Pre-merger gifts probed
NSW’s ICAC will hold public inquiries into former Hurstville Council members.
Three former councillors will be investigated over claims that they accepted bribes to favour two major developments.
Former councillors Constantine Hindi, Vincenzo Badalati and Philip Sansom will be probed to see if they “dishonestly exercised their official functions” in exchange for gifts and benefits, including flights and accommodation for overseas trips.
The councillors served on Hurstville Council before it merged with Kogarah Council into the Georges River Council in 2016.
The investigation also involves two Hurstville projects by developers Ching Wah (Philip) Uy, Wensheng Liu and Yuqing Liu - the $29 million, 11-storey Treacy Street apartment development, and the 19-storey Landmark Square development.
The hearings will determine whether the councillors deliberately failed to declare or manage any conflicts of interests with their relationships with the developers.
ICAC's public hearings will run for five weeks from June 14.
ICAC recently launched a public inquiry into representatives of a nearby Canada Bay Council as part of a similar investigation, which is still ongoing.