Brothers 4 Life gang members Mumtaz and Farhad Qaumi found guilty of 2013 shooting murder
Updated
Two senior Brothers 4 Life gang members have been found guilty of murdering a Sydney standover man.
Mumtaz and Farhad Qaumi organised the fatal shooting of Joseph Antoun at his Strathfield home in December 2013.
The brothers refused to appear in the courtroom for the verdict, threatening they would "physically resist" any attempt to place them in the dock.
Justice Peter Hamill handed down the sentence in their absence, saying he did not intend "to put either the accused's physical safety or Corrective Services' physical safety in jeopardy".
"It's an unusual situation," he said.
The Qaumi brothers were the leaders of the gang's Blacktown chapter and were found guilty of the murder of Mr Antoun by arranging to have the contract killing carried out.
The hitman and getaway driver have pleaded guilty to charges related to their roles in the shooting but cannot be named for legal reasons.
'Complicated' case of 'unreliable' witnesses
The Supreme Court previously heard Mr Antoun was shot four times in his upper body in front of his family after answering the front door of his home.
Justice Hamill said Mr Antoun had fallen out of favour with many people.
"He had a number of enemies with motives to do him harm," he told the court.
One of those was slain gangland figure Pasquale Barbaro, who was gunned down himself during the trial in November last year.
Justice Hamill said he based his findings on the "credibility of witnesses or lack thereof".
Many of those who faced questioning in court had their identities protected, while others refused to speak with investigators.
"This wall of silence created difficulties for the crown," Justice Hamill said.
The Qaumi brothers will be sentenced over three days in April.
Topics: courts-and-trials, law-crime-and-justice, crime, murder-and-manslaughter, sydney-2000
First posted
