Former Sydney councillor shoved elderly mum over bedroom cleaning dispute: court

A once-promising politician who smashed through a garage with a car before unleashing a bloodied assault on his elderly godmother also attacked his mother in her home.

Sam Einfeld, 45, fronted Downing Centre Local Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to two counts of common assault – one domestic violence related.

The charges relate to two separate attacks over two years on the former Waverley councillor’s mother Evelyn Einfeld and a longtime family friend.

Court documents reveal Einfeld’s mother was at the home she shared with her son in Redfern in April 2021 when a family friend attended to clean the property.

The family friend was in Einfeld’s bedroom cleaning and removing items. When Einfeld saw her, he “became angry and said: ‘What are you doing here?’”

The woman replied: “Your mum asked me to clean your room, you’re a grown ass man and you need to keep your stuff clean; she asked you to clean and you haven't”.

The documents state Enfield called out to his mother who was downstairs, but when she stopped in her son’s doorway Einfeld “walked past in an aggressive manner”.

“In doing so, his shoulder made contact with Mrs Einfeld, causing her to be pushed backwards, making contact with the wall behind her,” the documents state.

Less than a year later, Einfeld was again involved in an assault incident where his mother was present, this time outside the home of another family friend in Surry Hills.

Einfeld had gone to assist his mother out of the passenger side door of a car when the mother of the family friend walked out of the rear gate and asked him to leave.

The former local politician responded: “Don’t go mum, come back with me”, before the woman helped his mother through the gate as the family friend called triple-0.

The family friend attempted to “shut the gate to stop the offender from entering”, at which point Einfeld pushed the gate with his shoulder causing it to knock her over.

In both instances, police said Einfeld did not intentionally push or push the gate into his victims, “however he had acted recklessly in the circumstances”.

Appearing before the court, lawyer Rebecca McMahon said the offences had taken place in the context of “untreated mental health and long term substance abuse issues”

“He’s now stable and has that community support network wrapped around him. He has turned his life around and is very unlikely to reoffend,” Ms McMahon said.

“He remains substance free. His remorse is genuine”

Ms McMahon said the assault on his mother was at the lower end of seriousness.

“He wasn’t angry at her … he was angry at his neighbour.”

Magistrate Brett Shields sentenced Einfeld to a 12 month conditional release order.

The court was told a separate Apprehend Violence Order relating to Einfeld’s mother, Evylyn Einfeld, had been withdrawn after she died in September.

It comes after Einfeld earlier pleaded guilty to a separate incident in which he drove his car through the garage door of his 82-year-old godmother, Margot Pridday.

The attack continued inside with Enfield throwing a ceramic pot at the woman’s windscreen before chasing his longtime friend into her property and kicking her repeatedly.

Enfield is cousin of disgraced Court Judge Marcus Einfeld who was jailed for three years after lying about a speeding ticket, and spent eight months in custody on remand.