By Erin Pearson
High secrecy surrounded the residential address of crime family figure Jesse Marrogi, 27, in court on Wednesday, with the location written on a scrap of paper and handed between court staff with the utmost care.
“Make sure it’s shredded up,” magistrate Kieran Gilligan said.
Jesse Marrogi (middle) and his mother Madlin Enwiya (left) arriving at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.Credit: Simon Schluter
Last week, Marrogi – the little brother of convicted murderer, drug trafficker and crime family leader George Marrogi – appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court via videolink from an undisclosed location for a hearing, with his lawyer raising concerns about his safety as he remains the only Marrogi sibling in the community.
Even the timing of the subsequent sentencing hearing was withheld from the public. The scheduled time was passed between lawyers and court staff on a handwritten piece of paper out of fear that if it became public knowledge, Marrogi’s safety could be at risk.
On Wednesday though, Marrogi was ordered to appear in court in person after pleading guilty to dealing in proceeds of crime from his brother’s multimillion dollar criminal enterprise.
He arrived to court early, before the crowds, but his attempts to enter the building undetected were thwarted by an emergency fire alarm drill.
Hundreds of people inside the court on Williams Street were ordered to evacuate the building and gather on the nearby stairs for about an hour just after 9am.
Marrogi – wearing a white Prada jumper, diamond stud earring and gold wristwatch – was seen pacing the area and speaking to protective service officers, before standing among a group of uniform police officers, who were also waiting to be let inside.
The hearing resumed at about 10.30am. Marrogi was supported in court by his mother, Madlin Enwiya, and his girlfriend, Sabrine Maghnie, the daughter of slain underworld figure Nabil Maghnie. Nabil Maghnie was gunned down in an unsolved homicide on an Epping roadside in January 2020.
The court heard that as part of his latest offending, Marrogi received $140,000 in dirty money being laundered at the request of George Marrogi between March 2021 and April 2022.
Madlin Enwiya (left), son Jesse Marrogi and late daughter Meshilin Marrogi.
That illegitimate money, the court heard, was being cleaned via a money laundering ring that the pair’s late sister, Meshilin Marrogi, helped arrange for George, who remains in Barwon Prison for murder and drug offences.
The court heard that in 2021, mother Enwiya, 56, and son Jesse began receiving large sums of money into their personal or business bank accounts under the payment descriptions including “salary”, “services” or “instalments”.
The court heard that Enwiya put much of the cash through the pokies, which only increased following the death of her daughter, Meshilin, in September 2021.
Meshilin’s coffin was broken into in July 2023 as part of a revenge plot devised by the Marrogis’ rivals, spurring fears that other family members may now be targeted amid a growing animosity towards the family.
Gilligan ultimately sentenced Jesse Marrogi to seven months in jail, as part of a recognisance release order, and ordered he serve at least four months before being eligible for release.
He was initially taken to the court cells before later being released on bail after lodging an appeal and narrowly avoiding spending Christmas behind bars with his high-profile older brother.
In releasing Jesse Marrogi on appeal bail, Gilligan ordered the 27-year-old surrender any passports, not leave Victoria or attend any places of international departure.
His lawyer, Daniel Georgiou, said that for safety reasons, he asked his client also be able to change addresses at short notice as long as he notified police of his whereabouts, which was granted.
His bail address was also listed on the court file as confidential and the paper containing his address destroyed.
On Wednesday, Jesse Marrogi’s mother and crime family matriarch Madlin Enwiya, 56, also avoided an immediate jail term with a magistrate ordering her three-month jail sentence on a federal charge be wholly suspended after pleading guilty to receiving $77,000.
In sentencing Enwiya, Magistrate Kieran Gilligan noted she had pleaded guilty, had no prior offences and held good prospects of rehabilitation.
He also noted Enwiya fled Iraq in 1990 due to the Gulf War, spending time in a Syrian refugee camp before moving to Australia in 1996 with her oldest two children, where Jesse Marrogi was born. She later became a qualified driving instructor but now runs a candle making business.
Gilligan sentenced Enwiya to three months jail on a recognisance release order but released immediately on the condition she is of good behaviour for next 12 months and pays a $1000 bond.
“I accept your role was passive and you were not the author or instigator of the deposits. I further accept the death of your daughter was devastating for you,” Gilligan said. “I’m confident the court won’t see you back in the next 12 months.”
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