Tripodi was entrusted by a local constituent with a complaint concerning a harassment issue of a senior public servant apparently appointed by Mr Iemma's office and a low level public servant who was aware of a cover up of a bungled pedophile investigation and an accidental death of a child.
The constituent asked Mr Tripodi's office to request the relevant Minister to intercede and reverse a resignation and deal with the issue.
Mr Tripodi and the relevant Minister gave the abused constituent the response that nothing was to be done regarding their issue, but they could contact their abuser to discuss the matter.
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Mr Tripodi has lied to parliament. googling Hansard will allow one to see that Tripodi made the claim to have visited Canley Vale HS when he did not. The then Principal was aware of the lie made in Parliament. It wasn't a necessary lie, it was a dumb one, showing that Tripodi is less competent than he claims.
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Sex scandal details in comments.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Can Tripodi Be Trusted? Can Iemma?
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Sex, corruption scandal threatens Iemma Government
By Simon Benson and Larissa Cummings
THREE Iemma ministers have now been dragged into the ICAC sex scandal, with revelations that the Labor official at the centre of corruption allegations, Joe Scimone, was a campaign organiser for Police Minister David Campbell.
The news comes as Waterways Minister Joe Tripodi, who himself has now been referred to ICAC by the NSW Opposition, was forced to stand down Mr Scimone, a close friend, from a $200,000-a-year job in his department.
The Daily Telegraph can also reveal that one of the Labor Party's largest political donors in Wollongong during the 2007 election was a company linked to developer Glen Tabak, who is also facing corruption allegations in ICAC.
Mr Campbell yesterday confirmed Mr Scimone had worked on his election campaigns, including the most recent in 2007 during which he handed out how-to-vote cards.
Mr Scimone, employed by Wollongong council until last year, is alleged to have paid $30,000 to conmen posing as ICAC officials offering to destroy evidence against him.
"All I would say is that the allegations before ICAC appal me but we should let ICAC do its job," Mr Campbell said.
According to Electoral Funding Authority returns for the 2007 election, Mr Campbell, Tourism Minister Matt Brown and Labor MP for Wollongong Noreen Hay all received donations ranging from $6000 to $9000 from a company called Wideform.
Wideform lists its building division as a company called Perform Developments, which is owned by Glen Tabak.
Mr Tabak has been named as allegedly having an affair with Wollongong town planner Beth Morgan during 2005 when she was responsible for approving Perform's $31 million Victoria Square development.
He was named by ICAC as having a relationship with Mr Scimone that warranted "scrutiny".
The widening scandal for the State Government came as ICAC heard evidence yesterday that three Wollongong Labor councillors tried to extort money from a developer in exchange for building approvals.
Developer Frank Vellar, who is facing similar allegations as those laid against Mr Tabak, claimed he was the subject of a bribe by Wollongong Labor councillors Kiril Jonovski, Zeki Esen and Frank Gigliotti.
In a recorded phone exchange between Mr Vellar and his wife, he told her: "They're talking like, you know, 20 plus . . . it goes to their political . . . political slush fund individually."
Senior ministers, all the way to Premier Morris Iemma, were forced to admit they had associations with Mr Scimone, including Health Minister Reba Meagher.
Two former ministers have also been linked to Mr Scimone, who was appointed by former education minister John Aquilina to Wollongong University's administrative council in 1997.
He was reappointed by subsequent education ministers John Watkins in 2002 and Carmel Tebbutt in 2006.
Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell last night referred the appointment of Mr Scimone to a senior job within NSW Maritime, and minister responsible for the department Mr Tripodi, to the ICAC.
Yesterday Mr Tripodi revealed he had had coffee with Mr Scimone before his appointment. Mr Scimone had told him he was applying for the job, which he took up on January 14.
Mr O'Farrell claimed it was impossible to believe Mr Tripodi, who regards Mr Scimone as a longtime friend, did not know about the ICAC investigation when it was revealed in a local paper almost a year ago.
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