A professional wrestler just released from jail is accused of blackmailing the Iron Man son of a feared kickboxer who appeared on the cover of an Underbelly book.
Huseyin Gul, of Craigieburn, is back behind bars amid claims he pulled a knife on Nick Fyfield, 36, at his home in May last year.
Mr Fyfield is the son of Paul Fyfield, who was named in court by police but never charged over the 1994 ‘Road Gang Heist’ that saw robbers posing as road workers make off with $2.3 million in cash from an Armaguard van.
Huseyin Gul (pictured before his jailing in 2016) was a professional wrestler in his day
Paul ‘The Fox’ Fyfield is the father of Nick Fyfield, who was allegedly shaken down by Gul
Paul Fyfield (right) is an Iron Man who was once caught up in a sting aimed at his father
While fellow kickboxer Pasquale ‘Percy No Mercy’ Lanciana was jailed in 2021 for his role in that heist, Fyfield Snr played an interested observer despite police claims he was a leading figure in an Oceans 11-style crime gang made up of Melbourne mates connected to the fight and fitness business.
In 2020, Fyfield Snr was acquitted of a 2006 armed robbery on an Armaguard van believed to be linked to the Road Gang Heist crew.
On Tuesday, the court heard Gul had just walked free from jail after serving the full seven-years of a 2016 rape sentence when he made contact with Fyfield Jnr over a supposed $6000 debt.
The court heard Fyfield Jnr had minimal contact with the justice system, but had been previously charged after unwittingly being caught up in a drug operation targeting his father.
Police told the court Fyfield Jnr was charged with a drug offence after a search of his bungalow turned-up steroids hidden behind a bookshelf along with a stash of cash.
The fitness guru was dealt with by the court’s diversion program.
Under Victorian law, diversion plans are often handed down to first-time offenders and are designed not to impact on a person’s life going forward.
Paul Fyfield (left) appeared on the cover of Leadbelly – part of the Underbelly series on Melbourne crime. He had helped carry the casket of gangland murder victim Willie Thompson, another part-time actor connected with combat sports
Huseyin Gul is alleged to have stood over Nick Fyfield over an alleged drug debt
Huseyin Gul (left) will remain behind bars until his next court appearance in March
WHO IS PAUL ‘THE FOX’ FYFIELD
Digital images of a group of men wanted over the ‘Road Gang Heist’. Only one man was ever convicted. And it wasn’t Fyfield Snr.
In 2016, police told a court Fyfield Snr was a leading figure in an ‘Oceans 11’-style crime gang made up of a tight group of Melbourne mates, which pulled seven intricately planned and executed jobs over 24 years, starting in the early 1980s.
The kickboxing trainer and some-time actor was charged but acquitted of involvement in a 2006 Armaguard robbery at Sunshine Plaza.
He has never been charged with any other robbery, but named in court as suspected of being a leading member of the ‘Gym Gang’ which carried out the Road Gang Heist.
Fyfield Snr has not been convicted of any offences.
Under the diversion plan, Fyfield Jnr was not required to formally plead to the charges and instead simply made admissions to the charged offences.
Police claimed they had no knowledge of any links between Gul and Fyfield Snr.
Gul claimed Fyfield Jnr, who had participated in Iron Man contests across the globe, had been an old mate of his before he was locked-up.
Fyfield Jnr would later tell police he hardly knew Gul and denied owing the hulking Gul a penny.
The court heard Fyfield Jnr refuted the entirety of Gul’s claims.
‘He says he’s never sold drugs to anybody. That his relationship with Mr Gul was not of that nature. They met socially on one or two occasions but that was it … he says there is no debt,’ a detective told the court.
The court heard Gul tracked Fyfield Jnr down to his Mordialloc home – southeast of Melbourne – where he produced a knife and demanded his cash back over supposedly dodgy merchandise.
The incident was allegedly witnessed by a neighbour who called police.
Gul’s lawyer Kieren Reynolds claimed his client had acted in self defence against Fyfield Jnr and his mate.
The court heard Gul was armed with two knives when police later knocked on his parents’ door, but surrendered without incident.
Fyfield Jnr will likely be called to give evidence at Gul’s preliminary hearing in March.
Gul is expected to plead not guilty to stalking, blackmail, unlawful assault and assault with a weapon.
Nick Fyfield (left) and dad Paul Fyfield (right)
Nick Fyfield is a successful fitness guru who denies ever selling any kind of drugs to Gul
Nick Fyfield is likely to give evidence against Gul at a preliminary hearing in March
In refusing bail, Magistrate Andrew McKenna ruled Gul posed a serious risk to the community if released.
‘This is a disturbing history on any view. It’s a recent history that’s occurred soon after his release,’ Mr McKenna said.
‘He has no doubt a propensity to become aggressive and in some of his history, violent.’
The court heard Gul had a history of drug and violence offences and in September last year found himself back behind bars after pleading guilty to drug and weapon offences.
A doctor who assessed Gul gave evidence declaring he relied on drugs to get by on the outside.
‘He finds the use of illicit substances beneficial to his mental health,’ the doctor suggested to the court.
The court heard Gul believed people disliked him and he struggled to communicate with them while clean from drugs.
‘He expressed that his main driver of substance use is as it dissolves these feelings and makes him feel like magic,’ the doctor noted.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk