The Snitch: Lehrmann-Higgins case is impacting gangland murder trial

The failed case where ex-political staffer Brittany Higgins accused colleague Bruce Lehrmann of rape has now impacted a gangland murder trial. Don’t miss The Snitch.

The failed case where ex-political staffer Brittany Higgins accused colleague Bruce Lehrmann of rape has now impacted the trial of two men accused of committing a gangland murder.

The first run of Lehrmann’s trial was aborted thanks to the misconduct of a juror who brought unauthorised material, in the form of a research paper on sexual assaults, into the jury room. Justice Lucy McCallum published a judgment outlining the reasons being her October 27 decision to discharge the jury.

Justice McCallum’s decision has now been used as an arguing point in the NSW Supreme Court that resulted in two accused Sydney gangsters – who can’t legally be named – not having to face a jury over the alleged murder of a man at Redfern in 2013.

The two men are accused of committing the murder alongside one of Australia’s most notorious killers, who will face a separate trial and also can’t legally be identified.

Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Justice Peter Hamill referenced the Lehrmann case and wrote that it was one of “a number of cases show that jurors sometimes disobey clear and repeated directions not to conduct (their) own inquiries”.

Justice Hamill ordered the two men to stand trial in front of a judge alone

SIMPLE TRAP THAT HELPED SNARE MAN ACCUSED OF COVERING UP GANGLAND MURDER

It’s one of the oldest police tricks in the book – but documents tendered in court this week for the case of one of the men accused of being involved in the shooting murder of Western Sydney underworld figure Rami Iskander, outlines the police case that he fell for it hook, line and sinker.

Iskander, 23, is the nephew of murdered organised crime gangster Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad who was shot dead by assassins on his Belmore driveway in the early hours of May 14.

Earlier this month, police charged Lee Paul Lambroglou with helping to cover up the killing and concealing a serious indictable offence for allegedly providing a co-accused with keys to a private underground carpark and allowing a getaway vehicle to be stored.

Rami Iskander was the nephew of Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad. Picture: Supplied

Lambroglou was refused bail in the Downing Centre Local Court where tendered documents were alleged to show the trap police laid for him.

According to the police documents, Lambroglou attended Kogarah Police Station on September 29 where investigators questioned him about Iskander’s murder and what he knew about a blue Hyundai i30 that was used as a getaway car after the shooting.

Lambroglou denied any knowledge of the vehicle, left the meeting and went back to his Oatley home.

Slain gangster Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad. Picture: Supplied

Police had the house bugged with hidden recording devices, which told a different story to what Lambroglou told investigators at the station, the documents said.

Police allege Lambroglou was recorded telling his brother Vincent that he knew about the Hyundai and that he concealed it from police.

He was arrested and charged at the Oatley house on October 8.

Police believe Iskander’s murder was in retribution for the shooting of Comanchero heavyweight Tarek Zahed and the murder of his brother Omar inside an Auburn gym on May 10.

The shooting of the Zahed’s was believed to be in retaliation for Brownie’s murder.

WHAT’S THE RELEVANCE?

There is a high-profile criminal who has been left red-faced courtesy of what was found on their phone after they were arrested.

The crim obviously was not forward-thinking enough to separate their personal dealings with their criminal operations.

So when police seized their phone and downloaded its contents, they ended up with some

pretty racy material.

And making things worse for the criminal, the material was included in the police brief of evidence for their case that was provided to their co-accused, and the prosecution lawyers to be used in their trial.

It turns out the criminal had a penchant for close-up videos of, let’s just say, when they treated their own body like an amusement park.

We’re pretty sure it’s not the main thrust of the case, so what’s the point of it being there? Police and prosecutorial guidelines say that all relevant evidence must be served.

“You see a lot of this stuff for embarrassment purposes,” one legal source said.

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