That’s a wrap on week nine of Operation Rosny public hearings, and for the penultimate day of the inquiry – with likely just one day of evidence left.

Sharangan Maheswaran, the one-time Labor councillor and former Toplace lawyer was again in the witness box for his fifth full day of questioning, from his involvement in pushing a negative story about the then building commissioner to his use of a private investigator to run surveillance on the former Strathfield mayor.

We’ll return next Tuesday at the slightly earlier time of 9.30am to resume Maheswaran’s evidence and potentially wrap up the public hearings altogether.

Until then, here’s a recap of what we covered today:

• Sharangan Maheswaran met with Daniel Mookhey, then an opposition MP, to share allegations that the building commissioner was harassing his client, which he didn’t reveal was Toplace. Maheswaran wanted Mookhey to ask David Chandler questions at a budget estimates hearing, but instead Mookhey referred the matter to ICAC and suggested Maheswaran do the same, the inquiry heard.
• Maheswaran sent damaging material about the building commissioner to journalists with the goal of getting a story published about Chandler, the inquiry heard. He also sent material to Charles Perrottet.
• The Toplace lawyer told Nassif he had met with key people who would support a push against the building commissioner, and told Nassif within four weeks “he will be finished”, the inquiry heard. Maheswaran denied participating in a plot to get Chandler sacked.
• During a 2023 parliamentary inquiry into allegations of illegal donations in the Hills Shire, Maheswaran told a friend he “fled Sydney” to avoid a summons.
• Maheswaran and fellow Labor Strathfield Councillor wanted to oust then mayor Matthew Blackmore and to install a Labor councillor so Labor could hold power in all levels of government by the 2023 state election, the inquiry heard.
• Maheswaran consulted tarot cards about “how things will go for Matthew” which was a “lark”, Maheswaran told the hearing.

Staying with Sharangan Maheswaran and Karen Pensabene’s 2022 discussion of tarot cards, when the pair shared their worry about the actions of independent councillor Matthew Blackmore.

“Eight of wands, is hastiness, which is our worry,” Pensabene said.

Maheswaran wondered if they were moving too quickly.

“True,” Pensabene said. “It’s like he [Blackmore] is on the edge of the sword, you don’t know which way he’ll turn. I don’t think he makes hasty decisions.”

“A talkative and intelligent person who uses those qualities for negative mean? Matthew all over,” Maheswaran said.

Labor councillors Sharangan Maheswaran and Karen Pensabene discussed the political machinations of Strathfield Council using tarot card readings, the ICAC has heard.

Pensabene and Maheswaran were discussing over text the vote for mayor, as the pair wanted independent Matthew Blackmore out in favour of a Labor councillor, when Pensabene asked Maheswaran if he was near his “card reader”.

Maheswaran sends her a photo of some tarot cards.

“Two of cups in a professional setting equals a strong friendship partnership, which equals us,” Maheswaran told Pensabene.

Former Labor councillor Sharangan Maheswaran sent damaging information about other councillors and described Strathfield Council as “insane” in an email to political YouTuber Friendlyjordies, the ICAC has heard.

In the email, which copied in other Labor councillors, Maheswaran included damaging information about independent councillor Matthew Blackmore, whom he described as “the worst of the lot”.

The ICAC is investigating if Maheswaran used a private investigator to run surveillance on Blackmore as part of a pressure campaign to force him out of the mayoralty.

The inquiry heard that a Friendlyjordies video did run in September 2021, before Maheswaran was elected to council in December.

Peggy Dwyer, SC, was attempting to ask Sharangan Maheswaran about his text messages around the time Jean Nassif fled to Lebanon when Maheswaran took issue with her line of questioning.

Dwyer pointed the former Labor councillor to a text he sent to a friend in March 2023, describing Nassif’s leaving the country as the “worst-case scenario”.

“Fundamentally, I don’t think I’ve done anything seriously unlawful,” Maheswaran told a friend.

“Did you think you might have done something a little bit unlawful, Mr Maheswaran?” Dwyer asked.

Former Toplace lawyer Sharangan Maheswaran has denied intimidating Robert Assaf to stop him giving evidence to a parliamentary inquiry.

Maheswaran has previously given evidence that Assaf, a key member of conservative Liberal factional group the Reformers, told him that Charles Perrottet was taking money from Jean Nassif in exchange for outcomes with the Hills Shire Council.

Maheswaran denied suggestions that he was trying to scare Assaf off giving evidence about Perrottet to the inquiry.

The ICAC heard Maheswaran fed Assaf a fake story about an individual and drugs, with the goal of exposing Assaf as someone who leaks. The inquiry also heard Assaf was given the nickname “the rat”. 

Maheswaran said he believed Assaf gave himself that nickname.

The public hearing has now turned to efforts Sharangan Maheswaran went to in order to avoid being caught up in the parliamentary inquiry into allegations of illegal donations in the Hills Shire.

“I’ve fled Sydney in anticipation of the hearing tomorrow. I’m in Cessnock,” Maheswaran texted a friend.

His friend asked how being in Cessnock would help him avoid the inquiry.

“They can’t find me to serve me,” Maheswaran said.

Maheswaran returned to Sydney a day later and told his friend: “I’m back from hiding, they didn’t call me.”

The inquiry has now turned to a 2023 parliamentary inquiry into allegations of illegal donations in the Hills Shire, which wanted Charles Perrottet, Jean-Claude Perrottet, Jeremy Greenwood and Christian Ellis to give evidence, but all men refused.

Shane De Kauwe, the private investigator, was engaged to help Greenwood avoid giving evidence by running surveillance on Greenwood’s home to alert him of anyone attempting to serve a summons.

Maheswaran denied helping arrange surveillance for Greenwood to avoid being summonsed.

In a text exchange around the time the NSW Parliament inquiry was seeking him to give evidence, Greenwood texted “can we get security sorted”.

Maheswaran replied: “No numpties, attentive ones.”

De Kauwe said he would get on it.

We’ve heard a few different accounts during these public hearings of a scrap of paper which apparently detailed an agreement Jean Nassif made with Jeremy Greenwood and Christian Ellis to pay $1 million per development project they succeeded in fast tracking – with a potential total of $5 million.

According to Greenwood’s evidence, that was on a pink piece of paper tucked into the phone case of a former Toplace staffer. We’ve also heard it may have been a manila-coloured sticky note.

Before we broke for lunch Peggy Dwyer, SC, produced a note found by police inside Nassif’s bedside table drawer during a search of his former Sydney home.

That note lists an agreement made in April 2020 for fast tracked developments with “$5 million potential”.

Sharangan Maheswaran said he had never seen that note before.

The hearing will return from lunch at 2pm.

Peggy Dwyer, SC, has read onto the record a transcript of a recorded conversation between Jean Nassif and another Toplace employee David Krepp in 2021.

Krepp discussed with his boss the defect issues being raised by the building commissioner. Nassif tells Krepp he’ll see David Chandler soon in court.

“That’s going to f--- us Jean, the defects in there are huge,” Krepp said.

Nassif tells Krepp to talk to Sharangan Maheswaran.

“Get Sharangan to release the personal lawsuit against Chandler,” Nassif said.