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Gambling addict told father to ‘burn, burn, burn’ documents, Icac hears Gambling addict told father to ‘burn, burn, burn’ documents, Icac hears
(about 3 hours later)
The gambling addict daughter of an ex-RailCorp executive told her father to “burn, burn, burn” documents in her room after a raid by investigators, a corruption inquiry has heard. The gambling-addict daughter of a former RailCorp executive told her father to “burn, burn, burn” documents in her room after a raid by investigators, a corruption inquiry has heard.
In a tapped phone call between Joseph Camilleri and his daughter Jessica Adouni played at an Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing in Sydney, Adouni is heard bullying her father to “do it now”. But the executive, Joe Camilleri, maintains the loans were personal and did not buy former employees favours.
The call was secretly recorded just after an Icac raid on Camilleri’s home. In a tapped phone call played at an Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing in Sydney, Jessica Adouni is heard urging her father to “do it now”.
That followed his sacking by RailCorp after he had tapped work colleagues for large loans to help his daughter. The call was secretly recorded just after an ICAC raid on Camilleri’s home.
Icac heard on Wednesday that Camilleri paid out more than $4m over four years to his daughter despite her increasingly questionable claims for money, ostensibly to cover high legal costs for court cases and high bank fees. That followed his sacking by RailCorp after he had asked colleagues for large loans to help his daughter.
He borrowed money from work colleagues and enlisted his sister, Carmen Attard, to also borrow money to help Adouni. The ICAC heard on Wednesday that Camilleri paid out more than $4m over four years to his daughter, despite her increasingly questionable claims for money, which were supposedly to cover high legal costs and bank fees.
The Icac is investigating whether people who contributed to the $1.5m Camilleri and Attard raised for Adouni received any personal or professional benefit. He borrowed money from colleagues and also enlisted his sister Carmen Attard to borrow money to help Adouni.
Camilleri, who was on a $300,000 annual Railcorp salary, told the Icac he consistently believed his daughter’s reasons for needing money between 2008 and 2013 and only learned later of her gambling problem. The ICAC is investigating whether people who contributed to the $1.5m Camilleri and Attard raised for Adouni received any personal or professional benefit.
Counsel assisting the commission, Nicholas Polin, played the tapped phone call from August 2013, in which Adouni is heard telling her father after the Icac raid she wanted to “make sure there’s nothing left”. Camilleri told the ICAC he believed his daughter’s reasons for needing money between 2008 and 2013, and only learnt later of her gambling problem.
He repeatedly denied he acted corruptly or favourably towards those who lent him money, despite some working for firms that were later involved in RailCorp tender processes.
Counsel assisting the commission Nicholas Polin played the phone call from August 2013 in which Adouni was heard telling her father after the ICAC raid she wanted to “make sure there’s nothing left”.
“Dad, they will come back, don’t be stupid.“Dad, they will come back, don’t be stupid.
“Any papers, burn, burn, burn, that’s all you’ve got to do ... do it now.”“Any papers, burn, burn, burn, that’s all you’ve got to do ... do it now.”
Camilleri denied he destroyed anything and agreed he had “blindly believed” his daughter’s claims “all the way”. Camilleri denied destroying anything.
The Icac heard her claims included an email to Camilleri from a “Richard Dipshit”, purporting to be Adouni’s lawyer, and a badly written letter purporting to be from an Australian Security Intelligence Organisation security chief about money in a bank account. Polin repeatedly asked Camilleri if he was a liar after he denied to RailCorp investigators he had borrowed money from people working in organisations that had business with RailCorp.
A later email from the purported lawyer apologised for the “Dipshit” reference, saying his grandson had been playing on his computer. “I wasn’t lying at the time, but it can be perceived as a lie, yes,” Camilleri said.
The Icac heard Adouni said that her identity had been stolen and was being used by other people to buy property overseas and that she then became embroiled in court cases over those matters. Evidence tendered to the ICAC included an email to Camilleri from a “Richard Dipshit” purporting to be Adouni’s lawyer, and a badly written letter claiming to be from an ASIO security chief about money in a bank account.
Commissioner Megan Latham asked Camilleri if he would have believed his daughter if she told him she was going to the US to marry Tom Cruise. A later email from the purported lawyer apologised for the “Dipshit” reference, saying his grandson had been using his computer.
He said he wouldn’t have. The ICAC heard Adouni said her identity had been stolen and was being used by people to buy property overseas.
Polin put forward a long series of far-fetched claims by Adouni to her father and asked Camilleri if he was “incredibly stupid” or telling the truth. Polin asked Camilleri if he was “incredibly stupid” or telling the truth.
Camilleri said he may have been “very naive and had too much trust in my daughter”, who was very convincing, and “maybe I wanted to accept it”. Camilleri said he might have been “very naive and had too much trust in my daughter”.
“I’m very embarrassed, I’m ashamed of myself,” he said.
The hearing continues.The hearing continues.