The father of a Dragons star told a trio of men who attempted to rob an underworld crime figure of a stash of cash the victim had buried in the ground, a court has heard.
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However the botched robbery resulted in drug trafficker Saso Ristevski's death, who was gunned down at his Lake Heights home in 2011.
Talatau Dal Amone, the father of St George Illawarra Dragons five-eighth Talatau Junior Amone, is facing a trial at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court - 12 years on from the alleged incident.
The Crown aired the allegations against Amone on Tuesday, who has pleaded not guilty to being an accessory before a serious indictable offence - assault with intent to rob in company.
Amone, 47, is not charged with Ristevski's murder but instead that he was an accessory to the alleged botched robbery that surrounded his killing.
Crown prosecutor Tom Jones said Victorian man Lloyd Murrell, another man who was referred to in court by the pseudonym Kevin, and a third unidentified man had attempted to rob Ristevski on September 28, 2011.
However the court heard the robbery didn't go to plan, resulting in Ristevski's death and causing the trio to flee the scene.
The Crown alleges that Amone made the trio aware of cash that Ristevski had buried in the ground.
The trio allegedly arrived at Amone's Vermont Road home in Warrawong on the evening of September 28, where he allegedly told them to "grab" Ristevski and take him to a nearby vacant house on Flagstaff Road to find out where he kept the money.
Mr Jones told the court the Crown does not suggest Amone was "present or physically involved" during the attempted heist.
Murrell hired a car in Ballarat and arrived in Wollongong on the evening in question, the court heard. The Crown said it would rely on mobile phone data to prove Amone spoke with Murrell prior to his arrival.
The court heard Murrell then drove to a Western Sydney address, where he met Kevin. Murrell left the hire car there, and the pair drove back to Warrawong together in a Mitsubishi Outlander to meet Amone - who Kevin described to police as "a big Islander guy with a golden tooth".
Murrell and Kevin then arrived at the Lake Heights address about 8pm, with the third unidentified man arriving in a separate car.
The court heard an altercation occurred at the home, in which Ristevski's parents heard screams in the backyard, with Ristevski's father then seeing two men each wearing balaclavas and wielding firearms.
The trio of would-be robbers then fled the scene, as the unknown man allegedly shot the gun and killed Ristevki. The firearm was later found in Victoria.
A 2016 police interview with Kevin was played in a closed court, after officer in charge of the investigation detective Sergeant Ryan Pagett briefly gave evidence.
The trial, before Judge Garry Neilson, will continue on Wednesday.
The Mercury does not suggest Junior Amone was involved in the robbery or Ristevski's death.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
