George Marrogi’s ex-girlfriend Jessica Homa ‘paid an enormous price’ for her choice of partner
Crime boss George Marrogi’s dirty laundry has been aired in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court with details emerging of his secret affairs and his ex-girlfriend’s role in his criminal enterprise.
Police & Courts
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Jailed drug lord George Marrogi used his girlfriend as a “vehicle to make dirty money clean” while carrying on secret affairs with multiple other women, a court has heard.
The convicted murderer’s ex-girlfriend Jessica Homa, 27, pleaded guilty to dealing with cash suspected to be the proceeds of crime in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
“She has paid an enormous price for the choice of partner she made,” defence barrister Mark Gumbleton said.
Ms Homa, who has no prior convictions, was the victim of a controlling relationship while Notorious Crime Family boss Marrogi dated other women at the same time, Dr Gumbleton said.
The Herald Sun previously revealed authorities stripped $47m in assets from the NCF gang as part of a joint Victoria Police-Australian Federal Police crime proceeds pursuit.
The immense portfolio, amassed by Marrogi and Co in just a few years, included 60 Melbourne properties, more than $10m in cash, a $800,000 superyacht and paintings by great Australian artists.
Ms Homa’s charge came after the syndicate Marrogi allegedly retained to launder the proceeds of his criminal empire transferred $100,000 into the bank account of Luxury Wedding and Events Hire in May 2021. Ms Homa was the sole director and secretary of the company.
Separately, the court heard that between January 2020 and November 2021, Ms Homa received $220,000 in salary from Marrogi companies.
But when their relationship ended, she was forced to repay $105,000 to the Marrogi family.
Ms Homa and Antonietta Mannella, Marrogi’s current girlfriend, regularly called each other “babe” in WhatsApp messages in which they discussed how to transfer control of bank accounts between themselves, prosecutor Jessica Mackay said.
Mannella is already in jail after being found guilty of helping Marrogi run his drug empire from behind bars.
In that case, County Court judge Peter Rozen found Mannella had been “manipulated and used” by Marrogi.
Ms Mackay called for a suspended sentence for Ms Homa due to the “real day-to-day knowledge” she had of Marrogi’s criminal empire.
This was dismissed as irrelevant by the defence team, which said the charge related to “one transaction on one day”.
Ms Homa had already suffered a significant financial and emotional loss due to her involvement with Marrogi, Dr Gumbleton told the court.
She had been a person of “extremely good character” throughout her life until the “blemish” of her relationship with the killer, he said.
Urging magistrate Kieran Gilligan to consider the excellent future prospects of Ms Homa now that she was free of the relationship, Dr Gumbleton said she should be spared conviction.
“This young lady could not want this to end any sooner than right now,” he said.
Ms Homa will be sentenced on Wednesday for a crime that carries a maximum 12 months in jail. More than a dozen people face charges over the alleged money laundering syndicate used by Marrogi which was allegedly led by a man called Ahmad Ayad.
The $100,000 that was deposited into the bank account of Luxury Weddings and Events allegedly came from a company called BRB Property Investments after being funnelled through a complex network of other payments.
Antonietta Mannella also appeared in court via video link on Monday along with Marrogi’s mother, Madlin Enwiya.
Both women pleaded guilty to single charges each of dealing with the proceeds of crime and will be sentenced in December.
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