‘Assassin’ shot dead by rivals
A 38-year-old nightclub owner, known to police as an alleged hit man and a powerful figure in the Athens underworld, was shot dead early yesterday in a drive-by execution outside his club in the affluent northern suburb of Kifissia. Giorgos Sabbat, a Greek Egyptian, was shot twice – in the chest and in the leg – by an assailant on a motorcycle being driven by an accomplice, police said. The 38-year-old was driven to the hospital by a friend after the attack at 3.30 a.m. but died of his injuries a few hours later. According to police, Sabbat’s murder was the continuation of a settling of accounts between rival criminal groups. The 38-year-old has been linked to several contract killings and a March 2006 raid on a van in Kolonaki carrying 1.3 million euros in bank cash. He was also linked to a recent failed assassination attempt against a fellow nightclub owner.
