A convicted murderer who tried to sue the NSW prisons boss over his incarceration in Goulburn's Supermax prison has been shot in Sydney's west.
Emad Sleiman was shot in the chest and leg inside an apartment block at 9.20pm on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old was treated by paramedics at the unit in Park Road, Auburn, before being taken to Westmead Hospital in a serious condition.
It is understood he has been involved in long-running disputes with at least two infamous Sydney crime groups.
Mr Sleiman was sentenced to a minimum of 16 years in jail for the murder of 25-year-old waterskiing champion Jason Burton outside a Parramatta hotel in 1997.
Mr Burton was stabbed to death as he was out celebrating his birthday at the General Bourke Hotel in an attack that was apparently sparked by a meaningless dispute at the bar.
In 2008, Sleiman and fellow convicted killer, Brothers For Life founder Bassam Hamzy, won the right in the NSW Supreme Court to sue the NSW commissioner of corrective services over their solitary confinement in Goulburn's Supermax.
However, the NSW government then intervened and legislated to stop the legal action.
The then-premier, Nathan Rees, told NSW Parliament he was disgusted by the pair's "grab for cash".
"As far as I'm concerned, not one cent of taxpayers' money will end up in the hands of these vicious, disruptive thugs," he said.
No arrests have been made over Sleiman's shooting.
Detectives and specialist forensic officers were at the apartment on Wednesday night, with the unit block locked down.
It is understood the car used in the shooting, a Mercedes, was found burnt out in Punchbowl early on Thursday.
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