Slain Sydney bikie boss Alen Moradian known for Versace obsession

Gunned down Sydney crime figure Alen Moradian had built a reputation as someone to be feared. But he was also known for his Versace obsession and golden designs.

In his decades as a Sydney crime figure, Alen Moradian had built a reputation as someone to be feared.

But he had also become known for another reason - his many nicknames, including Alen Roddy (short for Moradian), Fathead, the Man with Golden Gun, Mr Versace and Tony Soprano.

Moradian’s murder at Bondi Junction on Tuesday is the biggest of a two-and-a-half year underworld war.

He was born in Iraq in 1974 and moved to Australia in 1980.

He left school before finishing his HSC and focused instead on becoming a career criminal, in particular one with an obsession with designer labels.

Moradian famously spent $1 million in cash on Versace furniture as well as a few bits and pieces when renovating a home in Sydney north west over a decade ago.

Alen Moradian was dubbed the Tony Soprano of Australia’s cocaine trade.

Actor James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in 'The Sopranos'.

Natasha Moradian, left, seen with family and friends at a house in Fairfield West after the shooting of her estranged husband Alen Moradian. Picure courtesy Daily Mail Australia/Matrix

Inside Moradian’s opulent Pennant Hills home nicknamed the ‘Versace Palace’.

During a drug trial in the NSW Supreme Court a former salesman for Versace gave evidence about Moradian’s spending spree.

“He was very passionate about the brand and what it represents. He loved the Versace furniture and the excess. It was his vision and it was my job to carry his vision through,” Michael Chard told the court.

$10 million in cash and a gold-plated .357 Magnum Desert Eagle handgun linked to Alen Moradian after his cocaine importation.

Already established as a major cocaine distributor in Sydney, the western suburbs boy set about transforming his suburban in Pennant Hills, in the city’s north west, into a McMansion.

Neighbours soon saw trucks arriving filled with Versace furniture from antique dealer Martyn Cook’s shop in Queen Street, Woollahra.

Mr Chard also handled the landscaping outside the house and arranged for an artist to turn the lounge room into a version of the Sistine Chapel, with a $40,000 ceiling mural showing sky and angels.

Slain drug kingpin Alen Moradian’s kitchen.

The Pennant Hills home owned by drug kingpin Alen Moradian.

His home was nicknamed the ‘Versace Palace’

Moradian even hired another artist to convert his humble living room into a version of the Sistine Chapel, spending $40,000 on a ceiling mural showing sky and angels.

In an email his wife even likened his lifestyle to that of the TV gangster character, Tony Soprano.

“Why do you just sit there and show off – ‘I am the man, I am the man? Do you see Tony Soprano doing that? … He doesn’t care who people think is the boss, [money] is his number one priority. You, on the other hand, want the attention, you want the big head, you love it. People like that won’t survive’,” she said.

Moradian hired an artist to convert his living room into a version of the Sistine Chapel.

But to the underworld Moradian was a lot more serious character than Tony Soprano not only being a major mover of cocaine, but also a provider of weapons.

He was a major member of The Golden Gun syndicate which the NSW Police and NSW Crime commission detected in 2005 and 2006 as being behind the importation of 300 kgs of cocaine.

When they finally dismantled the group and arrested Moradian and others they seized $20 million cash, property, vehicles, high-grade cocaine and 17 firearms, including a gold-plated .357 calibre pistol.

Moradian was in jail between 2007 and 2017, and was still on parole at the time of his death on Tuesday.