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News.com.au
2 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Inside the rise and fall of notorious ex-politician Salim Mehajer
In October 2024, Salim Mehajer stood in the dock of a Sydney court and was told by a judge that if could 'return to using his abilities for good rather than ill, he will have a successful life.' That's about to be tested after the notorious former developer and politician on Friday walked out of a Sydney jail on parole after nearly five years behind bars. Mehajer shot to prominence in 2015 when his showy wedding - which reportedly cost $1.4m and featured a fleet of luxury cars, helicopters and a fighter jet - blocked off a Lidcombe street. Since then he's been plagued by a seemingly never-ending series of legal battles and court appearances. But after serving back-to-back jail sentences for multiple criminal offences, Mehajer has been released on parole. He walked out of the John Morony Correctional Centre on Friday, into a waiting hire car, which whisked him off to continue his new life. THE WEDDING It was described as Australia's 'best' and 'most expensive' wedding and made Mehajer a minor celebrity. Mehajer's lavish wedding to his then wife Aysha made headlines across the country. He arrived in one of four helicopters, drummers lined the streets, flanked by dozens of luxury sports cars and a procession of motorbikes. Mehajer also hired a seaplane, a jet and a small film crew to capture the whole affair. But it angered locals by shutting down a Lidcombe street and posting flyers to residents falsely claiming that their car would be towed. It also brought him into conflict with the Auburn council, where he was deputy mayor, and he was fined $220 for shutting down the street down without council permission. THE FIRST JAILING In June 2018, Mehajer was jailed after he was convicted of electoral fraud relating to his 2012 run for the Auburn council. Mehajer and his sister attempted to register voters in his ward despite the people living outside the electorate boundaries. Magistrate Beverley Schurr at the time described his offences as striking 'at the heart of the democratic electoral system.' His sister, Fatima Mehajer, pleaded guilty to 77 counts of giving false or misleading information to a Commonwealth entity. She was given a two-month suspended jail sentence. Mehajer was convicted of 51 counts of using a forged document to dishonestly influence and 26 counts of giving false or misleading information to a Commonwealth entity, and sentenced to a maximum of 21 months in prison. He was released after serving 11 months. But it would not be the last time he was in jail. 'ONLY GOD CAN BANKRUPT ME' In 2018, Mehajer posted a Snapchat from prison: 'Only God can bankrupt me!'. But in March that year a Federal Court judge declared him bankrupt and he was found to have owed creditors about $25m, including $8.6 million to the Australian Taxation Office. In October 2017, a District Court judge found Mehajer had failed to pay nearly $600,000 to Prime Marble & Granite for the construction of a marble staircase and other stonework inside his Lidcombe mansion. 'The plaintiff constructed a marble palace in accordance with the defendant's instructions, the exquisiteness of which is not in dispute,' District Court judge Judith Gibson said at the time. The opulent stonework famously once featured in a video by rapper Bow Wow. Mehajer was ordered by Judge Gibson to pay the company $668,276, as well as the construction company's legal costs. The petition to bankrupt Mehajer was supported by Prime Marble & Granite. Last year, Mehajer's Lidcombe mansion was sold off for $3.85m at auction after it was repossessed by the National Australia Bank. The Federal Court had earlier rejected Mehajer's application for an injunction to block the NAB from selling two of his properties. THE RETURN TO JAIL In November 2020, Mehajer was back behind bars after being found guilty for lying to a court. He was convicted of two counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of making a false statement under oath following a judge-alone trial in the District Court. The case centred on his lies in affidavits and under cross-examination which he used to secure relaxed bail conditions. He had claimed he needed a curfew lifted to fulfil his job as a building manager at a development site. But, the court heard, he never held the position. He was found guilty by Judge Peter Zahra and jailed for a maximum of three-and-a-half-years. VEXATIOUS LITIGANT From a prison cell, Mehajer suffered a massive blow in 2022 when he was effectively blocked from launching legal action in NSW when he was declared a 'vexatious litigant' by the NSW Supreme Court. It means that Mehajer is prohibited from bringing any new proceedings in NSW unless granted prior leave by the court. It came about after his attempt to sue former business partners for an eye-watering $52m backfired. He attempted to sue 17 former business partners relating to a failed development project at Lidcombe. He sought damages of $52m however he later accepted that the statement of claim could not be maintained. The court found that Mehajer had launched over 10 lawsuits in the preceding years which were 'initiated without reasonable grounds' or meant to 'harass' or 'annoy' the defendants. THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OFFENCES Mid last year, Mehajer was found guilty in separate trials for unrelated fraud and domestic violence matters. In a decision handed down earlier this year by District Court Judge James Bennett, Mehajer was sentenced to a maximum of seven years and nine months in jail. He was found guilty by a jury in May last year - following a trial in which he represented himself - of six charges comprising multiple counts of assault, one count of intimidation and one count of suffocating. He was found guilty of assaulting the woman by punching her in the head during an argument in his car, squeezing her hand and crushing her phone that she was holding, suffocating her by putting his hand over her nose and mouth until she passed out. 'He just kept pressing his hand over my nose and mouth so that I couldn't scream and I couldn't breathe, and he was telling me that he could easily kill me, he could keep beating me until I wouldn't wake up,' the woman said during her evidence. He was also found guilty of threatening to kill the woman's mother. 'He began telling me in detail that if I ever went to the police he would come for me and then he said, 'no, no, I'll come for your mother first',' the woman said during the trial. 'He told me that's what gangsters do. They don't kill the person they want first, they kill their family and make them watch.' The court was told that he threatened to 'put a bullet through her mother's head'. The following month, he was found guilty by a jury of two counts each of making a false document and using a false document. He was found to have created false documents by forging the signatures of his solicitor, Zali Burrows, and his sister. He was sentenced concurrently for both the fraud and domestic violence offences. He is due to appear in the Court of Criminal Appeal next week to appeal against his domestic violence offences. A CAR CRASH Last year, Mehajer once again appeared in court to be sentenced after pleading guilty to his role in a bizarre staged car crash in an attempt to duck a court appearance. Mehajer entered guilty pleas to 22 charges including perverting the course of justice, making a false representation resulting in a police investigation, making a false call for an ambulance and negligent driving. He admitted to staging the car accident in Sydney's west in October 2017, with the court hearing that Mehajer orchestrated the incident in a bid to delay his court appearance for an unrelated criminal matter. Television crews at the scene of the crash at a Lidcombe intersection captured Mehajer being stretchered into an ambulance with his neck in a brace. Mehajer also pleaded guilty to dealing with identity information to commit an indictable offence relating to him falsely nominating other people as the drivers involved in traffic infringements. He was sentenced by Judge Warwick Hunt to a maximum of two years for the offences, with a non-parole period of 16 months. However his non-parole period for the fraud and domestic violence matters did not expire until Friday, when he was released. Judge Hunt told him at the time: 'If he can return to using his abilities for good rather than ill, he will have a successful life.' Mehajer was last month granted parole by the State Parole Authority. In an SPA hearing earlier this year, the Commissioner of Corrective Services opposed his release, citing a risk of reoffending, his lack of attitudinal change and Mehajer's continued denial of some of his crimes. This is despite a Community Corrections pre-release report recommending that Mehajer be released on conditional parole. The State Parole Authority board determined his rehabilitation was best served in the community where he will be under the watch of a psychologist and community corrections officers. He will have to abide by a stringent list of conditions including not contacting Outlaw Motorcycle Gang members or associates, as well as having to undergo drug and alcohol testing.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Shock as lavish wedding venue goes up in flames while blissfully unaware newlyweds enjoy their first dance
A dream wedding in Sydney took a dramatic turn after indoor fireworks ignited a fire, triggering the sprinkler system and drenching the well-groomed guests. The incident unfolded at Renaissance Weddings and Events in Lidcombe on Sunday, where newlyweds Matthew and Teresa were celebrating their special day. In a video shared to social media, the couple was seen making a joyful entrance to their wedding reception, greeted by cheering loved ones as a live band played. But the fun quickly descended into chaos, as indoor fireworks and pyrotechnics erupted near a floral archway and lit the pricey blooms on fire. Blissfully unaware of the growing flames behind them, the couple and guests continued celebrating with the fire burning in the background. In a video capturing the aftermath of the blaze, large puddles could be seen on the dancefloor after water rained down from an overhead sprinkler system. The bride, still clutching her bouquet, could be seen taking in the chaos surrounding her as the camera panned to soaked tables, chairs and well-groomed guests. The footage drew a mixed reaction on social media, with some questioning the safety of indoor fireworks, while others were more sympathetic. 'Why do people insist on indoor fireworks at weddings?' one wrote. One attendee praised the quick-thinking staff who soaked up all the puddles. 'The manager did the best job anyone can ever imagine. He handled everything in a professional and good way to make the event continue,' they said. 'The event ended up turning awesome the venue got cleaned up quickly and the party continued. They ate and danced all night.' Others applauded the dedication of the musicians who continued to perform unfazed while the blaze was growing. 'Love how the drummers played like when the Titanic was sinking and the violinists still played,' one person wrote. In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Fire Rescue NSW confirmed they attended the site, but reset the fire alarm and no further action was taken. In 2013, Renaissance Weddings and Events was accused by its local council of flouting fire safety regulations by using indoor fireworks. The Lidcombe venue was noted to have flouted fire regulations by a local council in 2013 A council report included warnings from police that live fireworks were being used inside the venue, which were not part of previous interim occupation certification. 'The potential risk to council in the event of a serious incident occurring at the subject premises is significant,' the report stated. Two years later, a wild brawl outside the wedding venue led to the arrests of four people after tensions between two groups erupted into violence. A 33-year-old man and a 23-year-old man were arrested and charged with affray and resisting arrest. A 20-year-old woman was fined for offensive language after allegedly abusing police, while a 24-year-old man was arrested for ignoring move-on orders.
The Guardian
05-07-2025
- General
- The Guardian
‘Ephraim will know': the man who buried 10,000 people has lessons on empathy, loss and the majesty of memory
It's a cool summer morning in the last days of 1959 and a teenager is riding his bike through Sydney's Rookwood cemetery. As he glides across the grounds, he notices the signs of dawn. The dew is melting off the grass. A fox leaps behind a bunya pine, and as if out of nowhere, a few of its cubs follow. The soil is firm beneath his tyres, and he can smell it warming, roused by the sun after a night of slumber. Riding his Malvern Star, he is carefree. But Geoffrey William Finch, this lanky not-quite-man on his way to his carpentry job, is also careful. As he traverses the grounds, he sees the sun come up behind the headstones. Then he rounds a corner and sees the very same sun shining on an east-facing row, blazing into the engraved names of the dead. This morning, as every weekday morning, he could circumvent the cemetery, ride along the waking bustle of Lidcombe. Instead, he lets himself in through the pedestrian gate and cuts across the field of headstones. He chooses this route because he likes the quiet. This is the interlude in which he works out his world, considers the day to come. 'And the whole time I am talking,' he tells me, some six decades later, sitting at his broad dining table in Melbourne. 'Who are you talking to, Ephraim?' I ask, because now this boy is an elderly man with a different name, a different religion, a life that he could have scarcely predicted riding through Rookwood on those dewy mornings. Ephraim and I are sitting in his front room and the sun is pouring into the space between us. He is telling me stories. I notice that he prefers discussing his work to discussing himself. He wants to revisit his 30 years as director of a burial society – the people he comforted and held; those he ritually washed, wrapped and prayed for. But today I press him on those early years. I want to learn the soil of this man before I can describe its trees, the fruits it has borne. 'Who are you talking to, riding through Rookwood?' I repeat, lightly, as Ephraim closes his eyes, slipping into a temporal estuary. 'I am talking to God,' he says eventually, his hands resting on the table in front of him, a boyish smile now playing on his bearded face. That Ephraim says such a lofty thing without an ounce of grandiosity, without pushing or preaching, foreshadows what I will learn about this man. This man, at once deeply religious and utterly irreverent, softly spoken but defiant, is as prone to crying as to smiling. This man, whose work deals with the body as much as the spirit, dwells easefully at their intersections. This ageing Orthodox Jew with a broad Aussie accent, this voracious archivist and beloved community figure, this working-class butcher's son who felt pulled to the Torah, is, himself, many beautiful intersections. The notion of writing Ephraim's life has been in the ether for many years. If you were a member of Melbourne's Jewish community from the mid-1980s to 2015 you would – for better or worse – have had something to do with Ephraim Finch. Having buried over 10,000 individuals, Ephraim is – physically, emotionally, culturally and spiritually – linked to a great many lives in this unique pocket of the world. Not long ago, someone interviewed Ephraim with a view to writing his biography. But for one reason or another, a book did not eventuate. And so the idea made its way to my desk. A week after the publisher approached me, I was shown Ephraim's journal. I was struck by the language he used to chronicle his work with the dead and the dying, as well as their loved ones: 'Your heart could feel the pain of lovers separated by war.' 'How do you live a normal life? I don't know, but I feel their losses and their love for each other.' 'Sometimes you do not understand the depth of friendship until the final days.' I noticed his empathy for all those enduring loss. The intensely personal involvement with the details of another's narrative. The reverence for forces we battle but must ultimately accept. 'He knew he was going to die and seemed to accept it. I held his hand and wished him a safe journey,' he writes in one entry. I wanted to know more about this heart language and how a human might acquire it, become fluent in its lexicon. Sign up to Five Great Reads Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning after newsletter promotion Underneath this sat something else. I had my own memory of Ephraim Finch, from a death in my family almost 20 years ago. When my then-husband's mother passed away in 2006, I remember Ephraim's name being uttered; on the cusp of her death, throughout her funeral, during the rituals that coloured the subsequent weeks. I do not recall the way Ephraim looked, or even meeting him. But I will never forget the way his name resonated in that house of mourning. It was as though the name itself had a beneficent forcefield; every time my grief-stricken father-in-law would say it, he seemed calmer. 'Ephraim will know' seemed to be the answer to the questions, many of them unanswerable. Time after time, in the sheer act of saying it, something in the atmosphere would ease, even as the tears continued. When the name 'Ephraim Finch' was spoken to me again, some 17 years later, I felt myself hurtling, with grateful awe, back into its orbit. At our first meeting, before I have even begun to prepare myself for the flood of names and narratives, Ephraim launches into a recollection of everyone he continues to visit at Springvale Jewish cemetery, almost 10 years after retirement from his role as director of the Jewish burial society. 'It's my village,' he says, closing his eyes and taking me along on his imaginary tour of the place. 'I see all of them as I go around … it's like walking down the street. There is the lovely gentleman who descended from the Radomsker Rebbe, and there is Bill … Hello Bill, my dear friend! And here is Mr Cykiert, who gave me his poem just before he passed.' I continue to watch him meet them, one by one. 'And, oh.' He drops to a whisper, his fluttering hands stilling. 'Hello, dear boy.' Something subtle shifts in his facial musculature, his eyes flicker. 'You see, I buried this boy …' In this moment, Ephraim's wife Cas, who has been sitting with us the entire time, softly interjects. 'May I tell this story, darling?' she asks, in a manner I will witness many times over the coming months. There is a concert of silent knowings between Cas and Ephraim, an instinct for each other's pauses. Intuitively, they allocate the best raconteur for the moment, illuminating and verifying one another. 'I'd like to explain why we are so connected to this boy, if I may?' Cas asks, her voice deep and low, her blue eyes cloudy. Ephraim nods. 'We were out one day with our daughter Sharona, who is now 42, but was then 20. It was a hot day, but she was suddenly freezing and had a terrible headache. This went on for days and on the third night she developed a rash. On top of this, she felt like every bone in her body was breaking. Next morning, I got up at dawn to get her some Panadeine. As soon as my finger made contact with her arm, dark purple spots started to appear, spreading. And Ephraim knew exactly what it was, because he had buried this magnificent young man a few years earlier. He knew the symptoms.' A doctor arrived not long after and administered a penicillin shot, which bought Sharona time to get to the hospital, where she would stay for three weeks. One day an infectious diseases doctor approached the Finches on the ward. 'How did you recognise the meningococcal septicaemia?' he asked Ephraim. 'Doctor, I buried a boy in 1991 …' And before Ephraim could say more the doctor named that boy, remembering the family. They stood mutely for some time, struck by the reach of tragedy. But beneath the moment was an undertow, a twist in the Finches' hearts. It was nothing as crass or numerical as a sacrifice schema – Cas and Ephraim never believed that this boy died so Sharona could live. In fact, it was an inversion of this 'lucky us' smugness – they had never forgotten that this child died while theirs had lived. Three months after Cas tells this story, Ephraim and I will go to Springvale together, and when we reach this young man's grave, Ephraim will bend down and kiss the engraved marble. He will greet the boy and read his name out loud, along with his date of passing. He will intone the names of his mother and father. He will weep for them, while knowing the limits of his weeping. He will continue bending, head bowed, holding all the connections in all his body. And I sense, simply by being next to this softly moving human, the shuddering proximity between us all, the near misses, the churn of loss and the majesty of memory, the ceaseless current of our arrivals and departures. This is an edited extract from Ferryman: The Life and Deathwork of Ephraim Finch by Katia Ariel (Wild Dingo Press, A$34.99).
The Guardian
13-06-2025
- The Guardian
Explosion in Sydney apartment blows out brick wall
Officials don't know what caused an explosion at an apartment block in western Sydney that saw one person taken to hospital. Fire and Rescue NSW responded to reports just before 6.30am on Friday of an explosion at an apartment block in Lidcombe. The explosion occurred in a unit on the second level of a three-story building. It blew out a brick wall and damaged a car and adjoining units
The Guardian
13-06-2025
- The Guardian
Explosion in Sydney apartment blows out brick wall and damages adjoining units
Officials do not yet know how an explosion at an apartment block in western Sydney this morning that saw one person taken to hospital occurred, saying 'there is no fire'. Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) responded to reports ust before 6.30am of the explosion at an apartment block in Lidcombe. There was an explosion in a unit on the second level of a three-story building that blew out a brick wall, damaged a car and caused damage to adjoining units in the structure, officials said. Firefighters found one person they described as 'unconscious or semiconscious' who was rescued, treated by paramedics and taken to an area hospital for treatment. 'They tell me that they'll be ok,' FRNSW superintendent Adam Dewberry said. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Dewberry said there were no other reported injuries at this stage, and all people inside the unit had been accounted for. But there was 'significant damage' to the building, he said. 'There are some pets left in the building,' he said. 'A number of … people will be displaced and will not be able to go back into their accommodation due to the damage to the structure.' 'We are not sure at this stage how this explosion has occurred,' Dewberry added. 'There is no fire.' Specialist FRNSW experts on scene on Friday morning were monitoring the building's stability with lasers, and a recovery operation had commenced. More details soon …
