community issue,” Detective Superintendant Kevin Sheridan said.




“It is certainly a concern to us that these shootings do continue and we're making every effort to detect who the offenders are and prosecute them.”

Over the past nine days, five violent incidents have occurred at the Sunset Boulevard house and at a home in the nearby suburb of Coolaroo, which was last week rammed with a truck and had an explosive device tossed through a window.

Supt Sheridan said police were looking for a white sports car and dark-coloured sedan seen in the vicinity of this morning's shooting. He appealed to the families for help.

“If the families involved in these (shootings) would like to come forward and assist police in investigations we would certainly welcome that.

“We have interviewed them all extensively but any further assistance would certainly be welcome to bring these events to a close,” he said.

 

MAN will face court after police found guns, ammunition and drugs at a home in Wetherill Park today.

About 8.30am Strike Force Raptor officers searched the premises and seized three pistols, two shotguns, ammunition and quantity of amphetamine and cannabis.

A 63-year-old man was arrested at the scene and was taken to Fairfield police station.

He was charged with multiple counts of possessing an unauthorised pistol, possessing an unauthorised firearm, possessing ammunition without a licence, possessing a prohibited drug and two counts of not keeping firearms safe.

The man was granted conditional bail to face Fairfield Local Court on July 18.

Strike Force Raptor is a proactive police operation targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs and their alleged associated criminal enterprises.

AT least three shots have been fired from a sports car at another car in Melbourne's north.

Witnesses have told police two men travelling in a Mercedes-Benz along Pascoe Vale Rd, Glenroy, fired the shots at a black Astra or Barina about 4.20pm (AEST) today.

Police believe no shots were fired from the targeted vehicle.

No one was apparently hurt and no arrests have been made.

A Hells Angels bikie has been killed after crashing his Harley Davidson in Sydney's inner west.

Police say he was riding through Stanmore around 1am Sunday morning when he lost control on Trafalgar Street and hit a parked car.

He was thrown from his bike and died before paramedics arrived.

A friend riding with him at the time has been questioned by police.

They want to speak to anyone else who saw the motorbike leading up to the crash.

Two members of the New Boys street gang have gone on trial after a brawl outside an Adelaide tattoo parlour in April last year.

The men, Vincenzo Focarelli and Michael Syfris, were allegedly involved in a fight with members of rival group the Hells Angels outside a Hindley Street tattoo parlour.

The pair pleaded not guilty to the charge of affray.

The Adelaide Magistrates Court was shown security vision which allegedly shows the accused men outside the tattoo parlour before they were approached by members of the Hells Angels.

The prosecution alleges Focarelli swung a metal pole at the group and Syfris used a chair to hit a man.

Focarelli's lawyer, Sam Abbott, argued the men were acting in self-defence against what he described as a "full frontal all-out attack" on his client.

POLICE swarmed Geelong yesterday as hundreds of Black Uhlans bikies gathered to farewell one of their own.

A huge police presence, with officers on the roads and in the sky, greeted the Uhlans and confused and worried local residents as the bikies met at their clubhouse in Belmont to send off Bell Park man Jeff Julian.

The 37-year-old died after losing control of his Harley Davidson while riding at Lara on June 6.

Planning for the worst, detectives and general duties officers joined their highway patrol colleagues and officers from the special response teams and mounted police in flocking to Skilled Stadium yesterday morning.

The football ground acted as the police base for the day.

Mourners many donning black armbands honouring their lost brother "Jeffro" began arriving at the Grayling St clubhouse hours before official proceedings began.


About eight police cars parked near the intersection of Barwon Heads Rd throughout the service, watching for any signs of trouble.

Others lined streets nearby, while a police helicopter hovered over the clubhouse from the sky.

When it was time for the hundreds of Uhlans to begin their procession to Eastern Cemetery, extra police resources flooded on to the scene.

The Uhlans formed a guard of honour to allow Mr Julian's coffin, carefully placed on a motorcycle sidecar and bearing the club's flag, to pass before they roared out behind the casket in droves.

Police in high-visibility vests stood along the major arterials of Barwon Heads Rd, La Trobe Tce, Ryrie St and Boundary Rd, while others followed behind the procession on police motorcycles and marked and unmarked cars and vans. The spectacle generated strong interest from passers-by and Geelong motorists, with many drivers' afternoons interrupted by the farewell, which slowed traffic considerably.

A MAN and a pregnant woman were rushed to hospital after a shooting on the Gold Coast believed to be linked to bikie gangs.

The man, 42, was shot in the shoulder at a house on the Tamborine-Oxenford Road at Wongawallan in the Gold Coast hinterland about 6.20pm after two men entered the property, reported the Courier Mail.

He was taken by ambulance to the Gold Coast Hospital.

The shooting is understood to be bikie-related. The victim and his partner were believed to have been tied up. A child was also present when the man was shot.




Officers from Taskforce Hydra, which investigates the activities of outlaw motorcycle gangs, were being called into the investigation.

Police regional duty officer Inspector Paul Reynolds said a man had been shot in the chest and had been taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

"It's in the very early stages of the investigation and we're still getting full versions from the people involved to ascertain exactly what happened," he said.

 A pregnant woman, 39, who was at the house, was also being taken to hospital 'as a precaution', a Department of Emergency Services spokeswoman said.

She said the man was in a stable condition.

Police are seeking public assistance in locating the two men who are believed to be driving a late 90s model white Holden utility, believed to be fitted with mag wheels and in good condition