How Lametta Fadlallah Became a Famous Sydney Gangster

“Especially in organized crime, there was an unwritten rule that you shouldn’t touch family members or women. I think the rules of engagement have been thrown out the window. Now they’re ignored. They don’t care anymore.” I just think it doesn’t distinguish between male and female,” he said.

The shooting has left police and observers baffled as to why Fadlallah justified the coordinated attack and how deeply involved she was with the criminal underworld. Was her death simply a product of the company she maintained, or a player? Were the rules for women changed, or were they women who deviated from the usual women’s rules associated with organized crime?

Two of Sydney’s most famous organized criminals were women. The infamous Tilly Devine and her fierce competitor Kate are Lee.

The two women were no run-of-the-mill criminals, But in the 1920s and early 1930s, the city’s most important criminals were, according to author Larry Leiter, who wrote about the duo: Razorformed the basis of Lower abdomen: Razor, A drama broadcast on Nine, the publisher of this newspaper.

“They were criminal masterminds,” he said. sun herald.

“They had gangs who did their bidding. They ran million dollar businesses in brothels, crooks. [the unlicensed sale of alcohol] and various criminal enterprises. ”

Many murders were committed on the orders of the two women, the writer said.

The duo managed to thrive in the patriarchal world of 1920s Sydney’s underworld by being “more ruthless and smarter than men,” the writer said.

“They were also very intimidating. They overcame obstacles through sheer force of will.”

In the previous 100 years, no woman has been more prominent in the city’s criminal life than Devine and Leigh, but that doesn’t mean women haven’t played a more important role in organized crime.

Historically, organized crime has been “very patriarchal” in relation to traditional extended family values ​​and structures, with powerful male figures tending to larger family groups. said Dr Michael Kennedy, a former NSW detective and associate professor of criminology. of sun herald.

Outsiders often mistakenly perceive women in these groups as helpless or submissive, he said. They were allowed to participate up to their necks, and were even allowed to dabble in their own ventures as long as they did not become the responsibility of a large corporation.

These women, he said, tend to be less conspicuous and attract police attention than men.

A senior officer said women associated with criminal gangs were not naive.

“They are rarely at the top of the tree, but if they are, they are certainly fair game.”

Sometimes women get their hands very dirty.

When gangland warfare raged in the city’s southwest ten years ago between the Bankstown and Blacktown branches of the infamous Brothers 4 Life Gang, a Sydney paralegal with no criminal record was forced to work in the high grounds of Goulburn. started dating a famous gang member who was incarcerated in -Security Super Max.

The woman, who cannot be identified except under the pseudonym of court-appointed witness M, has since become a highly ranked gang figure.

Witness M, 32, drove the getaway car in one assault and one attempted murder case in 2013. She later pleaded guilty to her one count of being an accessory to her before the fact of the murder and an accessory to her before intentionally firing the firearm. Cause serious bodily harm.

Earlier this month, mob widow and organized crime figure Roberta Williams pleaded guilty to threatening and recklessly injuring a television producer in Melbourne.

A woman was also caught in the shootout prior to Fadlallah’s murder. When her two chapters of Brothers 4 Life fought each other, One woman, Laura Hamsey, was shot From the front door of her Western Sydney home. The 2014 crime remains unsolved. The previous year, Maha Hamzeh, 21 shots in 8 shots A fight over money between her relatives and another man resulted in him hitting her in the leg.

Kennedy believes that Fadlallah “became responsible for one or more reasons”. I was. “In this area, everyone is always suspicious of others. If people were being arrested around her, they would be questioned.”