The untimely death of a patient undergoing routine nose surgery is bad enough for any cosmetic surgeon, but when Dr William Mooney discovered his recently deceased patient was a major underworld figure, with a posse of aggrieved associates, he was worried enough to call the police.

Alex “Little Al” Taouil, a feared standover man and a close associate of bikies and Melbourne identity Mick Gatto, was admitted to East Sydney Private Hospital in Crown Street, Woolloomooloo, in early December.

“Another plastic gangster bites the dust,” said one underworld figure dismissively of Little Al’s “nose job”, which went horribly wrong. Others told Fairfax Media the "mediator" was undergoing surgery to correct an ongoing sinus problem. Whatever the reason, he was not expected to die.

His doctor was well-known eastern suburbs cosmetic surgeon and TV personality William Mooney, 51. The Aston Martin-driving Dr Mooney boasts on his website that not only is he “Australia’s leading ENT [Ear, Nose and Throat], specialising in Facial Plastic Surgery” but also “Sydney’s Premiere Rhinoplasty Surgeon.”