Disgraced former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid has been sentenced to five years behind bars, with a non-parole period of three years, for his crimes of misconduct while in public office.
He’s been refused bail, and will go directly to jail today.
Obeid was found guilty in June this year. It relates to an incident in 2007, when he – then a member of the NSW Upper House – was lobbying a senior bureaucrat about the rights of waterfront retailers but failed to mention his family’s business interests in more than a few of them around Circular Quay.
Justice Robert Beech-Jones described his crimes as “very serious”, which is not what Obeid’s legal defence argued (they said it was at the lowest end of seriousness).
He also compared Obeid’s use of his position to bribery. “The more senior the public office, the greater the level of public trust. Corruption by elected officials consumes democracies,” he said.
Not only will Obeid be behind bars until at least December 2019, but he also has to pay back the government $280,000 in legal fees and has been stripped of his cushy pension.
Triple whammy for #Obeid at least 3 yrs jail, stripped of his pension & has to pay Govt $280k in legal fees they have already paid for him.
— brigid glanville (@brigidglanville) December 15, 2016
A full appear is likely to be heard between March and May 2017.
