A property developer who admitted to his role in an inferno that razed a $24m Sydney waterfront mansion has been jailed, waving to loved ones inside a courtroom on Friday as he was taken off to prison. Steve Nassif, 71, learnt his fate in Sydney’s Central District Court after he was arrested in December 2022 over his role in an arson attack that reduced a luxury heritage-listed north shore estate to rubble. Earlier this year, Nassif pleaded guilty to one count of destroying property by fire after the Cliff Rd, Northwood heritage-listed mansion went up in flames in September 2022.
It took a team of 50 firefighters more than an hour to put out the inferno after flames as high as 20m terrified neighbours. The six-bedroom home was owned by property developer Ouyang “Owen” Chen, who is not accused of any wrongdoing. He bought the house, which boasted spectacular views of the Lane Cove River, Sydney’s CBD and Anzac Bridge, a tennis court, boathouse, and an orchard, on Sydney’s lower north shore for $24.
1m in 2021. Nassif and his then 19-year-old accomplice Adams Kipkosgei Bett mounted their first arson attempt in August 2021. The court was told the men bought more than 56 litres of petrol before Bett entered the house; however, at the last minute, he backed out of the plan to burn it down.
The pair ultimately went through with it on September 3, 2022, with Nassif acting as the getaway driver and Bett lighting the fire. They purchased 36 litres of petrol in a red plastic j.