The strange case of the lives and death of reformed Australian gangsters living in Greece

They were convicted drug dealers and big names in Australia’s mobster firmament. Both had moved to Athens to start a new life. Both lived in the city’s plush seaside suburb known as the Athens Riviera. Was there a connection? Rory Mulholland investigates

Mobster Amad ‘Jay’ Malkoun survived a car bomb in March (EPA)

John Macris was shot dead as he got into his car on the street outside his home. Amad “Jay” Malkoun’s car blew up as he turned the ignition key. He survived but suffered severe injuries to his legs and arms. The two Australians apparently did not know each other. But they had an awful lot in common. They both liked flashy cars. Macris favoured Lamborghinis while Malkoun drove a white Mercedes AMG. They liked to work out in the same fitness centre in Athens called the Mega Gym, outside of which Malkoun’s car was mangled by the blast that nearly killed him on 1 March. They liked to dine in the same fish restaurant. They each had a glamorous wife – one was a reality TV star and model.

They were both convicted drug dealers and big names in Australia’s mobster firmament. Malkoun was the former leader of a criminal biker gang, the Comancheros. The other was a major figure in the Sydney underworld. Both had moved to Athens to start a new life. Both lived in the city’s plush seaside suburbs that guide books like to call the Athens Riviera, or sometimes the Hellenic Hamptons.

And both were the targets of attacks that left one of them dead – Macris perished in October – and the other in hiding in a private Athens clinic.