house of mokbel falling down, mokbels trials and tribulations

[cattivo]

Renate Mokbel living with son in jail
Herald Sun
October 3, 2008

Tony Mokbel's sister-in-law is being allowed to live in jail with her young son while she undergoes a sentence for not paying a $1 million surety.

Renate Lisa Mokbel, 38, was jailed for two years by a Supreme Court judge for failing to pay the bounty she put up for her brother-in-law's bail when Mokbel fled overseas in 2006.

She pleaded guilty in the County Court on Monday to two counts of perjury relating to affidavits and evidence she gave about her financial position while in a protracted legal battle to keep the $1 million.

Defence lawyer Sean Grant told the court his client's two eldest children, 16 and 12, were being cared for by their maternal grandmother.

But he revealed Mokbel's youngest child was with her in custody at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Deer Park.

"The authorities have allowed her 4 1/2 year-old son to be in prison with her because of the extreme difficulties that he faced,'' Mr Grant said.

The children's father, Milad Mokbel, is in custody waiting sentence after pleading guilty to trafficking and attempting to traffic a large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine, knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime and blackmail.

During his plea hearing the court was told Renate Mokbel had been allowed to visit with her husband in the high security Acacia unit at Barwon Prison. The couple are also allowed two 12-minute phone calls a week.

Prosecutor Ray Elston, SC, said Mokbel did not disclose in an affidavit -- and to a Supreme Court hearing where she was trying to have the order that she repay the surety revoked -- that she had $336,000 in cash and $185,000 worth of jewellery hidden in her uncle's garden.

She said her major assets and those of family trust JR Mokbel Pty Ltd were properties in Brunswick and Kilmore and two Mercedes.

Mr Elston said she also falsely claimed another man was making monthly loan repayments on the Kilmore property.

"There has been a deliberate attempt to disguise the true nature of assets and financial status of the prisoner on an application made to the Supreme Court to avoid the consequences of an order she underhook to be responsible for,'' he said.

Mr Elston said her offending struck at the heart of the justice system and providing a surety was not a hollow obligation which could be avoided.

Mr Grant said Mokbel had excellent chances of rehabilitation and had led an unblemished life.

"Upon her release from prison this woman essentially will be starting from scratch,'' he said.

A psychologist said Mokbel was moderately depressed, worried about her children and her mother, who has cancer.

Mr Grant argued it could not be proven his client knew anything about the large cash sums buried along with her jewellery because they had been handed over by her husband.

"He was telling her that he was a successful gambler,'' he said.

"As a wife you might turn a blind eye to it.''

Mr Grant asked Judge Tim Wood to partially suspend Mokbel's sentence and not impact on her current release date of March next year.

Prison rules say inmates with children of preschool age can apply to have their children with them in jail.

A spokeswoman for Corrections Victoria said the Mother and Child Program at Victoria's prisons provided the opportunity for bonding between the mother and child and also gave the mother an opportunity to commit to rehabilitation.

"It has been running successfully in Victorian prisons for more than 20 years and the primary concern is always with the best interest of the child,'' the spokeswoman said.

Renate Mokbel appeared in court earlier this week but a suppression order prohibited publication of details of the hearing until the end of a trial for her brother-in-law Horty Mokbel.

Renate Mokbel living with son in jail


IN THE 90,S AND EARLY 2000,S MOKBEL WAS AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME WHAT HAPPENED

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[cattivo]

Horty Mokbel found not guilty on drug trafficking charges
October 3, 2008

Horty Mokbel, 44 of Preston, was accused of trafficking a large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

A Supreme Court jury today returned a not guilty verdict on the charges against Mr Mokbel.

Co-accused Toreq Bayeh, 37, of Altona North, was guilty of trafficking in a drug of dependence and possession of equipment relating to trafficking of a drug of dependence.

But the jury found him not guilty on charges of trafficking commercial quantity of drug of dependence.

Bayeh had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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[cattivo]

Tony Mokbel's brother Horty denied bail in MelbourneBy Elissa Hunt
October 21, 2008 12:01am

TONY Mokbel's older brother has been refused bail amid fears for the life of a key witness against him, the Herald Sun reports.

Horty Mokbel, 45, is accused of being part of a drug operation worth up to $14 million, and of more than $2.2 million in bank frauds.

Magistrate Amanda Chambers said yesterday claims that Mr Mokbel had put a $100,000 contract on the life of the man who allegedly supplied him with drug-making chemicals made him too great a risk for bail.

"In my view there is an unacceptable risk that if the applicant is released from custody the safety of witnesses, particularly a key witness, will be jeopardised," she said.

Sen-Det Angela Hantsis from the Purana Taskforce gave evidence during last week's hearing that two reliable sources, including an associate of Mr Mokbel, claimed he had put a $100,000 contract on the key informer's life.

She also alleged the Mokbels had $5 buried in backyards for every dollar seized by investigators - and believed Mr Mokbel could use the same resources his brother did to flee.

Ms Chambers said she was also concerned Mr Mokbel could reoffend if released as he was aware his family were being watched closely but allegedly continued to source drug-making chemicals.

Melbourne Magistrates' Court earlier heard that Mr Mokbel - who allegedly has millions in shares and property currently frozen by court orders - had been offered a job as a kitchen hand in a city restaurant if freed.

Ms Chambers said an expected delay of two years before trial made Mr Mokbel's case exceptional enough to warrant bail.

But the possibility of him reoffending or interfering with witnesses made him an unacceptable risk, the magistrate concluded.

Mr Mokbel was remanded in custody on charges of trafficking methylamphetamines, possessing articles to manufacture drugs, pre-trafficking precursor chemicals and obtaining financial advantage by deception.

[adrian]

Are there any Mokbel's not in prison at the moment?

[Hollander]

Tony Mokbel to face trial for murder of Michael Ronald Marshal
Chip Le Grand | December 06, 2008
Article from: The Australian

TONY Mokbel has been committed to stand trial for murder - one of nine state and federal court cases against the alleged drug boss expected to occupy the courts for at least the next two years.

Mokbel yesterday pleaded not guilty to the 2003 murder of Michael Ronald Marshall, a 43-year-old drug dealer and hotdog vendor gunned down in front of his five-year-old son, Beau, at the height of Melbourne's gangland wars.

Although three men, including gangland triple murderer Carl Williams, have already been convicted for their part in the Marshall hit, police believe it was Mokbel who commissioned and paid for the murder.

According to police, the motive for the crime was Mokbel's belief that Marshall was responsible for the earlier shooting of Willie Thompson, a friend of Mokbel since their school days.

The irony of the case, as revealed in the witness statement of the convicted trigger man in the Marshall hit, was that it was actually Carl Williams, unbeknown to Mokbel, who arranged for Thompson to be killed. "Tony was upset and angry about Thompson's death," the statement read.

"He made clear that he wanted to exact revenge on whoever was responsible.

"I was surprised because I knew that Carl was behind Thompson's murder but it appeared that Tony had no idea of that."

Police allege Mokbel commissioned the murder in a series of meetings in the car park of a Red Rooster restaurant in Brunswick, with Williams, his father George and the trigger man, whose name was suppressed at yesterday's hearing. Mokbel allegedly agreed to pay $300,000 for the hit, of which $200,000 was supposed to go to the trigger man and $100,000 to Williams. According to the trigger man, he received only $51,500 of his promised money and lost most of it gambling.

Police also allege that Mokbel supplied the murder weapon, a .357-calibre Magnum revolver that was emptied into Marshall's body and head at point-blank range outside his South Yarra house.

The police case is that most of the dealings with Mokbel were handled by Williams. Williams and the trigger man, both fans of the punt, communicated largely in a code of horse-racing jargon.

Because the killers were under surveillance at the time of the murder, police actually listened to Marshall being killed but could do nothing to stop it.

When the trigger man contacted Williams to let him know Marshall was dead, he reported: "You know that horse that you and George tipped me for; it got scratched."

Mr Mokbel was ordered to appear in the Victorian Supreme Court on December 18 for a directions hearing.

[cattivo]

Milad Mokbel sentenced to 11 years jail for drug offences





December 17, 2008 12:55pm

MILAD Mokbel, the younger brother of Tony Mokbel, has been sentenced to jail for drug trafficking offences and blackmail.

Milad Mokbel, 40, will spend at least eight years in jail after pleading guilty to trafficking and attempting to traffic a large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine, and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime and blackmail.

Justice Elizabeth Curtain sentenced Mokbel to 11 years jail, to serve a minimum of eight years. He has already served two years and eight months.

Justice Curtain said she accepted that Milad Mokbel's children have been left without the care of either parent but she did not believe that they were exceptional circumstances enough to warrant the exercise of mercy.

The court heard Mokbel has been diagnosed with and adjustment disorder by reason of the arduous circumstance under which he was held on remand.

Tapes of Mokbel's conversations with a drug cook revealed that he was not a naïve participant in the trafficking of a drug of dependence but rather a willing, eager and knowledgeable purchaser, Justice Curtain said.

During his trial the Supreme Court heard that in April 2006 Milad Mokbel arranged to buy five pounds (2.27kg) of methylamphetamine for $37,500 a pound.

He later took delivery of a package of white powder police had made to resemble methylamphetamine at his Brunswick home and he was arrested in his driveway.

[adrian]

All the Mokbel brothers (plus one Mokbel wife) are currently locked up. I reckon it's hilarious

[cattivo]

yes they have defintely been doing it tough the last few years

[cattivo]

Tony Mokbel's lawyers say publicity will prevent fair trial
Article from: AAP


AAP

December 18, 2008 04:10pm

LAWYERS for Tony Mokbel will argue that publicity surrounding the accused murderer will prevent him getting a fair trial.

Mokbel appeared via videolink in the Victorian Supreme Court today as the crown filed a murder charge against him for the slaying of Michael Marshall.

Mokbel has denied taking part in a plot to kill the hotdog salesman in 2003 and also faces the prospect of up to eight further trials on drugs and other charges.

Prosecutor Geoffrey Horgan SC told the preliminary hearing that Mokbel's lawyers would raise issues about his extradition from Greece and whether he would be tried fairly, given publicity about his cases.

"They'll be issues in every trial that will be heard,'' he said.

The court also heard the former fugitive is in dispute with Victorian Legal Aid.

Mokbel was granted taxpayer-funded legal aid in October in his fight against his murder and other charges.

His case will return to court in February where dates will be set to hear the charges against him.

Mokbel fled Australia in 2006 but was extradited from Greece in May this year.
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EXCLUSIVE: THE Mokbel family matriarch - mother to Tony and his three jailed brothers - has spoken for the first time about her heartbreak over her sons' plight.

The ageing widow and grandmother wept as she claimed not to know what went wrong with her sons and insisted they were good men.

Dressed in black to mourn for their downfall, Laura Mokbel launched a tirade at police, whom she accused of lacking a conscience, for targeting her kin.

Speaking from the veranda of her home in Melbourne's north, a big speedboat in the front yard, Mrs Mokbel claimed Tony Mokbel was no killer and had earned his millions honestly.

Her four adult sons have spent Christmas behind bars in various Victorian prisons for several alleged crimes, mainly relating to amphetamines.

"To tell you the truth, if you ask me, I'm burnt out and heartbroken. What can I tell you?" Mrs Mokbel said.

"I don't feel up to seeing anyone. I don't go anywhere."

Speaking in a Lebanese dialect through an interpreter, she broke a decades-long silence to tell the Sunday Herald Sun she had always felt her boys could do no wrong.

"Since they were young, if anybody can say one bad word about my children they would be liars and I would feel like spitting on them," she said making a spitting gesture.

And she said "of course" she still felt that way now.

"Every time I speak to them they keep asking me, 'Mum are you all right? Are you sick? Is anything wrong?'," she said.

"I swear on the life of my children, I promise, none of them has ever said to me, 'Shut up'."

She made the sign of the cross as she spoke of her four boys.

She allegedly once had $10,000 sent to her by Tony Mokbel while he was on the run abroad, a court heard.

When police once raided the family home where she lives, they allegedly found one of her sons in possession of a stolen shotgun and a fake ID.

Asked what went wrong with her sons, she cited a sarcastic Lebanese saying which roughly translates to: "The pure people are many."

"I don't know what happened. I don't really know what went wrong," she said.

"The community can blame me for anything if they like, but I haven't killed anyone."

Mrs Mokbel attributed her family's extensive trouble with the law to victimisation by the authorities.

"The police are against them. They love to hurt them. They are intentionally against them to harm them, to lock them up in jail," she said.

"I have no idea why, but it might be because they (my sons) are more powerful than them."

She said her second youngest son, Antonios "Fat Tony" Mokbel, was no murderer and made his millions from real estate and horse gambling.

"This one feeds others. He does not kill," she said.

"Tony used to put deposits on houses that were for sale and then rent them out and let it pay for itself.

"If you have five (thousand dollars) he would put ten out of his own pocket. If you gave him a (horse racing) tip, he would put on hundreds."

Mrs Mokbel rebuked the authorities who pursued her sons and arrested son Milad Mokbel's wife, Renate, when Tony Mokbel fled breaking his bail.

"At different times (the authorities) say different things," she said.

"Swear on the life of your own children, do you think these people have any conscience?

"If they had any conscience would they take a woman from her home and leave (a teenage girl) there?"

It is believed she was speaking about Milad and Renate Mokbel's then 14-year-old daughter.

"They should have asked, 'Where is your grandfather, your grandmother, your neighbours to take care of you?' while the woman was taken away," she said.

"They just gave her a phone number and said, 'Call if any problems'."

Mrs Mokbel still talks to her sons on the phone, but no longer makes the journey to visit her boys in jail.

"They won't let me see them together, but (only) individually and my legs are painful," she said.

She said her sons were well liked in their old stomping grounds and in jail.

"Ask all the people in the neighbourhood about my sons' reputations, different nationalities -- including Greeks, all talk well of them," she said.

"My sons are very much liked by the prison guards. The guards tell me we have never seen anybody as good as your children here. The prison guards are very pleased with all of them."

Mrs Mokbel's children are:

ANTONIOS, "Fat Tony", 43, who was caught in Greece after fleeing a cocaine trial and faces eight committal hearings in the New Year over alleged drug crimes and the gangland murders of Lewis Moran and Michael Marshall.

HORTY, 45, who has three children and is in Port Phillip Prison awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges.

MILAD, 40, who is also in Port Phillip, facing drug charges.

KABALAN, 47, who is in Loddon Jail near Castlemaine, with a hearing on drug charges pending.

AND a daughter who works in the food industry.

Milad Mokbel's wife, Renate, is behind bars for perjury and failing to pay the $1 million surety when Tony Mokbel fled on bail in 2006.

Horty Mokbel's wife, Zaharoula, is free on bail, but awaiting trial on fraud charges.

Born in Lebanon, Mrs Mokbel and her husband moved their family to Melbourne from Kuwait decades ago.

Her husband died about six years after arriving and, except for a couple of months, she has lived in one family home.

Now, the stout, but frail woman sits surveying the street from her front veranda, while the rowdy noise of grandchildren echoes inside.

Relatives come and go and friendly neighbours wave to the woman who still has the look of a rural villager.

Mrs Mokbel has a tough face, dark eyes, ruddy cheeks and the mourning dress of black cardigan, black headscarf and long black frock.

She said she did not regret moving her family to Australia, despite the turn of events that followed.

"That's what happened. That is God's will," she said.

Other members of the family believe the negative publicity of their surname means no Mokbel can get a fair trial.

While many Mokbel assets have been frozen or sold by police, property records show the family home is still owned by a Lorde Mokbel

[adrian]

That's the thing about most mothers isn't it........they never can admit their sons can be less than perfect sons

[irishboy39]

it couldn't have happened to a nicer family