The Snitch: No nudes is bad news for jailed notorious crime boss Bassam Hamzy

Which jailed crime boss who received nudes in the mail is going to court? Who is Aloha Joe and which barristers chambers is known as the silk factory? The Snitch is here.

Is jailed crime boss Bassam Hamzy missing nude pictures being mailed to him in prison to the point where he’s prepared to launch legal action to get them back?

We wait with interest to see if it is the case with the most recent legal action.

Hamzy got in trouble in 2021 when a female solicitor sent racy lingerie photos of herself to him through the mail system in Goulburn’s Supermax only for the pics to be intercepted by NSW Corrective Services.

He has now launched a NSW Supreme Court case against Correctives in a case that relates to which mail prison guards can intercept and which dispatches they have to leave alone.

Whether Hamzy’s case relates to the racy pics or not is yet to be revealed as the case is in its early stages.

Bassam Hamzy.

So he might have another agenda in mind. Which is a definite possibility given he has a long history of figuring out inventive methods to communicate with the outside world via a seemingly never ending supply of contraband mobile phones and other alleged means.

The case also relates to communications in foreign languages, a source said.

Given Supermax’s guest list, it will come as no surprise that there are very strict rules on communications with prisoners that are not legally privileged.

Supermax is Australia’s most high security prison and Hamzy is serving a 40 year sentence for murder. He has spent a lot of time dreaming up legal arguments, which he then takes to court and argues himself, with mixed results.

In 2019, he launched an action against Corrective Services, claiming it had no right to drop in on his legal calls or to check if he was speaking ­English. He lost.

MAHALO

He is the mystery and elusive lawyer whose identity has sections of the legal fraternity talking. So who is Aloha Joe?

Three weeks ago, he made an appearance during a busy sitting day where courtroom 3.1 was packed to the rafters inside the Downing Centre District Court.

Longboard Lager. Photo Debrah Novak

Turns out our mystery lawyer was sitting in a bar on Hawaii’s North Shore and managed to pocket dial a video call to the court’s Audio Visual Link. He got himself broadcast on the screen where lawyers and accused people appear when they can’t be present in court.

And his username that appeared on the screen was “Aloha Joe”. No face appeared on the screen. Instead, the court heard Hawaiian music, the sound of three pints of Longboard Lager being ordered and drunk alongside a serving of garlic shrimp.

Judge David Wilson SC told the court, “Could Aloha Joe please turn off their camera.”

THE SILK FACTORY

It’s official, Forbes Chambers is the silk factory when it comes to criminal law.

On Friday the NSW Bar Association announced which of the state’s barristers would be appointed Senior Counsel this year.

Avni Djemal has been appointed a Senior Counsel. Picture: AAP Image/Paul Miller

So they get to put the letters SC after their names. In short, it means they are really good at lawyering and can charge an extra few thousand a day for their services.

So of the 25 appointees this year, five were from Forbes, including Avni Djemal SC whose cases have included the Mick Hawi trial, which ended in 2022. It means of Forbes’ 45 barristers, 18 are SCs.

On the other end of the scale, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions managed to get one barrister appointed, David Scully, SC. We’re told a captain’s pick by DPP Sally Dowling SC was overlooked not for the first time.

ATO STRIKES

Guess which colourful accountant is firmly in the sights of the Australian Taxation Office?

The accountant’s services have been used by some high level Sydney criminals and gangsters for their skill set that allegedly includes tax phoenixing and laundering money. We’ll reveal more in the near future.

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