Brother of chainsaw murder bid maniac jailed for £500,000 judge plot
- Rory Cassidy
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
A business owner who offered £500,000 for information on the Scottish judge who jailed his chainsaw maniac brother has been caged.
Albanian Leonard Kastrati posted on social media asking for the address of Temporary Judge William Gallacher.
He also made threats towards police officers, spoke of the media coverage his brother's case had been given.
Judge Gallacher, who is also a sheriff, jailed Kastrati's brother, Liridon Kastrati, to 10 years in prison over the attempted murder of a police officer.
The judge sentenced Liridon on January 20 this year, and the same day, Leonard took to his business Instagram account to go on his ranting fishing expedition.
Between January 20 and 21 he posted a series of messages and videos on the account for his Wash HQ car wash in Paisley, Renfrewshire.
He made a "promise" that anyone with information would receive a bounty from him, saying it could be sent in a William Hill online betting account.
And he said he was willing to sacrifice his own life for his brother, saying he would also complain to the Scottish Government and MPs.
And he threatened to buy his own chainsaw and threatened that the officer targeted would be "chopped" the "next time".
Leonard, 29, was arrested over the messages after they were reported to police, and he was remanded in custody.
He pleaded guilty previously and returned to the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court today, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, to be sentenced.
Defence solicitor Terry Gallanagh, a partner in law firm McCusker, McElroy and Gallanagh, represented Leonard during today's hearing.
He told the court his client had began abusing alcohol following his brother's incarceration, which had affected his mental health.
Sheriff Eoin McGinty jailed Leonard, of Glasgow, for 30 months for the offence, backdated to January, when he was first remanded in custody.
Documents lodged with Companies House show that Leonard is also the director of real estate company Astore Has Ltd.
His comments about Judge Gallacher came after Liridon was jailed over the attempted murder of PC Gary Cowan.
He had been found guilty following a trial at the High Court in Paisley and was later sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.
Liridon had chased Cowan through the streets of Paisley with a live chainsaw and tried to strike him with the weapon, before being subdued and detained by officers.
The 32-year-old was convicted of brandishing the power tool at officers in Paisley, on May 6, 2024.
He had denied a single charge of attempting to murder four police officers.
As he was jailed, Liridon blasted the judge and Scotland as "terrorist" - a phrase also used by Leonard in his online rants.
Leonard also hit out at the High Court in Paisley previously, after his brother's sentencing hearing was moved without the family's knowledge.
He was initially due to be sentenced in December, and his mother had travelled from Albania to Scotland to see him at the hearing.
She arrived at the High Court in Paisley, along with Leonard, for the hearing.
But they were told the case was not taking place at the Renfrewshire courthouse as originally planned, and had been moved to Glasgow.
A shocked and angry Leonard said: "We have come here to see him being sentenced but they said it is taking place in Glasgow.
"Nobody told us this. It was supposed to be here. My mother has come over from Albania to see him being sentenced.
"We have come here but it is not here. We now have to go to Glasgow but it will be over and we will miss it. Why did nobody tell us?"
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