Alex ‘Little Al’ Taouil’s widow sues Dr William Mooney

The wife of a Sydney gangster who died after a nose operation is suing a celebrity cosmetic surgeon who admits he performed the surgery ‘too quickly’.

A celebrity cosmetic surgeon has admitted he performed a sinus operation “without care” which led to a Sydney underworld figure’s death, court documents reveal.

Alex “Little Al” Taouil’s widow Rebecca Azar is suing Sydney rhinoplasty surgeon Dr William Mooney for professional negligence, who performed four procedures on her husband in the lead up to his death on December 13, 2017.

Taouil has been pictured with Melbourne underworld identity Mick Gatto and was rumoured to be a standover man with bikie associates.

Alex ‘Little Al’ Taouil (green jacke) pictured with Mick Gatto. Picture: Anthony Johnston

The construction manager, 41, who was expecting his fourth child, died in Prince of Wales hospital after failing to regain consciousness following routine surgery performed by Dr Mooney 19 days earlier.

Ms Azar claims Dr Mooney mistakenly operated on the wrong area of Mr Taouil’s nose on November 24, 2017, penetrating his skull behind the right frontal recess.

This resulted in him suffering a fatal brain bleed, which was detected when he was taken to Prince of Wales Hospital after the surgery.

In his defence filed to the NSW Supreme Court on April 27, 2021, Dr Mooney agreed with Mz Azar‘s claim that he provided treatment to Mr Taouil “negligently” in the fourth operation.

Dr William Mooney is being sued by the widow of Taouil.

He accepts he performed the operation “too quickly and without due care and skill”, taking just 33 minutes of the recommended one to three hours to undertake the procedure.

He also admits he became “disorientated“ in the anatomy of Mr Taouil’s sinuses and failed to ensure he was operating in the correct location, before proceeding.

But Dr Mooney does not agree with several other claims by Ms Azar, including that he failed to receive informed consent from Mr Taouil prior to the surgery.

Alex Taouil.

He claims to have also told his patient about the restrictions on his registration. He also claimed he performed the three prior operations correctly.

Ms Azar says she was left pregnant to look after her baby and two toddlers alone after her husband’s death.

She claimed in her Statement of Claim, her family suffered “severe personal injury”, in the form of nervous shock and financial hardship.

Ms Azar asked for funeral expenses including the cost of a headstone and damages for a loss of financial support, including domestic handyman services provided by Mr Taouil.

She has not yet specified a dollar figure in damages.

She claimed Dr Mooney breached his duty of care by failing to obtain informed consent, or offering proper surgical advice and treatment leading up to and including the fourth operation.

Ms Azar said Mr Taouil would not have undergone surgery had he been better informed.

Dr Mooney’s website says his “precision and excellence in nose job surgeries are renowned in the industry”.

“This intricate fusion of art and science coupled with attention to detail and safety, is the perfect combination to achieve your best possible results.”