The Snitch: Why accused gangster’s head was bandaged during arrest

Why was an accused gangster’s head bandaged when he was arrested? Which two legal eagles could be charging a stage after their public blow up? And which sex pest should have got a lawyer? The Snitch is here.

There was a big unanswered question when one high-profile Sydney identity was arrested over the alleged murder of his former friend.

Why was his head covered in bandages?

Heavily-armed police descended on the temporary home of the man, who can legally only be known as AA, at 8.30am on June 27 last year.

They later charged him with orchestrating the assassination of senior Comanchero bikie Alen Moradian.

Later that day, NSW Police released photos and videos of the raid in which the man was led to a paddywagon in a set of blue pyjamas.

Police arrest AA on September 20, 2023, before charging him with murdering Alen Moradian

His face was blurred in the photos that were broadcast across all forms of media.

Despite the blurring, it was obvious that the back of the man’s head was heavily bandaged?

So what happened? Was he injured in the arrest? A pre-existing accident? Bump on the head?

One person Snitch spoke to speculated that the man could have been midway through hair-transplant surgery.

Alen Moradian was murdered last year. Picture: Supplied

One thing is for sure is that it continues a long tradition of police arresting alleged criminal targets at times of the day when they are not looking their best and then releasing the images to the media.

We checked with a senior officer if this was a deliberate technique.

“No, not at all,” the officer said.

“We go in when we go in and we can’t control what they are wearing, or not wearing.”

SALLY V SEAN

Well, this could get awkward.

It was only three days ago that District Court Judge Sean Grant was laying an extra large-sized boot into Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC after she tried to get him kicked off a case and made an official complaint against him to the Judicial Commission.

We now bring you the news they could be sharing a stage together as special guest speakers at a legal conference.

The NSW Bar Association recently released its list of speakers appearing at its 2024 Regional CPD Conference Series. And wouldn’t you know it – Sean and Sally are both on it. The talks are set to occur in multiple locations and it has not been revealed who will be speaking where.

NSW District Court Judge Sean Grant (C)

But the fact the names of both are on the list has brought some sniggering from eagle-eyed members of the legal fraternity.

Judge Grant was the latest judge to launch an attack on Ms Dowling and her prosecuting office in recent times. Last year, Judge Robert Newlinds SC criticised the ODPP for launching sexual-assault cases that were doomed to fail.

In Judge Grant’s case, Ms Dowling lodged a complaint with the Judicial Commission alleging he “might not bring an impartial and unprejudiced mind” to sentencing two 15-year-old boys over a sexual assault. Judge Grant rejected Ms Dowling’s application for him to recuse himself from the case and accused her of “blatant judge shopping”.

BETTER GET A LAWYER

The “hold-my-beer” moment of the week goes to sex-pest rideshare driver Basil Esam Khatib.

He was convicted in the Local Court of sexually touching one of his female passengers who he was driving from Newtown to Freshwater in 2020.

The court heard he would not stop touching the woman’s leg during the journey and then forced part of the cash for the journey between the woman’s legs.

He appealed and was represented by a Senior Counsel and another junior counsel barrister. Despite the lawyers’ training, the former rideshare driver thought he could do a better job and sacked both towards the end of the case.

He then got to work on his own written legal submissions and presented them to the judge the next day. The submissions pointed out all the mistakes he believed his lawyer had made.

Unsurprisingly, Khatib went down in a screaming heap and his appeal was rejected.

Undeterred, he was back again this week. Again self-represented, he asked a three-judge panel to reopen his case and grant him a judicial review. Again, they said no.

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