Corruption watchdog charges two over Casey council bribery scandal

Victoria’s corruption watchdog has charged a former mayor and a development consultant over their alleged part in a bribery scandal in which City of Casey councillors accepted more than $1 million.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission announced the charges on Wednesday, more than two years after completing its investigation into the council in Melbourne’s south-east.

A former Casey councillor had been charged with one count of receiving secret commissions and two counts each of misconduct in public office and misuse of position, IBAC said.

It said a property development consultant was charged with giving secret commissions.

It is understood former Casey mayor Sam Aziz and consultant John Woodman were charged. Both were expected to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on September 25.

IBAC spent five years investigating alleged corruption involving property developers and councillors at the City of Casey. It held public hearings in 2019 and 2020 in which Woodman was accused of doling out more than $1.2 million in corrupt payments to councillors, including more than $600,000 to Aziz.

The payments, sometimes allegedly made by handing over cash in brown paper bags at a Subway restaurant in outer suburban Skye, were given in exchange for an attempted favourable rezoning of land in Cranbourne West, the investigation heard.

The entire City of Casey council was sacked in February 2020. Administrators were appointed for four years before the election of a new council late last year.

Woodman and Aziz have previously denied wrongdoing, and the two went as far as holding a press conference in July 2023 to defend themselves.

IBAC’s investigation and its Operation Sandon report was triggered by The Age’s reporting of alleged bribes involving Woodman and Aziz.

The inquiry heard allegations Woodman bankrolled a covert campaign in 2016 to successfully elect a “friendly” majority to the Casey Council. He also secretly funded a residents’ group to advocate for his rezoning bid, paying its frontman $60,000 a year, the inquiry heard.

The criminal charges laid on Wednesday will deal with different legal questions that will need to be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Separately, Woodman also faces legal action from his former lawyers, who filed a summons in the Supreme Court last Friday seeking $216,588 in solicitor costs from when the disgraced property developer launched a failed court bid to stop the publication of IBAC’s report in 2023.

The Age attempted to reach Woodman and Aziz.

The Operation Sandon report made 34 recommendations to government, all but two of which were accepted in full or in principle. The reforms, introduced after a sweeping review of the Planning and Environment Act last year, introduced mandatory training for elected representatives, and a uniform councillor code of conduct.

IBAC’s investigation also uncovered that the Ferrari-driving Woodman’s alleged attempts to buy influence extended beyond local government and that he had made many donations to state political campaigns.

Then-premier Daniel Andrews was questioned by IBAC investigators about a dinner he and Woodman attended with a small group at fine-dining institution Flower Drum, but Andrews was later cleared of any wrongdoing.

The Allan government has tied reform of Victoria’s Planning and Environment Act to the Victorian government’s Housing Statement, which has stripped councils of many powers to approve or reject planning applications, centralising planning authority with the state.

Casey Residents and Ratepayers Association vice president Anthony Tassone said the charges were welcome but had taken too long. The association wrote to Victoria’s Attorney-General, Sonya Kilkenny, as recently as June, expressing frustration with the lack of visible progress.

“The laying of charges this week is an important step, but it must only be the beginning. The people of Casey deserve full transparency, timely prosecutions, and the implementation of IBAC’s recommendations to restore integrity to our planning system and rebuild trust in local government,” Tassone said.

“For too long, residents have borne the brunt of decisions tainted by alleged corruption, including having to pay the wages of state appointed monitors overseeing our newly elected councillors.”

A City of Casey spokesperson said IBAC had informed the council of the charges, but could not comment further while the matters were before the courts.

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