The Snitch: Tactic underworld crime figures use to hide their kills

The Snitch: A sly tactic used by Sydney’s underworld crime figures that has been linked to several Sydney murders, including Comanchero boss Mick Hawi’s, has been revealed.

We’ve been made aware of a tactic employed by underworld figures that has been linked to several Sydney murders in recent years and years gone by.

It doesn’t have an official name that we’re aware of so we’ll give it one: The false flag murder.

The definition of a false flag is an act that is committed with the intent of blaming an innocent party.

And we’re told that sections of the Sydney underworld have incorporated it into murders for years. In simple terms it goes like this: If a crime figure decides they want to murder someone, they just wait until someone else has a dispute with the target — or a motive to kill them — before moving in to have them knocked off.

Comanchero president Mick Hawi was executed in 2018.

That way, the other person gets the blame. The theory has emerged in several cases in recent years.

One involved the men charged with murdering former Comanchero bikie boss Mick Hawi. In that case, a firm motive was never provided for Hawi’s death and the two men were both acquitted.

In the early stages of the investigation, a developer became a person of interest because Hawi had been standing over him for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hence, he had a motive to kill Hawi.

However, that line of inquiry fell away and the developer was never charged.

It was suggested by some sources that the actual people who had Hawi murdered knew of the dispute and used it to cover their own actions in ordering his execution.

The theory also was spoken about in the unsolved murder of Western Sydney hit man Hamad Assad. Assad was believed to have been the killer of Sydney drug boss Wally Ahmad at Bankstown Shopping Centre in 2016 but was then murdered himself.

Police thought one of Ahmads’ associates might have been responsible for Assad’s killing but it was later actually believed be someone else. When Kings Cross figure Danny Karam was murdered in the 1990s a theory emerged that his killers targeted another man with intent of making it look like they were trying to avenge Karam’s death.

“There are some patient criminals in this town,” one source said.

“They will wait years.”

SPLIT IN HIGH PROFILE TEAM OF LEGAL EAGLES

A criminal law duo behind some of Sydney’s most high-profile cases has parted ways.

Korn MacDougall Legal will be dissolved by the end of March with the firm’s partners, Warwick Korn and Lauren MacDougall, deciding to call time on the eight-year business relationship.

Lawyer Lauren MacDougall (left) with Margaret Cunneen. Picture: AAP/Joel Carrett

Contacted on Saturday, Ms MacDougall confirmed the firm was closing and her and Korn remained good mates.

“We shared some great achievements together and got each other through the occasional lows that inevitably come when you work in criminal law, where there is an enormous amount of pressure,” she said.

“It was the right time to do something new. Carly and I plan on following in the footsteps of some of the great leading women in criminal law.”

Mr Korn is understood to be eyeing off the start of his own firm and said on Saturday he was “very excited about our respective future plans”.

Mr Korn represented Chinese movie star Yuxiang Gao, who was acquitted last year of sexual assault.

The Chase host Andrew O'Keefe is being represented in court by lawyer Claudette Chua.

TWO CASES FOR SEVEN STARS

Sydney lawyer Claudette Chua appears to be on the Roladex for someone at Channel 7. She appeared in Waverley Local Court this week for the station’s embattled star Andrew O’Keefe.

It is not the first time she has appeared for a Channel 7 star. Last year she appeared in court for ex-Daily Edition host Ryan Phelan who had an assault charge dropped in relation to his former partner ballet teacher Chelsea Franklin.

We attempted to confirm what the connection is but Ms Chua could not be reached on Saturday.