Gangster Bilal Hamze shared last meal with sex worker before alleged murder
Hamze, 34, was shot three times when a gunman unleashed 10 bullets from a passing sports car on Bridge St about 10.20pm on June 17, 2021.
A jury has heard his final meal was shared with a female sex worker, who cannot be identified, after the duo arranged to meet up at Kid Kyoto in nearby Bridge Lane.
Samuel John Rokomaqisa is on trial in the NSW Supreme Court over the murder and an alleged separate plot to kill Bilal's younger brother Ibrahem Hamze.
He is also charged over an alleged carjacking that took place during a car chase through North Sydney after police interrupted surveillance of Ibrahem's apartment block on August 14, 2021.
The 35-year-old, who the jury has heard is an alleged associate of the Hamzes' rival clan the Alameddines, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Crown prosecutor Katrina Ratcliffe began outlining the evidence the jury could expect to hear in the estimated eight-week trial on Monday, telling them Bilal Hamze was killed during a feud between the two organised crime networks (OCN).
She said the 'retaliatory' shooting followed an attack on Alameddine OCN member Asaad Alahmad on June 7, 2021, which he survived.
In the early hours of June 8, three alleged Alameddine figures Masood Zakaria, Murat Gulasi and John Ray Bayssari were captured meeting at Mr Zakaria's Greystanes home.
Ms Ratcliffe said they spoke about the shooting of Mr Alahmad, how it affected the OCN, who they believed was responsible and that there would be 'retaliation against Ghassan Amoun and Ibrahem Hamze'.
The court heard Amoun, also known as Ghassan Hamzy, was Bilal and Ibrahem's first cousin and a senior member of the Hamzy OCN. He has since died, the jury heard.
Gulasi was allegedly heard on a surveillance device saying 'they'll get shot. Tell Raf (that) Ibby needs to go'. Ms Ratcliffe told the jury that 'Ibby' allegedly referred to Ibrahem Hamze.
Meanwhile, the court heard, Bilal Hamze had moved into an apartment in Haymarket with his wife in April 2021 'in order to avoid attempts on his life'.
There had previously been several public place shootings and deaths linked to the ongoing Hamzy-Alameddine feud, Ms Ratcliffe said.
Bilal and the sex worker met for dinner on June 17.
Outside, witnesses reported seeing a black Audi 'circling' the restaurant and surrounding streets as the duo ate.
The court heard Mr Rokomaqisa 'was associated with the Alameddine network' and allegedly made admissions to this on intercepted phone calls and recording devices.
In one conversation he called a man with the last name Alameddine 'uncle', and remarked 18 of 'our boys' had been arrested after news reports of a police sting targeting the OCN.
The jury heard one person, Witness A, was expected to give evidence that Mr Rokomaqisa showed him a news story of Bilal Hamze's murder and said he 'did the job' as the driver.
He also stands accused of being in a Mercedes that was allegedly conducting surveillance of Ibrahem Hamze's unit on August 14, 2021, alongside another unknown man.
The jury heard the car was parked in a no stopping zone, attracting the interest of passing police and a pursuit ensued.
'The car sustained a flat tyre, the two males then performed a carjacking,' Ms Ratcliffe said.
DNA profiles matching Mr Rokomaqisa's were allegedly found in the abandoned Mercedes, the Toyota Camry that was allegedly carjacked at gunpoint and a second Mercedes used as another getaway car.
The second Mercedes was later seized and data downloaded from its computer allegedly showed it had been stored at a home linked to Mr Rokomaqisa for several days in late August 2021.
He has denied in police interviews any involvement in the incidents and rejected having links to the Alameddines, the jury was told.
Mr Rokomaqisa's barrister George Thomas is yet to give his opening remarks to the jury.
The trial before Acting Justice Robert Hulme continues.
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