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An alleged stand-over scheme at a Kings Cross strip club involving two burly brothers and another man nicknamed “fat boy” whom police say is a member of a large cocaine ring … it was as if a Raymond Chandler novel had come to life.

But instead of the story appearing on the pages of a crime novel, Central Local Court played host to the colourful story - set in an part of Sydney ruled by a “code of silence”.

Three men, Luke “Fat Boy” Sparos and brothers Helal and Hysam Safi, faced the court yesterday charged with the kidnapping of the manager of a strip club, Stripperama, Adonis Yourelis, on April 19 last year.

The trio allegedly kidnapped Yourelis to extort money from the club’s owner, John Kopasakis.

Police said the three men entered the club - now called Strippers - and took Mr Yourelis, demanding he ring his boss and get him to come and meet them.

But instead of acceding to the men’s demands Mr Kopasakis went to Kings Cross police station and reported the kidnapping, police allege. The three men released Mr Yourelis before police arrived but CCTV footage from the club showed them with him, it is alleged.

The Chandler-esque in yesterday’s hearing was perhaps best exemplified during an exchange between the defence solicitor, Jim Nicopoulos, and a Kings Cross detective, Troy Smith.
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Kasey Allan of Clio and David Connell of Beulah are each facing one count of armed robbery, after robbing a Benzie County gas station at gunpoint. But According to local news, police officers said the robbery wasn’t really unexpected.

News reports say that two men showed up at the Honor Shell Gas Station in Benzie just after three o’clock Thursday morning, and robbed the station holding the clerk at gun point. Deputies say “hours before the armed robbery the two gunmen warned the cashier they were coming and gave her a detailed plan of the crime.”

Undersheriff Rory Heckman says, “They were planning on coming back with the weapon and they were going to rob her and wanted her to cooperate in exchange for money.”

They came back two hours later but they were in for a big surprise. After they left the station clerk called the police. Both deputies and troopers were outside the gas station waiting for them to come back.

A minute after they left the building officers stopped them.
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