Before he was gunned down in a hail of bullets on Tuesday, Alen Moradian was likened by his wife to TV mafia boss Tony Soprano.
Moradian was in 2011 sentenced to a maximum of 16 years and nine months after pleading guilty to his role in a massive cocaine shipment.
Moradian admitted to importing a large commercial quantity of cocaine and supplying a large commercial quantity of the drug.
The precise quantity of cocaine imported from the US was disputed during his court proceedings. He admitted to importing more than 40kg of drugs between 2006 and 2007, though the Crown prosecution argued it was at least 200kg.
“The offender played a senior role (characterised as middle level management) in an enterprise that was well planned and of some sophistication,” District Court Judge Andrew Haesler said in his judgment at the time.
“His role was critical to its success. He took a degree of risk, with an expectation of large reward. His motive was personal profit and greed.”
Moradian was sentenced to a non-parole period of 10 years and five months and was first available for release in December 2017.
He also admitted to dealing in $1.6m worth of proceeds of crime.
The Daily Telegraph reported at the time that in emails tendered during his court proceedings, Moradian was likened by his wife Natasha to TV mafia figure Tony Soprano.
The court was told at the time that Moradian decked out his Pennant Hills home with luxury and designer items, cars, and motorcycles.
“Why do you just sit there and show off … do you see Tony Soprano doing that? He points it all off on junior for a reason – to take the heat away from him,” the email said in a reference to a storyline on the hit drama series involving Tony Soprano and his uncle Junior.
“You, on the other hand, want the attention, you get a big head, you love it. People like that won’t survive.”
After his arrest, Moradian’s solicitor arranged for the surrender of firearms – including a machine gun, grenade launcher and automatic rifle – as well as ammunition.
Moradian was alleged to have links with the Comanchero outlaw bikie gang and the Sydney underworld.
He was shot in what police believe was a targeted attack in an underground carpark at Bondi Junction on Tuesday morning.
The 48-year-old was found dead in an Audi in the Spring St carpark around 8.15am after multiple shots were fired.
Police tried to resuscitate him when they arrived on scene at 8.30am, but he was pronounced dead.
Two men were reportedly spotted fleeing the vicinity after the shooting, and a burnt-out Porsche was found nearby on James St shortly afterwards.
A second scorched car was found more than 6km away in Zetland just before 9am that police also believe is linked to the assassination.
Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said police believed “at least two” people were involved in the shooting, which had “the hallmarks of being an organised crime murder”.
“We’re saying this is a well-planned and executed murder of a high-level criminal identity,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
The police officer confirmed the 48-year-old was a “major player” in the organised crime network who had “strong, high-level links” to the Comanchero bikie gang.
“He was a high-level identity in the criminal network, so he was a high-level target for these shooters,” Superintendent Doherty said.
“He obviously had a big target on his back.”
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