The Snitch: Eddie Obeid’s lawyer victim of alleged home invasion
Eastern suburbs civil litigation solicitor David Deutsch — who represented Labor MP Eddie Obeid when the government chased him for $5 million in legal costs — was the victim of an alleged home invasion in front of his children, The Snitch can reveal.
NSW
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Criminal lawyers can tell you their fair share of horror stories, from attempted kidnappings to stand over tactics and a couple of bikie threats in between.
But civil litigation has turned out to be just as risky for one eastern suburbs solicitor.
David Deutsch, who represented Labor MP Eddie Obeid when the government chased him for $5 million in legal costs, was the victim of an alleged home invasion in front of his children last week.
Mr Deutsch, who is a principal of Deutsch Partners in the CBD, opened the front door of his Queens Park home on Tuesday night and found two men staring back at him.
According to police, the men assaulted and threatened the 43-year-old with a firearm before demanding money.
Police will allege one of the men was 29-year-old Oscar Mairs. Mr Deutsch was involved in a legal matter against Mairs last October and Mairs was ordered to pay $40,000 for money lost in a business venture.
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Someone else inside the Deutsch household called triple-0 while the alleged standover was unfolding. Police officers turned up to the Rawson Ave home, allegedly causing Mairs and another man to get out of there quick-smart.
Within 48 hours, Mairs attended Waverley Police Station and was charged with aggravated enter dwelling with a dangerous weapon. He was refused bail in Waverley Local Court on Friday.
HOW MUCH CAN A KOALA BEAR?
The Australian Federal Police investigation known as Operation Veyda is the gift that keeps on giving.
Not only has it resulted in the jailing of several top of the tree criminals, like Michael Ibrahim, but now we can tell you that some of the evidence collected for that case sent investigating authorities in another direction.
The subsequent inquiries led to the arrest of Michael Ibrahim’s wife, Caitlin Hall, construction identity, George Alex, and others over an alleged $17 million tax fraud this week.
For the uninitiated, Operation Veyda began in March 2016 and saw an undercover cop infiltrate the Ibrahim clan.
By the time it finished in August 2017, more than 20 people were arrested over a smuggling operation involving tonnes of drugs and millions of cigarettes.
The investigation saw police tap the phones of their targets, yielding calls including Michael Ibrahim and George Alex speaking at length about going into business together.
During one of the calls, that went for 43 minutes, Michael gushed at the pair‘s opportunities for riches and said he would have protected Alex from hangers-on and sycophants.
“We’re the perfect team … I wish I knew you 10 years ago … we would have killed it,” Michael said.”
“You would have had none of these c…s around you … I would have been like a koala bear.”
MYSTERY MAN
The Australian Taxation Office has joined the long list of people pursuing a self-styled app developer for millions of dollars.
The whereabouts of Bankstown’s Amin Naaman, 35, is a great Sydney mystery.
Sydney underworld figures and legitimate investors were rumoured to have lost more than $100 million on Naaman’s ventures, and one of his companies — Naamtech — owes the ATO almost $7 million.
Now the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation has launched legal action in the NSW Supreme Court against Naaman and his brother, Jalal.
The matters were adjourned to February 2021 for directions.
Private eyes, disgruntled investors and cops have all failed to track down Naaman, but maybe the taxman will have more luck.
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Originally published as The Snitch: Eddie Obeid’s lawyer victim of alleged home invasion