Joseph Antoun death by gunfire reveals ugly world of debt collecting and criminals A man has been shot dead in the doorway of his home in Strathfield, in Sydney's inner west. Joseph Antoun, who was killed at his Sydney home. WHEN debt collector Joseph Antoun opened the door of his Sydney home early this week and was shot five times, no one was surprised - except him. He lived in the dangerous world of debt collecting but thought his reputation and connections made him untouchable. He was obviously wrong and, just like his business associate Vasko Boskovski, he was executed by a professional hitman. Antoun's murder last Monday and Boskovski's in July has opened up a list of suspects that would fill the Entertainment Centre, as Sydney businessman Jim Byrnes quipped this week when told his protagonist Antoun was dead. Sydney criminal Joseph Antoun, who was shot and killed five times. It has also exposed a murky world where debt collecting is big business - and a shady one - especially when you deal in millions. Murdered Sydney businessman Michael McGurk was known as a violent standover man, albeit in a suit, who lived on the north shore and would buy debts confident he could recover them using his own brand of tactics. The most common practice was for commissions to be paid to those offering to collect the debt on behalf of the client. Respectable businesses have been known to use collection agencies who then employ less desirable types to get the money. Antoun dabbled in debt collection - and just generally ripping people off. He was a well-known thug with a criminal record but had recently taken to using the Brothers for Life gang to do his dirty work. Police confirmed their investigation into Antoun's murder includes Brothers for Life. "But there are a lot of other people who may have wanted him dead," they added. According to police, Antoun and Boskovki had links beyond the normal Sydney criminal milieu. If you look deeper you will find connections to figures in the Melbourne underworld as well, especially with Antoun. Vasko Boskovski, who has been linked to Joseph Antoun. The lesser known Boskovski has been linked to a convicted Sydney Muslim terrorist. There is some speculation their murders are a result of their switch from employing Brothers for Life as muscle to another group linked to Muslim crime groups. Both gangs are well known to the Middle Eastern Crime Squad. The other theory doing the rounds of the Sydney underworld is Antoun and another of his associates had been hauled in to the NSW Crime Commission for questioning more than once over the past few months. Other crims get nervous when people like Antoun are under the glare of the all-powerful Crime Commission, who have the power to jail people simply for not answering questions. Many fellow criminals fear they are likely to cut a deal and give them up. That makes them a target to be silenced. The pair were known to be loving family men who lived fairly unpretentious lives in simple suburban Sydney homes. Sydney businessman Jim Byrnes has already told police he had been involved in a soured business deal with Antoun and named him as being behind a drive-by shooting of his home, vandalism of his offices and cars and assaults on his staff. Jim Byrnes, who knew Joesph Antoun. I have never said I wanted Joe Antoun dead. I had hoped up until the news of his death that he would be arrested and charged with crimes arising from complaints I had made of Mr Antoun of arranging the drive-by shooting at my house and arranging for the assault of a colleague in Queensland and destroying my Sydney admin office and assaulting staff," he said. I had hoped that some years of incarceration may give him time to reflect on his actions. Byrnes said he had settled the dispute with Antoun, paying him "f ... off" money. "A commercial settlement was agreed to settle any claims Antoun might have tried to bring in the future," Byrnes said. The home where Joe Antoun was shot after he opened the door of his Strathfield home. In all honesty, these claims would have been vigorously defended and were without merit, however while both corporately and personally we have a zero tolerance for thuggery, intimidation and demanding money with menace, we were extremely mindful of the toll Mr Antoun's actions had caused to families, including my own, the sheer lack of productivity based on the huge wasted time and effort dealing with heightened security, investigations, legal options and other advice. So, in order to obtain closure on the dispute, a settlement was negotiated and agreed. Our various company interest have now tightened corporate governance so these forms of attacks can never lead to the corporate sabotage brought about by Mr Antoun and his partner in crime. Police at the crime scene in Strathfield where Joe Antoun was killed. He said the man was a chameleon whose personality could turn on the drop of a hat. I first met Antoun in the company of an associate and others. Although in shorts, running shoes and long-sleeve T-shirt he had a rather brutish appearance but he had a very polite manner and was courteous, respectful and polite," Byrnes said. I would however, some months later when we disagreed on an agreed terms of a purchase, that I began to understand that Antoun had two very different sides. Antoun could have a most intimidating demeanour when angry. To say I felt uncomfortable would be an understatement. Byrnes expected to be questioned by police over Antoun's death but, according to detectives, it may be some time before they get around to him. There are plenty of other suspects. Jim Byrnes writes exclusively about his dealings with slain standover man Joseph Antoun. Go to thetelegraph.com.au