Some say crime reporter Ryan Naumenko has the same death wish as his executed gangland source Sam 'The Punisher' Abdulrahim. Others think he's as mad as the lunatics he reports on. As the streets of Melbourne run red in a seemingly endless underworld turf war, Naumenko is daring to do what no other crime reporter can - or would - do. The information laid bare by Naumenko, as the editor-in-chief of independent outlet Outlaw Media , has put a target on his head, and Tuesday's slaying of Abdulrahim proves these are no idle threats.
Abdulrahim, who was gunned down outside Quest Apartments in the northern suburb of Preston on Tuesday, had been upsetting some of the very same people as Naumenko. On Tuesday, Naumneko was one of the first people to speak with police about the daylight execution of the man he referred to as 'Suna'. Hours later he was comforting the family of his former 'contact'. Ryan Naumenko has a target on his head after upsetting Melbourne's underworld. A journalist has not been murdered on Australian soil since - but that could soon change if some criminal kingpins get their way with the reporter.
Over the past year Naumenko has enraged some of Australia's most dangerous criminals with his outrageous news productions and brazen disregard for the legal concerns that hinder mainstream media. Among the city's lawless underbelly, there appears to be a price on his head. Police even mounted a round-the-clock guard when a gangland hit squad was sent to take him out. But dicing with criminals is something Naumenko has long been accustomed to, and he has always lived to tell the tale, so far.
Crime buffs may recall Naumenko run-in with gangland widow Roberta Williams a few years back. Naumenko had been planning to make a reality series featuring Roberta, who was the widow of slain Melbourne underworld kingpin Carl Williams. By the time his dealings were done, Naumenko had been tied to a chair, beaten, kicked and threatened with a gun by Williams and her crew of thugs.
Ryan Naumenko is turning his criminal past into a positive future. If he survives. It was those kinds of direct experiences that have given him a unique insight into the criminal underworld on which he now reports. Just last week, Naumenko's enemies managed to hack his social media pages and briefly wipe him from the internet. Tuesday's slaying suggest he could soon be eliminated physically and not just online, as happened to another fearless Aussie reporter who crossed the underworld once too often.
