Man acquitted of Mick Hawi murder denied parole

A bikie who was acquitted of murdering gangster Mick Hawi has been denied the perfect gift for his 40th birthday.

A bikie who was acquitted of gangland figure Mick Hawi’s murder has been denied the perfect gift for his 40th birthday - walking free from jail on parole to enjoy a celebration on the outside.

Yusuf Nazlioglu was last month sentenced to a minimum three years jail over an unrelated gun charge and with time already served he first became eligible for parole on Monday, which was his 40th.

That charge was for him possessing a gun in contravention of a firearms prohibition order in 2018 while he was renting a unit at Circular Quay’s The Toaster apartment block for $1350 a week while he was unemployed.

Yusuf Nazlioglu at Kogarah police station following his arrest in connection to Hawi’s death in 2018. Picture: Gordon McComiskie

However, Community Corrections officers have not had enough time to write a pre-release report that would include information on Nazlioglu’s future plans regarding accommodation and employment to the State Parole Authority because he was sentenced only a few weeks ago.

The SPA needs that document before it can make a decision on whether to release him early.

NSW legislation states that the SPA must make a decision on whether to release an inmate within 21 days of when their non-parole period expires and so it considered Nazlioglu‘s case on July 23.

Mick Hawi (centre) was fatally shot outside a Rockdale gym in early 2018.

But without that pre-release report it was forced to deny Nazlioglu parole.

A SPA spokeswoman said the authority will reconsider whether to release him on parole during a new hearing date in September.

“The SPA refused the offender parole to allow Community Corrections to provide a pre-release report, which is necessary for any parole consideration,” she said.

“The SPA also requested the judge’s sentencing remarks.

“The offender will appear before the SPA for a court review hearing on September 3.”

A jury acquitted Nazlioglu of being involved in Hawi’s killing last year, but he remained behind bars over the unrelated gun charge, to which he pleaded guilty.

Judge Tanya Smith, SC, previously said police had found the gun on top of an air duct near Nazlioglu‘s car space at his apartment’s building.

The judge said she didn’t believe his claim that he was tossing up whether to have the gun or not because he had been caught bragging about it to an associate, Tarek Zahed.

“It must be remembered that, even in the face of a prohibition order, the offender was prepared to obtain possession of a loaded gun,” she said.

Judge Smith decided to include Nazlioglu’s time spent behind bars on remand over Hawi’s alleged murder as part of his sentence for the lesser firearm charge.

He had been charged with the gun offence two months after being taken into custody over the death of Hawi.

Hawi, a former president of the Comanchero bikie gang, was fatally gunned down outside a Rockdale gym in 2018.