Sydney underworld figure John Jamie Tozer sentenced for overdose death of ex-Rebels bikie Ricky Ciano

A Sydney underworld figure has faced the music for his role in the death of close friend and Gold Coast ex-Rebel’s bikie Ricky Ciano after he sourced a lethal cocktail of drugs.

Ricky Ciano (pictured) was killed after he was injected with a lethal concoction of heroin and cocaine, known as a “speedball” or “hotshot”, at an Oberon property in 2017.

A Sydney underworld figure has learned his fate for his role in the overdose death of former Rebels bikie Ricky Ciano.

Mr Ciano, from the Gold Coast, died from a deadly concoction of cocaine and heroin, known colloquially as a “speedball” or “hotshot”.

His body was found in his dumped BMW at a remote western NSW property on February 14 2017, a day after his family reported him missing.

John Jamie Tozer – a close friend of Mr Ciano – and his half-brother Daniel Bushell were both charged with Mr Ciano’s murder and pleaded not guilty.

Tozer was due to stand trial in February, but made an 11th hour plea deal and pleaded guilty to manslaughter, with prosecutors dropping the murder charge.

Ricky Ciano, 35, (pictured) joined the Rebels bikie gang in 2001 and left in 2015, taking with him several close friends including John Tozer.

Tozer admitted he was the one who sourced the cocaine and heroin, while Bushell had injected Mr Ciano with it.

He faced the NSW Supreme Court on April 24 where Justice Richard Weinstein gave Tozer a head sentence of five years and six months in prison.

Judgement documents state Mr Ciano and Tozer planned to set up a drug lab together in Oberon, where Mr Ciano later died by an overdose from drugs sourced by Tozer. Picture: NSW Police

The sentence was backdated to December, 2023, due to time already served with Tozer eligible for parole in September, 2026.

Judgement documents state Mr Ciano was injected with the deadly “hotshot” at a property in Oberon, west of the Blue Mountains, where he, Tozer and Bushell had arranged to meet to cook drugs.

The documents state it was not proved that Mr Ciano did not want to be injected with the drugs, but that he was a known abuser of opioids.

Bushell was also sentenced on April 24 after having his previous manslaughter conviction, which came after he was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter during a trial, quashed on appeal.

Ricky Ciano’s body was found in his dumped BMW on Duckmaloi Rd, Duckmaloi, on Valentine’s Day, 2017, after his family reported him missing.

A retrial was ordered on the manslaughter charge and soon after Bushell pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

He earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of supplying a large commercial quantity of drugs and manufacturing a large commercial quantity of drugs.

He was given a head sentence of 12 years behind bars with a non-parole period of eight years.

The sentence was backdated to April 28, 2017, with Bushell eligible for parole from April 27, 2025.

Originally published as Sydney underworld figure John Jamie Tozer sentenced for overdose death of ex-Rebels bikie Ricky Ciano