Finks John Pahoumidis, Lee Martin, Joseph Muratore plead guilty to attack on departing bikie

Kahan Umit thought he had left the Finks Motorcycle Club on “amicable” terms but weeks after his departure, a bikie trio showed him how wrong he had been.

Senior Finks bikie, John Pahoumidis, leaves the County Court with his partner.

Three Finks bikies viciously attacked a former member of the outlaw motorcycle gang and left him to die on a Dandenong nature strip because he quit the club without forking out the $10,000 exit fee.

Senior Finks bikie John Pahoumidis, and fully patched members, Lee Martin and Joseph Muratore, bashed and stabbed Kahan Umit weeks after he believed he had left the gang on “amicable” terms.

The County Court last week heard the trio, who admitted to the attack, cornered their victim in the driveway of a Dandenong factory on March 6, 2022.

After two minutes of intense conversation, Pahoumidis punched Mr Umit to the jaw with his heavily tattooed right fist before landing another left hook punch.

Pahoumidis was supported in court by his partner.

Muratore then picked up a metal stand and threw it at Mr Umit’s head as he attempted to escape his attackers.

The trio gave chase and Muratore performed a “flying kick” to the victim’s torso before he crash tackled him.

Chilling CCTV footage then captured the moment Muratore stabbed Mr Umit several times to the chest with a knife, with Judge Elizabeth Gaynor describing the daylight attack as “nasty” and “repetitive”.

Soon after, Pahoumidis and Muratore crouched over the bleeding man to utter several words to him before they fled.

Mr Umit didn’t pay the Finks exit fee, a court was told. Picture: NewsWire

The court heard Mr Umit underwent emergency surgery to treat a punctured lung, with his injuries – which included spinal and rib fractures – categorised as “life threatening”.

He spent several days in the intensive care unit at The Alfred where he told officers from the bikie-busting Echo Taskforce that he left the Finks Motorcycle Club weeks earlier on “good standing”.

But prosecutor Michael Turner told the court Mr Umit was assaulted due to “alleged outstanding debts” owed to the Finks due to his departure from the club.

During a bail application on March 30 last year, Senior Constable Tamika Butters from the Echo Taskforce said Mr Umit had not paid a $10,000 exit fee.

She also told the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court that Pahoumidis was previously the Victorian sergeant-at-arms of the outlaw gang, but had recently been promoted to a national position.

Pahoumidis and Martin were arrested by Echo Taskforce in 2022. Picture: Supplied

Martin and Pahoumidis were remanded in custody for 457 days before being released on bail in June this year.

Pahoumidis, 33, stood in the dock of the County Court last week wearing designer brands and flaunting his head and hand tattoos.

It was there he pleaded guilty to common law assault and possessing drugs of dependence, including cocaine and methylamphetamine.

Muratore, 32, pleaded guilty to recklessly causing serious injury, appearing via video link from prison.

The court heard Muratore was shown the CCTV footage, which captured him stabbing Mr Umit, during his police interview last year.

“Well, it looks like me, doesn’t it?” he told detectives.

But when asked whether he recalled the incident, he replied: “Nah, I’ve been belted that many times, mate, I’ve got dementia hard. My head is f--ked.”

Pahoumidis will be sentenced next year.

Martin, 48, also pleaded guilty to common law assault because he “intentionally assisted” in the attack.

Mr Turner said Martin and Pahoumidis, who were supported in court by their families, should be sentenced to “roughly” 15 months’ jail for their roles in the attack.

This means they are unlikely to spend any more time behind bars, having served 457 days of pre-sentence detention.

But Muratore is facing a long stint in the slammer, with Judge Gaynor saying 15 months would not be enough to reflect the gravity of his offending.

She warned all three men to consider the consequences for their “perfectly innocent” families and themselves if they do not quit the Finks.

“You have a choice to make,” she said.

Martin and Muratore will be sentenced on September 22.

Pahoumidis will return to court in March for sentencing.