Hivis hit man pleads guilty to 2018 murder of lawyer Ho Ledinh

A hit man has pleaded guilty to a daylight execution of a lawyer who was gunned down while sitting outside a Bankstown cafe.

A hit man has admitted to carrying out the daylight execution of a high-profile lawyer on a suburban Sydney street more than three years ago.

Arthur Kelekolio, 40, on Friday pleaded guilty to the murder of Ho Ledinh, 65, who was gunned down as he sat outside the Happy Cup cafe in Bankstown on January 23, 2018.

Kelekolio was wearing a hi-vis jacket, a dark cap, dark pants, grey gloves, a raincoat and sunglasses when he opened fire on Mr Ledinh.

Arthur Kelekolio (pictured) has pleaded guilty to murdering Sydney lawyer Ho Ledinh. Picture: Facebook.

Mr Ledinh (pictured with wife Ngo Thu Huong) was gunned down in a daylight execution as he sat outside the Happy Cup Cafe in Bankstown on January 23, 2018. Picture: Facebook

CCTV showed Kelekolio fleeing the scene down a side alley while horrified onlookers on the busy shopping strip ducked for cover.

The towering Samoan hit man, now 40, was arrested at Sydney Airport as he tried to leave the country three weeks after Mr Ledinh’s death.

Kelekolio’s guilty plea last week came a day after a new indictment was filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mr Ledinh’s close friend Vivian Vo broke down in tears on the bloodstained footpath outside the cafe where he was killed. Picture: John Grainger

Mr Ledinh had fled Vietnam for Australia in the 1970s and started his suburban law practice in 1999.

The father-of-five had become successful throughout Sydney’s western suburbs and represented a number of high-profile clients, including Philip Nguyen who in 2013 was convicted of murdering a policeman.

Mr Ledinh had at one point owned the Happy Cup cafe where he was killed, but is believed to have sold it just months before his death.

In the wake of his murderah it became clear that Mr Ledinh had been experiencing serious financial woes.

Kelekolio is due to return to the Supreme Court for sentencing on June 11, 2021.