A jury heard on Tuesday that secret recordings have captured Sydney construction boss George Alex discussing how to conceal a $13 million tax fraud syndicate from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
George, his son Arthur Alex, Mark Ronald Bryers, Gordon McAndrew, Lindsay John Kirschberg, and Pasquale Loccisano are now part of a six-month trial in the NSW Supreme Court at Darlinghurst after pleading not guilty to conspiring to cause a loss to the ATO, and dealing with the proceeds of crime totalling $1 million or more from 2018 to 2020.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the funds allegedly flowed through various entities in Australia and were also diverted offshore to a couple of companies in Singapore.
Gordon McAndrew (left) leaves court during his trial at Darlinghurst. Photo: Wolter Peeters.
Crown prosecutor Chris O’Donnell SC said recordings captured by police phone taps and surveillance devices, indicated Alex “was the person who needed to understand and approve of any future developments” to the scheme.
The jury was played a clip from a phone call between two of the alleged conspirators, Mark Ronald Bryers and Gordon McAndrew, on March 4, 2020.
The prosecutor’s speech is expected to last four days, each of the accused with their own defence barristers before Justice Desmond Fagan.
Sydney plumber Joshua Gotsis, 23, was granted bail in Supreme Court on February 9 over serious drug supply charges relating to his alleged involvement in supplying 1.2kg of cocaine as part of a Sutherland Shire dial-a-dealer operation from July to December last year.
During the hearing, the court heard new information from a police statement of facts which alleged Gotsis was “trusted” to transport 6 kilograms of meth, worth more than a $1 million, for the drug syndicate.
The court had previously heard syndicate organisers allegedly used a “central control phone” to send mass messages to 1900 contacts while buyers would place their orders before runners would deliver their cocaine and MDMA.
Police arrested alleged leader Mohammed El-Sammak, 28, along with Joshua David Hargreaves, 23, and a number of other alleged runners late last year.
Gotsis was before the courts.
Police alleged Gotsis was the main phone operator with Hargreaves helping out when he was busy.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Gotsis was charged with large commercial drug supply, ongoing drug supply, knowingly dealing with crime proceeds, knowingly directing a criminal group, and failing to comply with a digital evidence access order direction.
On Friday, Gotsis’ defence lawyer Elias Tabchouri told the court the new allegations suggested Gotsis was a “transporter” of the drugs and that he wasn’t involved in the negotiations. Mr Tabchouri further noted that his client was allegedly a “worker” who did not establish the syndicate.
Justice Sarah McNaughton said the allegations against Gotsis were serious, with some involving maximum penalties of life imprisonment and the case against him “appeared reasonably strong.”
She accepted that he was not the “head of the syndicate but appears to have a serious level of responsibility,” adding he was “under the control of the head of the syndicate and did the head of the syndicate’s bidding.”
Justice McNaughton agreed to grant Gotsis bail on the terms that he must live with his grandparents in Revesby, report to police daily, not leave the house without his parents and not take illegal drugs among other strict conditions.
A popular Brighton Grammar student, James Tsindos, who tragically died after having an allergic reaction back in 2021, had no idea the burrito bowl he bought through Deliveroo was topped with a cashew-based nacho cheese sauce.
The 17-year-old died on June 1, 2021, five days after ordering a meal from a local vegan restaurant through the food delivery app while awaiting the results of a Covid test.
The Coroners Court heard on Tuesday that the year 12 student had asthma and a tree nut allergy, including cashews, but had not been prescribed an EpiPen.
Year 12 student James Tsindos died after suffering an anaphylactic reaction. Photo: Wayne Taylor.
James’ devastated parents, Harry and Venetia, his sisters Kristina, Elpida, and Georgia, and several of his classmates packed the courtroom as Coroner Sarah Gebert ordered an inquest into his death.
According to the Herald Sun, The family’s lawyer, Paul Halley told the court they held “grave concerns” about how the burrito bowl was advertised on the Deliveroo app; the vegan nacho cheese sauce was in fact a cashew sauce, however that was not specified on the online menu.
The court heard that after James was admitted to hospital, his oxygen levels started dropping and he was given another dose of adrenaline. James was declared brain dead at 5.20pm on May 29.
“He used to say to us that he wasn’t as popular as some of the other boys, but if he knew how many people he has affected through this tragedy, he would be absolutely blown away”, James’ Mother, Venetia Tsindos said.
The inquest has no set date, but it is expected to last two days.
Following his recent cancer diagnosis, King Charles contacted a Mount Athos-based Greek Orthodox monk on Thursday, requesting that he pray for his health.
The current Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos, Elder Ephraim, informed Cyprus TV that King Charles called to console him.
“When reaching out to a monk, you seek his prayers and consoling words for strength to overcome difficulties…I believe he will overcome cancer,” Elder Ephraim said.
Elder Ephraim has kept a close relationship with King Charles over the years, with the King having visited the monastic community of Mount Athos eight times.
In 1998, the King visited the Vatopedi Monastery a little while after Princess Diana’s death, where he met Ephraim for the first time. Since then, the King’s travels to Mount Athos have continued; from spring 2003 to May 2004, he paid three visits to Mount Athos.
“There is no question that the British royal is Orthodox in his heart,” another monk confided about King Charles. “Sadly, he is very constrained by his position”.
King Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer, motivating the use of regular treatments since Monday, February 5.
According to the Palace, the 75-year-old King “remains completely hopeful about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible.”
Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis offered concessions on Tuesday to farming unionists who are threatening to block roads around Greece in protest of high production costs.
According to The Star, it was unclear, however, whether representatives of farming associations who met with Mitsotakis in Athens were appeased by the concessions.
Greece’s prime minister offers farmers lower power bills for the next decade, a bid to avoid massive protests in Athens https://t.co/xo6sdAWrSZ
A unionist present at the meeting, Rizos Maroudas, suggested that he would take a harsh position.
“Not all our demands have been met,” Maroudas told journalists after the talks. “We believe that our [protests] must continue.”
Greece’s center-right government has stated that it will seek to lower production costs while also expediting compensation payments and tax relief for farmers affected by last year’s catastrophic floods.
Mitsotakis cautioned that fiscal limitations left limited possibility for significant spending increases.
The European Commission formally launched “EUNAVFOR ASPIDES” on Tuesday, a European military operation for maritime security and freedom of navigation in the midst of the Red Sea crisis.
This operation will help to improve maritime security in major sea routes including the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf.
Today #EUMC was briefed by Commodore Vasileios Gryparis 🇬🇷 who is the Operation Commander for the #EU CSDP Operation “EUNAVFOR ASPIDES” in the Red Sea. He & his team demonstrated under enormous time pressure a commendable ability & commitment to deliver critical planning products pic.twitter.com/UlEpCmQs98
— Chairman of the EU Military Committee (@ChairmanEUMC) February 13, 2024
According to amna.gr, Greek Commander in Chief, Vassilios Gryparis will lead the operation, with the EUNAVFOR ASPIDES Operational Headquarters based in Larissa.
Under the regulatory framework, EUNAVFOR ASPIDES will cooperate closely with EUNAVFOR ATALANTA, an EU military operation formed in 2008 to help to maritime security in the Western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
EUNAVFOR ASPIDES’ original mission will be 12 months from the date of its inception, with the option of being reviewed before the end of its validity term.
For those who love giving gifts and expressing yourselves and your feelings in the form of red rose bouquets, boxes of chocolates, cringey romantic cards, love letters and expensive dinner dates – this one’s for you.
The international day of love (Valentine’s Day) has come around again. Held on February 14 every year, the holiday that celebrates love has quite the unique history.
It dates back to the 1300s, when the Roman Pope, Galasius, officially declared February 14 as St. Valentine’s Day.
Let us run through you through some of the history behind it all.
The legend of Saint Valentine
Valentine’s Day ties both Christian and ancient Roman traditions. In the Catholic church, there were at least three different saints named Valentine (or Valentinus) and all of which were martyred.
It was believed that one of the saints, Valentine, was a priest who served during the third century in Rome.
During his time serving, Emperor Claudius II believed unmarried men were better soldiers, so he decided to ban marriage for young men. As Saint Valentine disagreed with this law and thought it was unfair, he secretly continued conducting marriages for young couples.
After the Emperor found out, he ordered Saint Valentine’s death.
Another legend follows the story of a different priest, also a Saint Valentine, who was jailed and while being locked up, he fell in love with a young girl who began visiting him as he served his time. Allegedly, she was the prison warden’s daughter.
Before Saint Valentine died, he was believed to have written the girl a letter, signing it off as “from your Valentine,” which is an expression widely known and associated with the international holiday today.
Ancient Greece and Valentine’s Day
Did you know, Valentine’s Day also has ancient Greek ties?
Remember Cupid, the little naked cherub that holds a bow and arrow? He’s often portrayed on those Valentine’s Day cards that supermarkets start selling two months before the actual holiday.
In Roman mythology, Cupid was known as the son of Venus, the goddess of love, and Mars, the god of war.
Despite his Roman origin, Cupid also had roots in Greek mythology, and was believed to be the Greek God of love and desire, Eros.
According to the ancient Greek poets, Eros was a handsome immortal who played with the emotions of Gods and men. He was most known for launching arrows to make people fall in love. A barbed golden-tip bow was used to make people fall in love, and a silver-tip bow was launched to make people fall out of love and even hate a person.
Cupid later became a major symbol associated with Valentine’s Day.
Although there are many different myths and legends associated with the holiday, Valentine’s Day remains a special day every year to show the people around you how much you love them, to spoil them and to treat them with all the love, happiness, and appreciation they deserve.
Much-loved Father Nicholas Bozikis from Sydney has passed away at the age of 79.
Father Nicholas was born in 1944 on the Greek island of Zakynthos. He received his Orthodox education at the Ecclesiastical School of the Holy Monastery of Saint Anastasia the Pharmacolytria in Vasilika, Thessaloniki.
Emigrating to Australia in 1964, he initially settled in Melbourne before relocating to Sydney in 1970 at the invitation of late Archbishop Ezekiel of Australia. There, he was ordained to the priesthood and served within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia in Sydney for more than 50 years.
For 18 years, Father Nicholas served at the Parish – Community of the Holy Cross in Wollongong before returning to Sydney in 1988.
Father Nicholas was a parish priest at St Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Kingsford from 1989 to 1994. He also served at St Stephanos in Hurlstone Park until 2011.
Despite health challenges in 2011, he eagerly resumed his priestly duties and served for an additional six and a half years in various parishes in NSW.
In recognition of his dedication to Greek Orthodoxy, Father Nicholas was honoured with the Offikion of Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in 2021.
Father Nicholas is survived by his Presbytera, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Father Nicholas’ funeral service will take place on Wednesday, 21 February 2024 at 10 am at St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Marrickville, Sydney. The burial will take place at Rookwood Cemetery.
Have you ever met a person and instantly clicked, only to find they live on the other side of the world?
Newlywed couple Anastasia and Dimitri Markakis know all about long-distance love, the joys, excitement, sacrifices, struggles, and making it work after 10 years together.
The couple’s story began in September 2013 when Anastasia left Athens, Greece to study in Australia.
Dimitri’s grandmother suggested he take Anastasia out, as she worked with Anastasia’s theia, and this led to their first date at Max Brenner.
“I remember my yiayia was like ‘you’re single, take her out, why not? You never know, something might happen’,” Dimitri tells The Greek Herald.
“I ended up agreeing and asked her to go out for a coffee – we went to Max Brenner for hot chocolates and hung out for hours.”
Anastasia had the intention to study in Australia, but she was on a tourist visa.
“In order to get my student visa, I had to start studying, this meant I had to have an advanced level of English,” she says.
“It was suggested I stay six months in Australia, but my theia suggested ‘do it for a year to just make sure that you know your English well enough to be able to go to uni and understand everything’.”
The 29-year-old ended up enrolling in a 9-month course at Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT), which cost her $10,000. Anastasia found it challenging to pay her fees upfront as she was an international student, but was offered a payment plan for the first six months. She then switched to a nursing course for 18 months.
“I was told if I did a diploma of nursing, I would find work straight away, which would help me pay my expenses,” Anastasia says.
A year later, in July 2014, Anastasia told Dimitri she would return to Greece. She said Canberra wasn’t the place for her as she didn’t have friends, was away from her family and all she did was work and study.
“Dimitri then said, ‘I really like you and I think this will work between us’ – that we should give it a go basically,” Anastasia says.
On her return to Greece, the couple would call each other every day for two-months straight.
“It was a little bit difficult due to our time difference and routines, but we made it work,” Dimitri explains. “I then thought, a good way to keep her here and not forget about me was to make us ‘Facebook official’.”
This didn’t make it any easier for Anastasia to tell her family she was moving to Australia for good.
“When I got home, I tried to tell my dad I wanted to go back for study, but he wasn’t happy,” Anastasia says.
“I told my mum I’d go regardless. I said, ‘it’s either Dimitri pays for my ticket, or you help me’… my mum ended up giving me the money and we told my dad that Dimitri paid.
“When it was time to leave, my dad didn’t come to the airport.”
When Anastasia returned to Australia, Dimitri’s dad called her family to explain where she would stay.
“My dad had called Ana’s family to say, ‘she’s going to stay with the yiayia, we’re good people and we will look after her’,” Dimitri says.
“Six months later, we got our own place, and when Ana told her dad… he didn’t talk to her for almost eight months.”
Eventually, Anastasia’s dad had a change of heart.
“It was really difficult being only 19 with so many changes happening at once,” Anastasia says.
“I was really lucky because when my dad came around, my parents supported me financially as they saw I was happy.”
In 2018, after four years together, Anastasia and Dimitri booked a trip to Greece.
“It had been a while since Ana had seen her family, so we decided to take a trip so that I could show her things were progressing with us and I wasn’t wasting time,” Dimitri said.
“Little did she know, I planned on proposing to her. Ana’s sister, Liza, ended up helping me. She took me to see Ana’s dad who was in hospital at the time so I could ask for his blessing.”
The couple got engaged on the Greek island of Zakynthos in July 2018.
After many years, and thousands of dollars in visas and student loans, Anastasia finally became an Australian citizen in October 2020. Their sons, Alex and Ares, were also born during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The newlywed couple planned to tie the knot in Greece in 2020, but COVID-19 forced them to postpone. They officially got married on 16 September 2023 in Canberra.
Although their 10-year journey together wasn’t easy, the couple wouldn’t have it any other way.
“The best advice I can give is always give 100%. You both need to be on the same page and have good, clear communication,” Dimitri says.
“Being able to adapt and have resilience is also important,” Anastasia concludes.
Some members of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) have put forward a motion asking the Board of Directors to name a specific level of the Greek Centre on Lonsdale Street in honour of former Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou.
According to the motion:
a. in 1994, during the prime ministership of Andreas Papandreou, the GOCMV was provided by the Greek State a grant of $4,750,000 AUD for the repayment of its loan debt to the National Australia Bank, which could not be serviced by the Community which at that time was in receivership.
The Greek Community of Melbourne could name a specific level of the Greek Centre on Lonsdale Street in honour of former Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou.
b. in 2003, during the prime ministership of Costas Simitis, the GOCMV was granted a further $2,680,000 AUD to serve the needs of the necessary expansion of Alphington Grammar School.
The members want to rename a level of the Greek Centre in honour of Papandreou to recognise his contributions towards the GCM when he was Prime Minister.
The motion has been moved by GCM member Kostas Karamarkos and seconded by Michalis S. Michael. It will be discussed at the GCM’s upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday, February 18.
