Ex-DLASTHR associate Ronaldo Odisho charged with blackmail over alleged gay hate crime

Police allege Ronaldo Odisho - a convicted drug dealer who survived a gangland shooting - threatened to expose a closeted gay man to “the world” if he didn’t cough up $5000 on the spot.

Ronaldo Odisho pictured outside the Downing Centre at a previous appearance. Picture: Monique Harmer.

A convicted drug dealer who survived a gangland shooting as a teenager has been accused of trying to extort cash from a closeted gay man after allegedly luring him to an apartment in Liverpool with the promise of sex and cocaine.

Police will allege Ronaldo Odisho, 25, and his co-accused, 34-year-old Rami Ishow, invited the man to the unit in the early hours of October 4 last year before demanding he pay them $5000 or they would expose his sexuality to “his wife, his employer and the world”.

Police described the alleged offence as a “serious [gay] hate crime” after Odisho allegedly told detectives “I thought the guy was a f——t.... I hate gay marriage and stuff, I’m not about that”, when arrested.

Court documents reveal Odisho, a one-time associate of Sydney gang DLASTHR (the last hour), is no stranger to the law, having racked up a string of convictions for drugs, violence, poor driving and resisting arrest, despite his young age.

Ronaldo Odisho pictured outside the Downing Centre on a previous occasion. Picture: Monique Harmer.

In 2006, aged just 18, Odisho survived being shot in the chest by a group of rival Middle Eastern men in front of families at a busy Sydney playground.

His friend and fellow alleged gang associate, Antonio Hermiz, was killed in the encounter.

The case remains unsolved although police believe it is gang-related.

Meanwhile, details of the alleged blackmail incident can be revealed for the first time after Odisho was granted strict conditional bail by the NSW Supreme Court last month on charges of demanding property with menaces and dealing with proceeds of crime.

Court documents state the alleged victim initially communicated with Ishow in August using a female pseudonym on Snapchat, however Ishow ceased communication when he found out the alleged victim was male.

It is alleged Odisho and Ishow were at the Liverpool apartment together in the early hours of October 4 when they messaged the man and invited him over to use cocaine and have sex.

The court heard police will allege Odisho and Ishow secretly recorded the man as he took cocaine with them and discussed previous sexual experiences with other men.

The pair then confronted the man, allegedly claiming he owed them $5,000 and threatening to expose him if he didn’t pay up.

Ronaldo Odisho pictured outside the Downing Centre on a previous occasion. Picture: Monique Harmer.

According to court documents, a video recording of part of the incident showed Odisho memorising the man’s wife’s phone number in an apparent bid to bolster the extortion threat, telling him “I’m good with numbers like that.”

The court heard the alleged victim eventually escaped after a short scuffle with Ishow, and ran to a nearby service station for help.

During a later encounter with police, Odisho and Ishow allegedly claimed they’d invited the man to the apartment to “hang out” but he’d “run away screaming” after ingesting drugs.

When arrested two weeks later, Odisho allegedly admitted the pair had intended to blackmail him all along.

“I thought the guy was a faggot … I don’t hate gay people, I just don’t like that shit,” Odisho allegedly told police.

During Odisho’s application for bail, defence lawyers claimed Odisho would likely face a lesser charge after negotiations with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and jail time, if Odisho was convicted, was not inevitable.

Justice Natalie Adams agreed to grant strict bail despite objections by the prosecutor.

“I’m satisfied sufficient conditions can be imposed that the public are not going to be put at risk by this man [but] if he breaches it he’s back in custody,” she said.

As part of his bail, Odisho must live with his father in Austral under house arrest-style conditions, which allow him to leave the house in the company of his father only for the purposes of reporting to police daily, attend legal or medical appointments and court.

Odisho’s matter will return to court on February 24.

Ishow, who is charged with more serious offences of kidnapping, aggravated robbery, disposing of stolen property and possessing a prohibited drug, remains in custody on remand, and will next appear in court on January 10.