A millionaire property developer who ordered the murder of a Scots businessman in Australia has lost a second bid to overturn his conviction.
Ron Medich arranged for his former business partner, Michael McGurk, to be shot dead outside his Sydney home after their relationship soured. Mr McGurk, 45, originally from Glasgow's Gorbals, was killed by a single bullet to the head in front of his young son as he got out of his Mercedes in September 2009.
Medich, 74, was jailed for at least 30 years in 2018 after being found guilty of the murder of Mr McGurk and the subsequent intimidation of his widow Kimberley on August 8, 2010. He launched an appeal claiming he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice because of evidence given at the trial by his former friend Fortunato "Lucky" Gattellari.
Former boxing champion Gattellari, 72, told the jury Medich was the "big boss" who paid him to arrange Mr Medich's murder. Medich's lawyers claimed Gattellari "gave contradictory and wholly inadequate evidence" and that the trial judge misdirected the jury.
However, his appeal was rejected by judges at the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal in a two-to-one majority decision last year. Earlier this year, Medich applied for Special Leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia, but this has also been refused.
Medich, who paid more than £270,000 to have the hit carried out, was given a maximum sentence of 39 years and told he cannot apply for parole until 2048. Crown prosecutor Sharon Harris told the original trial Mr McGurk and Medich had once been involved in multi-million dollar business partnerships including property developments and financing.
However she said by 2009 their relationship had become "extremely hostile" and they were locked in expensive legal battles in the Supreme and Federal courts. The court heard one such feud erupted when Medich discovered that the real cost of two development sites he had given Mr McGurk £3.5 million to purchase was in fact half that amount.
The court was told Medich had developed a hatred for Mr McGurk and turned to Gattellari to "permanently resolve" the disputes by organising his murder. Gattellari has already been jailed over his involvement and received a discounted sentence after agreeing to give evidence against his co-accused.
Haissam Safetli, who is thought to have fired the fatal shot, was given a seven year sentence for his role in the murder. His accomplice Christopher Estephan, who was present when Mr McGurk was shot, was jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Mr McGurk, a property developer who emigrated to Australia in the early 1990s, lived in Sydney with his wife and their four children.
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