Marrogi guilty over ‘gross’ jailhouse attack

Feared crime figure George Marrogi has pleaded guilty to vicious attack on two prison guards after being told his time was up in the phone room.

George Marrogi has been slapped with a prison sentence.

Feared underworld figure George Marrogi has been slapped with a three-month prison sentence for a “gross” jailhouse assault on two prison officers.

Marrogi, who is already serving at least 32 years behind bars for the execution-style murder of drug dealer Kadir Ors, pleaded guilty to spitting at and kicking two officers in July last year.

Facing a short plea hearing in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, the court heard the gangland heavyweight had refused to leave the prison’s phone room after being told by a guard his time was up.

Marrogi told the guard to “come closer” towards the open trap on the glass security door, waited till the officer bent down, then spat in his face.

A police prosecutor said none of the convicted killer’s spit landed in the guard’s eyes or mouth, but that he was forced to wash his face shortly afterwards.

The following morning on July 21, Marrogi was handcuffed to his prison cell door while officers conducted a routine inspection when he kicked another guard in the stomach.

The quick thinking officer grabbed Marrogi’s leg and was able to stifle any further assaults, the court heard.

George Marrogi pleaded guilty to attacking two prison officers.

The prison officer didn’t require any medical treatment but was in pain for two days, a police prosecutor told the court.

Marrogi at the time refused to be interviewed over either incident, but has since accepted responsibility and wanted to “put the matters behind him”, his lawyer said.

Defence lawyer Daniel Georgiou said that since the incidents, there had been two events “that will weigh on the rest of his life moving forward”.

The first was the death of his younger sister, Meshlin, who died in September last year following complications of Covid.

Marrogi bowed his head as Mr Georgiou told the court he had been unable to attend his little sister’s funeral due to his lengthy incarceration.

Marrogi has been detained in maximum security since 2016 following the murder of Ors, who was gunned down outside a Campbellfield shopping plaza.

It took six years and four Supreme Court trials for a jury to convict Marrogi of the daylight ambush, which saw him fire 13 shots at Ors, seven of which hit him in the back, buttocks and legs as he ran for his life.

Supreme Court Justice Paul Coghlan in April ordered the Middle Eastern Crime figure serve at least 27 years behind bars for the violent and sustained attack on Ors.

Justice Coghlan said the public killing of Ors was “one of the most blatant examples of murders I have seen”.

Mr Georgiou on Tuesday asked the magistrate to consider the principle of totality and Marrogi’s “serious long term legal situation” when sentencing him over the jailhouse assaults.

“The only thing we would submit … is that any jail term be moderated,” Mr Georgiou said.

Magistrate Peter Mellas said he had taken into account Marrogi’s plea of guilty.

“In many cases … prisoners will take the view that well, they’ve got nothing to lose,”

“They will contest and they will delay and they will make it very difficult,”Mr Mellas said.

“You’ve taken a very difficult course today … it means you’ve accepted responsibility for what you did and avoided wider disruption to the prison system,” he said.

Marrogi’s three-month sentence will be served concurrently alongside his three decade stint, meaning he will not serve any further time behind bars.

It comes as the Herald Sun revealed in April the underworld kingpin was likely to soon be charged with conspiring to murder a close associate.

The stunning revelation followed Marrogi being charged with running his drug-trafficking empire from inside jail as a result of a major police sting.

Marrogi is due to face a committal mention for the drug trafficking charges in August.