Johnny Salafia: Sami Hamalainen Rebels bikie sentenced

An outlaw bikie who assembled a hit crew which ultimately shot dead a father-of-three on his front doorstep has been sentenced.

Johnny Salafia was killed at his Kings Point home in 2013.

A senior bikie who assembled a crew which ultimately shot dead father-of-three Johnny Salafia won’t spend another day in prison on time served.

Sami Esko Hamalainen, then a senior member of the Rebels Ulladulla chapter, was sentenced to two years and eight months jail for his role in the brutal execution-style killing at Kings Point after pleading guilty to accessory after the fact to murder and recruiting people for a criminal activity.

Sami Hamalainen arrested at Sydney Airport. Source: Police Media

The 45-year-old Ulladulla man assembled a hit crew, led by then-Sydney Rebels chapter president Robert McCloskey, to intimidate Salafia because of a belief he had been sharing the home addresses of Rebels members, including his own, to a Comanchero nominee, the agreed facts state.

Court documents reveal Hamalainen bought a Subaru Forester with bikie associates and hid it in bushland near Milton, with the same car used days later to drive a car load of Rebels armed with a baseball bat and knuckle dusters to Salafia’s home.

At McCloskey’s sentencing in August, where he was convicted and sentenced to 18 months jail for accessory to murder for his role in driving the getaway car, the court was told that an unnamed shooter told the Rebels president that Salafia had opened fire first.

The burnt out getaway car hidden in bushland on the direction of Hamalainen. Picture: NSW POLICE

Hamalainen instructed bikie associates to intimidate silence out of the man, court documents reveal.

Justice David Davies, in sentencing Hamalainen, said he had no doubt the Ulladulla man knew more than one person would be involved in the intimidation, and that it “may involve more than just words”.

Mr Salafia had a brief flirtation with the outlaw gang in the early 2000s.

In a sworn affidavit heard by the court, Hamalainen apologised to Salafia’s family, the court and the community for his involvement in the killing.

The court heard the 45-year-old had a troubled upbringing and had turned to the outlaw motorcycle gang for a sense of acceptance and family in his early 20s. He has plans to get a forklift or truck licence, after previously working as a concreter, plumber, plasterer and running a tattoo shop.

His criminal history, which included four convictions of assault dating back to 1995, was described as concerning by Justice Davies, however he described the entire history as generally street-level offending.

Hamalainen, who was released on bail Christmas Eve last year following his arrest at Sydney Airport in November 2017, was sentenced to a two years and eight months jail which had been completed on time served.