Sally Pryor October 25 2025
A planned lecture by renowned war correspondent Chris Masters has been cancelled, amid reports the venue owners were worried his speech would be too controversial.
‘I wanna kill him so bad’: Bikie turned Four Corners journalist in ‘fabricated message’ feud
By Kate McClymont and Calum Jaspan
October 25, 2025
An ongoing feud between a former bikie member turned Four Corners reporter and his ex-podcast host, a former felon, has escalated amid claims of fabricated text messages in which the ABC journalist allegedly describes a well-known YouTube figure as a “f---in’ rat” whom he wanted to kill.
Mahmood Fazal, a former member of the Mongols bikie gang who has worked as an investigative reporter with the ABC since 2021, has accused former associate Ryan Naumenko of fabricating an explosive text message in which Fazal speaks out against YouTube figure Jordan Shanks, known online as FriendlyJordies.
In the encrypted text exchanges between the pair, screenshots of which have been seen by this masthead, Fazal sent a text to Naumenko on the evening of October 2 saying: “F--- Jordies and his people they’re dogs I wanna kill him so bad.”
The previous day, Shanks had released a video, They Tried to Kill Me, in which he complained that the only person who had been jailed over the November 2022 firebombing of his home had been the hired “muscle” for the Alameddine organised crime gang.
“I don’t know why hes [sic] crying…comes with the territory…u want to shit on gangsters and make fun of them in ur [sic] video,” said Fazal in one message. In another, he said, “nah he [Shanks] has to get what he gets…”
Asked about the exchanges, the Four Corners reporter said the text message expressing his desire to “kill” Shanks had been falsified, while others had been taken out of context.
“You have put a fabricated message to me and select [sic] messages out of context. I deny any wrongdoing,” he said.
Naumenko, who describes himself as “part journalist, part outlaw” complete with a “30-page criminal history”, denied the fabrication claim, telling this masthead: “The old narrative ‘Ryan lies’ – doesn’t work and won’t work this time.”
Fazal has since made a statement to police and has applied for a personal safety intervention order against Naumenko.
In late September, a week before his explosive text messages, Fazal, 34, had launched a podcast with Naumenko, 42, called Word on the Street, which Naumenko said would “dive into the gritty underbelly of crime”.
But a bitter break-up between the pair saw Naumenko launch a savage attack on Fazal in a YouTube video aired last week.
On Thursday, Naumenko turned on the media, including this masthead, for reporting on the Fazal saga. “The vast majority of mainstream media, in my humble opinion, are absolute c---s,” Naumenko said on a YouTube video.
He repeated his previous allegations against his former co-host, including that Fazal demanded payment in cash, and that he had not told his employer, the ABC, that he was being paid. Naumenko later identified that the money funding the podcast was coming from online gambling firm Vegastars.
However, Naumenko said he would not be co-operating with the ABC’s investigation into what he described as Fazal’s “side-hustle”.
“Yes, Fazal acted very greedy,” said Naumenko, though he said their spat should have stayed online. “The media circus around Fazal shows Australian journalism’s true colours. Everyone’s got a f---ing angle, and integrity is nowhere to be found,” he said in Thursday’s video.
In the text exchanges earlier this month, Fazal said he wanted to run a favourable podcast about the notorious Alameddine crime gang.
Apart from 20 tit-for-tat murders, the Alameddine gang and rival Hamzy clan have engaged in kidnapping, arson and torture as they battle for control of Sydney’s lucrative drug trade.
Fazal, who is no stranger to drugs and violence, having been a sergeant-at-arms of outlaw bikie gang the Mongols, also said in the text exchange, “nah he [Shanks] has to get what he gets he’s a dog ratted me to jacks [police].”
Last year, this masthead revealed that Fazal had been reported to NSW Police for passing on threats from the Alameddine crime gang to Shanks, 36, and his producer, Kristo Langker, 25. Police did not take any action against
Shanks’ house was firebombed only weeks after the August 2022 release of a contentious FriendlyJordies video highlighting the activities of senior members of the Alameddine network, including Fazal’s friend, rapper Ay Huncho, whose real name is Ali Younes.
Although an Alameddine foot soldier was arrested over the firebombing in December 2023, early last year Fazal was passing on threats that worse might happen if Shanks and Langker didn’t remove the FriendlyJordies video to which the Alameddines had taken exception.
In his statement to police on January 19, 2024, Langker alleged that Fazal had said to him: “These people kill people. If you don’t take the video down something bad is going to happen.”
Fazal is also alleged to have said, “Jordan has already been firebombed, what more could it take to take the video down.”
Langker told police that Fazal said he, too, was being threatened and that he had been receiving “furious” calls from Sydney builder Andy Nahas, who featured in the video and wanted it taken down.
Following the threats, the video was taken down.
Both Nahas, 37, and Younes, 28, were recently named in a police exhibit, tendered in a murder trial, as senior members of the Alameddine organised crime group. It is not suggested that either of them, or Fazal, was involved in the firebombing.
Last year, in response to questions from this masthead about Fazal’s role delivering death threats to other journalists, an ABC spokesperson said, “Mahmood Fazal does extremely challenging, impactful and important public-interest journalism for the ABC and the ABC stands by his reporting.”
Langker later emailed the ABC asking: “Does the ABC believe it is acceptable for one of their employees to pass on death threats to other journalists and then refuse to co-operate with police?”
“We have no evidence of any illegality or misconduct by an ABC employee,” an ABC spokesperson replied.
NSW Police said the investigation into the threats reported by Langker went nowhere in part due to the reluctance of Fazal to provide a statement.
While Shanks did not name Fazal in his recent video about the three-year jail sentence given to the arsonist, Tufi Junior Tauese-Auelia, 39, the YouTuber had a not-so-subtle dig at Fazal, saying, “Why do the Alameddines, an organised crime gang, give so much access to certain ABC journalists? Why is the ABC so ardent in defending these certain journalists?”
After seeing the video, Fazal texted Naumenko about Shanks’ quote referring to “certain journalists” having access to the Alameddines. After calling him a “f---in rat,” Fazal said he didn’t know why Shanks was “crying”, saying it “comes with the territory”.
Naumenko said in his YouTube video last week that Fazal had wanted to do a podcast episode “to earn some respect from the Alameddine crime family”. But he said that the “ABC wouldn’t let him, due to the stories tying him too closely with the Alameddine crime family”.
Naumenko told this masthead that the Alameddines were “pissed” at Fazal’s efforts early last year to get the FriendlyJordies video taken down. “It blew up in their face,” Naumenko said.
In the text messages the pair supposedly exchanged earlier this month, Fazal said to his then-podcast co-host, “Bro Alameddines still wanna hit me.” Fazal went on to say in the text that he planned to “make up to em” by doing a favourable podcast on the Alameddines.
“Better him than me but f--- him we should do a pod on that and get my story out,” he said of Shanks.
“Nah, leave it,” Naumenko replied. “It’s not worth it. Seriously, jordies is a nerd, bro, he’s not part of OC [organised crime] why hit a house over a story it’s f---ing gay … Just leave it. I’m not willing to speak about it cause let’s be real you sent the f---ing threats, they f---ed you.”
Fazal replied that Shanks was a “dog” who “has to get what he gets”.
In response to questions about the exchanges, Fazal said in an email: “Ryan Naumenko has a criminal history, a history of harassment, and a documented record of dishonesty. As a journalist you should know that background is material when assessing his reliability and motives as your source.
“His previous allegations about the podcast are demonstrably false and it is surprising that the Heraldchose to publish them. Similarly, you have put a fabricated message to me and select messages out of context. I deny any wrongdoing.”
The former bikie turned ABC reporter won a Walkley Award in 2020 for the podcast series No Gangsters in Paradise, which detailed the bloody feud between Sydney’s warring Darwiche-Razzak families more than a decade earlier. Fazal was then hired by the ABC as an investigative reporter before joining its flagship current affairs program, Four Corners, in August 2023.
Naumenko, who delivered the recent public tirade about Fazal, has a colourful background. He has served jail time for drug trafficking and obtaining property by deception and has previously said he was once associated with “the mafia, scammers, conmen and drug dealers”.
The relationship between the two former underworld figures blew up last week after Naumenko alleged that Fazal had not told the ABC about his paid gig following an incident in Melbourne between the pair before the recording of their second episode. Naumenko said he had “fired” Fazal but would still publish the second and final episode.
Naumenko also said he paid Fazal $13,000 in total for his involvement in the podcast. On Monday, the ABC’s program Media Watch published screenshots of text conversations between Fazal and Naumenko, in which the ABC journalist requested that he transfer money directly to his account.
Fazal’s lawyer Rebekah Giles told Media Watch the ABC journalist had connected Naumenko with a production crew, and that any funds transferred to him were to pay those contractors. However, Naumenko provided further screenshots to Media Watch showing he had made direct bank transfers to members of the crew who produced the podcast.
Fazal had previously told the ABC he was not being compensated for his appearances.
The ABC last week announced it was investigating Fazal’s role in the venture following Naumenko’s on-air tirade about Fazal demanding cash payments for his involvement in the project.
“After the interview aired, which included gambling ads, his manager withdrew endorsement of the work. ABC management is looking further into this matter,” an ABC spokesperson said at the time.
When asked about the fresh allegations this week, the ABC provided the same statement, though added that management is now “thoroughly investigating” the matter.
