Gang boss George Marrogi gets time added to near-50-year sentence for ‘brutal’ attack

3 months ago 8

Gangland boss George Marrogi has had another month tacked on to his nearly 50-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to kicking a prison guard in the chest.

The 36-year-old, who is serving the term for a gangland murder and drug trafficking while in jail, is not eligible for parole until 2049.

It is the first time a magistrate has topped up Marrogi’s prison sentence, even though he has been convicted on multiple previous occasions of violence while inside, including assault and setting fires.

On Thursday, Marrogi pleaded guilty to assaulting a corrections officer for delivering a powerful kick to the chest of a guard after being let out of cell on February 25, 2024.

The Melbourne Magistrates’ Court was played the footage, which showed Marrogi launching his attack as soon as the door was opened, in what magistrate Michelle Hodgson described as a “quick but brutal” attack.

Hodgson noted that Marrogi had engaged in repeated violent and disruptive behaviour in prison but had only been punished by concurrent sentences up to that time.

“I have to specifically deter you, and I have to consider protection of custodial staff,” Hodgson said.

“I am going to give you an extra month on top of this. Mr Marrogi, you are at that point where this type of conduct will be marked by further periods of imprisonment.

“Given the length of your period of imprisonment, it may seem somewhat meaningless, but it will be marked by extending that period of time if it continues.”

Marrogi’s lawyer had argued that any sentence should be concurrent as Marrogi was stressed from being housed in severe conditions that were now the subject of a Supreme Court lawsuit.

Lawyer Daniel Georgiou said: “One thing I should mention is the one bright spot in his extremely restrictive custodial situation is being able to have visits and interaction with his family ... I’m instructed that this particular incident in February of last year, it was a lash-out due to a dispute he was having with the prison about how many family visits he was entitled to at the time.”

The magistrate responded: “I’m just not with you in relation to total concurrency.”

Marrogi was given a three-month sentence in total, with two months to be served concurrently and one month added to the total sentence. The maximum available sentence was five years.

The court also heard that Marrogi, who has been in custody since 2016, is now married.

A person using only the name “Mrs Marrogi” dialled into the court proceeding remotely but did not turn on her camera.

The identity of Marrogi’s wife is not known.

In an ongoing lawsuit against the state of Victoria over his prison conditions, affidavits tendered to the court described a sexual incident with a visitor.

“On 14 October 2023, prison staff observed the plaintiff engaging in a sexual act with a visitor during a contact visit,” according to the affidavit. “Prison staff terminated the visit and subsequently discovered that the overalls worn by the plaintiff were damaged.”