A man arrested in Greece nearly three decades after police allege he killed another man in a Sydney nightclub and fled has been sentenced to jail on unrelated charges.
James Dalamangas was on Thursday sentenced in a court in Aigio, Greece to two years and nine months’ jail for illegal weapon possession and giving false testimony, according to local media reports.
Police allege James Dalamangas fled Australia shortly after he stabbed a man to death in 1999. Picture: supplied
Greek publication Ekathimerini reports Mr Dalamangas had the sentence suspended pending appeal, meaning it will not be enforced until another trial takes place.
The 55-year-old remains in custody, with Greek judicial authorities reportedly still considering whether to extradite him.
Mr Dalamangas had been the subject of an Interpol red notice, with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) renewing a $200,000 reward for this arrest in 2024 over the alleged stabbing murder of George Giannopoulos.
Giannopoulos had attempted to intervene in a violent brawl that had broken out at a nightclub in Belmore in Sydney’s southwest when Mr Dalamangas allegedly fatally stabbed him on April 25 1999.
Mr Dalamangas had allegedly been living a quiet life as a farmer near a coastal town in Greece. Picture: Flamis. Gr
A warrant was issued for Mr Dalamangas’ arrest, but he allegedly fled to Greece.
According to the Greek City Times, Mr Dalamangas had been living quietly on the outskirts of the small seaside town under the alias Antonis Tzimas for decades.
He was described by neighbours as a “low-profile olive grove farmer who kept to himself” according to the paper.
George Giannopoulos was allegedly stabbed as he tried to break up a fight at a nightclub in Belmore. He died on the way to hospital. Picture: supplied
Attempts to extradite him to Australia in 2003 failed, with Greek authorities later agreeing to take up the case, but Mr Dalamangas is alleged to have evaded prosecutors four years later.
According to local Greek media, authorities allegedly tracked Mr Dalamangas to a property in the town of Aigio, near Patras, where he was alleged to be living under a false identity.
The Greek City Times said Mr Dalamangas had been using the alias “Antonis Tzimas”, and he was known to locals as a farmer.
James Dalamangas was well known among Sydney’s criminal underworld at the time he allegedly fled to Greece. Picture: Supplied
The greekreporter.com described Mr Dalamangas’ house as “entirely enclosed by high walls and guarded by a large pack of aggressive dogs”.
Greek police allegedly had Mr Dalamangas and the property under surveillance for three days before he was arrested leaving the house with his father and partner, who have both also been detained for allegedly harbouring a fugitive.
Footage of the arrest taken by local outlet Flamis shows a group of Hellenic Police officers gathered outside a walled compound before a police van pulls up to the main entrance and officers frog march a man with curly grey hair into the side door.
According to the news site, Dalamangas allegedly “initially stuck to his cover story, giving his alias”, before later allegedly confessing his true identity.
Police searching his house later allegedly recovered “a crossbow and various sharp objects”.
