The career criminal who is at the centre of a political storm after his visa cancellation was overturned pleaded for mercy by telling a psychologist that he was traumatised after cradling bloodied gangland crime lord Tony Mokbel in his arms in jail until paramedics arrived.
Kevin Farrugia, who remains in jail in Victoria, was spared deportation to Malta on Monday after the Administrative Appeals Tribunal overturned the automatic cancellation of his visa because of his extensive criminal history.
The revelation sparked a political outcry given it was linked to the controversial direction 99 announced by Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to consider a detainee’s links to the Australian community.
Criminal pleads for mercy over “trauma”
News.com.au can reveal that the complete 15,000 word AAT judgment reveals that the convicted criminal tried to use his association with Mokbel as a mitigating factor as to why he should be able to stay in Australia.
“The (psychologist) also noted that (Mr Farrugia) had suffered significant trauma in his life,’’ the AAT decision states.
“This included his allegation of childhood sexual abuse which he did not disclose to anyone until he was 30, losing a young man he regarded as a stepson who died in a tragic accident and witnessing a prison assault on an associate and holding his head in his lap until the ambulance came.
“Although none of these factors excuse his serious offending, Dr Davis suggested these features resulted in ‘antisocial behavioural features’.”
The reference to the prison assault pertains to Tony Mokbel, who was attacked in Barwon Prison in 2019, leaving the drug kingpin in a critical condition.
The court was told the attack was in direct response to a newspaper article which claimed Mokbel had become a “prison enforcer”
His two attackers, both now 22, stood over Mokbel and called him a “f***ing dog” after stabbing him with an improvised knife in the yard of Victoria’s maximum security prison.
Mokbel, suffered stab wounds, a fractured skull, a brain haemorrhage and extensive bleeding in the assault.
How Kevin Farrugia cradled Tony Mokbel in his arms
Kevin Farrugia, 51, previously raised his proximity to the prison bashing to help secure bail in May, 2019.
During those hearings, the Herald Sun reported that his lawyer told the court it was Mr Farrugia “who cradled a bloodied Tony Mokbel in his arms until paramedics arrived when he was stabbed in the maximum security prison in February.”
He subsequently walked from the County Court on after spending 11 months on remand for allegedly shooting a mate in the leg over a drug dispute.
Kevin Farrugia remains in jail
News.com.au can reveal there was one detail missing from the initial reports of Mr Farrugia’s visa cancellation – that the Department of Immigration has now confirmed the gangland figure remains locked up in jail.
That means that while the decision is highly embarrassing for the government, it would appear there’s no imminent threat to the population.
The decision to overturn the visa cancellation is nonetheless the latest in a series of humiliating embarrassments for the Albanese government, amid calls for Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to resign.
Mr Giles hit back at the claims of Liberal Senator Jane Hume today that Peter Dutton did not cancel his visa when he was minister because he didn’t commit any more crimes.
“Reports today have unveiled that Peter Dutton didn’t take the opportunity to cancel this man’s visa when he was released on bail when he was Minister,’’ Mr Giles told news.com.au.
“If Peter Dutton had been held to the same standard he now holds others, he would not have lasted a week in the Home Affairs and Immigration portfolios.”
“Shut the f — up before I put another one in you”.
A Victorian Court has previously heard that Kevin Farrugia was also charged in 2011 over the 2001 shooting murder of Wayne Boyd. But the charges were later dropped.
Defence barrister Geoffrey Steward said police’s referral to an acquitted murder charge was “a deliberate attempt to paint him in the worst possible light”.
His lawyer argued the Crown’s case had weakened after the victim “recanted” his account during a committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.
At the hearing, the alleged victim claimed he thought the shooting was not intentional and even described his alleged attacker as “a gentleman”.
“I think he did it by mistake,” he said, suggesting Mr Farrugia administered first aid, kissed him and apologised three times.
The Herald Sun reported that this was a different version then told to police, where he alleged Farrugia shot him before saying “Shut the f — up before I put another one in you”.
Lengthy criminal record
His criminal record is lengthy, including being found guilty of hiding a fully loaded pistol in a sock in his jail cell twenty years ago.
He received a suspended sentence in 2004 after being represented by defence lawyer Nicola Gobbo.
The AAT decision published on its website notes that his convictions include the following:
– Conviction for kidnapping and reckless conduct endangering life in 2003;
– A conviction for assault by kicking in 2009;
– Multiple convictions for being a prohibited person in possession of firearm in 2000 (2 offences), 2004, 2008, 2009 (2 offences) and 2023;
– Convictions for handling/receiving/retention or disposing of stolen goods in 1999 and 2000; and
– Multiple drug related offences from 1993 to 2022, including trafficking a commercial quantity of pseudoephedrine in 2008.His most serious charges including kidnapping, trafficking a commercial quantity of drugs, reckless conduct endangering life, assault by kicking and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
In April 2003, Mr Farrugia was convicted of kidnapping and reckless conduct endangering life for which he received a total sentence of 4 years and 9 months imprisonment.
The sentencing judge, Judge Sexton, described the facts of the case as ‘most serious’, with aggravating aspects including the degree of planning and the use of firearms to maintain and ‘subdue’ the victim.[29] The Applicant was described as having ‘the major role’ in relation to the offences which was said to involve a drug debt.
“One of the Applicant’s convictions relates to an assault on a prison officer in 2008 that included kicking him in the head,’’ the AAT said.
According to the AAT’s published decision, Mr Farrugia “did not deny his criminal record, or his drug use which started at a very young age – about 11 or 12.”
“However, he stated that he had not used drugs since 2019 (when he was on bail prior to his most recent conviction). He stated that he had continued to be abstinent while in prison, despite the ready availability of drugs,’’ the AAT stated.
“He spoke about being sexually abused as a young boy by a friend of the family. He also said that he understood that the perpetrator now lived in Malta and that this impacted on him not wanting to return to Malta.
“The Applicant was asked about his criminal record, including the 2003 conviction for kidnapping and recklessly endangering life, and his 7 convictions relating to possession of a firearm. The Applicant did not make excuses but did say he had made a bad choice at a time when he was under the influence of drugs.”