The Snitch: Hawi murder trial features same judge who convicted him of killing bikie
When Mick Hawi was tried for the murder of Hells Angels bikie Anthony Zervas at Sydney Airport in 2009, Justice Robert Allan Hulme was the judge. A decade on, Comancheros boss Hawi is dead and Justice Hulme is presiding over his murder trial — and he’s not the only familiar face in court.
NSW
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The murder trials involving deceased bikie boss Mick Hawi have gone full circle.
When Hawi was tried for murder over a 2009 airport brawl that claimed the life of Hells Angels bikie Anthony Zervas, the judge was Justice Robert Allan Hulme.
Justice Hulme sentenced Hawi to a maximum of 28 years before the ex-Comanchero boss had the jury’s guilty finding overturned on appeal.
More than a decade later, two men have been on trial in the NSW Supreme Court accused of murdering Hawi. And the judge presiding over the case? You guessed it, Justice Robert Allan Hulme.
There’s also some other familiar faces in the case.
In the airport brawl case, defence barrister Avni Djemal and solicitor Elias Matouk represented Peter Zervas, who pleaded guilty to an affray charge in the Local Court.
In this case, Mr Djemal is back, this time paired with solicitor Kiki Kyriacou to represent accused gunman Yusuf Nazlioglu, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering Hawi.
We’re told the selection process for judges being allocated cases is generally dictated by availability and workload rather than prior experience with the subject matter of the case.
The jury was sent out to deliberate on Friday, leaving all parties to sweat over the result, which might come back next week.
DISCHARGE FAIL
A senior detective who was sacked for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend and a bizarre incident involving a lost luxury watch has failed in a bid to rewrite history.
Detective Sergeant Andrew Bolton’s troubles began when he was charged over a domestic violence incident with his then-girlfriend in 2016.
It was alleged Mr Bolton, who was in the force for 31 years, kicked and pushed the woman and threatened her, but the charges were later withdrawn in court.
Mr Bolton strenuously denied the allegations.
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The northern beaches cop was then accused of looking up a lost property register in 2017 and telling another girlfriend her Longines watch had been handed in to the station.
She then reported it lost and claimed it.
Despite the withdrawal of criminal charges, the Police Commissioner served Mr Bolton with a dreaded 181D notice — Mr Bolton had lost his boss’s confidence and was shown the door.
Armed with reports from psychologists about his mental health, he asked for the Commissioner to medically discharge him instead.
According to a judgment published last week, Mr Bolton pointed out that he was $17,000 in debt for legal fees spent defending the domestic violence matter.
But the Commissioner didn’t hold back on Bolton’s “far from unblemished” work history, including prior misconduct findings during his policing career.
On Friday, the Industrial Relations Commission stuck by the Commissioner and dismissed Bolton’s bid for a medical discharge.
ENDURANCE RACE
NSW Racing boss Peter V’landys has made an investment of sorts in his defamation case by paying the ABC’s legal costs in a recent skirmish.
V’landys is suing the ABC in the Federal Court over a segment on the 7:30 program, claiming he was “set up” and falsely portrayed as a person who “callously permitted the wholesale slaughter” of horses.
The ABC is defending the claim.
V’landys was ordered in the Federal Court on Friday to cover the broadcaster’s legal costs that came after he amended his statement of claim.
V’landys appears to be playing the long game in relation to the costs because the purpose of the amendment was “to include new particulars of his claim for aggravated damages and orders for discovery and interrogatories”, the court heard.
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