Judge refuses bail for Judy Moran

Gangland widow Judy Moran has been refused bail after police said she had threatened
to "fix up" a witness in her trial for the alleged murder of brother-in-law Des
Moran.
Wheelchair-bound Moran argued she should be bailed because her time in custody was
onerous due to an injured hip and media publicity.
But the court heard police had recorded telephone conversations in which Moran
threatened to "fix up" a witness when she was granted bail.
Earlier this month, Moran was committed to stand trial for the murder of Mr Moran,
who was gunned down at an Ascot Vale cafe last June.
On Wednesday, Deputy Chief Magistrate Jelena Popovic told Moran, 64, her bail
application "did not go well" and she did not have exceptional circumstances.
Police told the Melbourne Magistrates Court Moran allegedly said to a friend:
"Sandra is going to have the best rude awakening coming to her when I get bail that
you have ever seen."
"I will fix her up, two shakes of a lamb's tail."
As Ms Popovic refused bail, Moran remained silent and stared at her lawyer Jim Stavris.
She then appeared to be about to talk to Ms Popovic, only to be told by the
magistrate there was to be no communication between them.
This is the second time Moran has been refused bail.
"The issues of concern to me are the serious nature of the allegations," Ms Popovic
said.
"It is the crown case that the applicant was the person who arranged for the murder
of Mr Des Moran which was effected in a calculated, execution-style murder at
approximately midday on a weekday at a busy suburban shopping centre."
The court heard an X-ray in January showed Moran had "a tiny undisplaced fracture of
the subcapital region of the neck of the femur".
The radiologist recommended she have a CT scan but no scan had been performed, the
court heard.
Mr Stavris argued the large amount of media attention Moran received constituted
exceptional circumstances.
He said his client was particularly upset by an article in the Herald Sun that said
she had been involved in a prison dispute with Tania Herman, who is in jail for the
attempted murder of Melbourne woman Maria Korp.
Mr Stavris tendered an affidavit from Herman saying she had never met Moran.
"We have both been deeply hurt by the allegations in the Herald Sun," the affidavit
read.
"This allegation has defamed our solid and good reputations."
Ms Popovic rejected the argument.
"I am not satisfied that there was any basis for any finding that media reporting
constituted a factor to be considered when determining exceptional circumstances,"
she said.
Moran and co-accused Suzanne Kane, 46, Kane's de facto partner Geoffrey Armour, 44,
and Michael Farrugia, 45, will face the Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday for a
directions hearing.
A trial is not expected to begin until next year.