Salim Mehajer: Auburn deputy mayor suspended for failing to disclose financial interests

A tribunal has moved to suspend Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer from civic office for four months for failing to disclose all of his financial interests.

The Office of Local Government has been investigating Councillor Mehajer over a commercial building his company owns on Mary Street in Auburn.

It has been looking at whether the 29-year-old breached pecuniary interest laws by failing to declare the interest when he voted to increase floor space ratios on the building, as well as its height.

Those changes added up to $1 million in value to the property.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal found Cr Mehajer breached pecuniary interest laws on three occasions — once in 2012 and twice in 2013.....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-29/auburn-deputy-mayor-salim-mehajer-suspended/7123726

Auburn Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer to face two-day court hearing over intimidation charges

Auburn's controversial Deputy Mayor, Salim Mehajer, will face a two-day hearing in March over allegations he intimidated the father of a Lindt Cafe siege survivor at a gym.

The 29-year-old has pleaded not guilty to intimidation over an incident last year, where fitness trainer Bruce Herat asked him to be careful not to drop the weights.

It is alleged there was a confrontation between Mehajer and Mr Herat at the Anytime Fitness gym in Burwood, in Sydney's inner west, on September 16, 2016.

It is alleged Mehajer responded to Mr Herat with an angry tirade, swearing and saying: "Don't you know who I am?"

It is alleged he then later said: "I'm going to find out where you live ... and kidnap your children."

In court this morning, Mehajer's lawyer Richard Portello said the hearing would involve nine witnesses with two for the defence.

The magistrate set aside March 23 and 24 for the hearing.

Outside court, Mehajer scoffed at cameramen as they scrambled to capture his exit from court.

"Better luck next time mate," he said to one before being driven away....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-14/salim-mehajer-faces-two-day-court-hearing/7088052

Auburn Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer to be charged with electoral fraud offences

Controversial Auburn City Council Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer will be charged over allegations of electoral fraud.

Federal police said court attendance notices had been served on eight people in Sydney for alleged electoral fraud offences.

The AFP said it received information from the Australian Electoral Commission in August 2012.

Local council elections were held in New South Wales the following month.

In comments reported by the Sunday Telegraph, Mehajer denied the allegations.

The ABC has contacted Mehajer for comment.

The AFP has issued a statement saying a 29-year-old man from Lidcombe and a 25-year-old Merrylands woman would be charged with using forged documents and producing a false or misleading document.

It said the maximum penalty for the offences is 10 years in jail.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-20/auburn-deputy-mayor-salim-mehajer-faces-fraud-charges/7043736

Salim Mehajer: Auburn deputy mayor facing conflict of interest claims over 'super six' voting bloc

A group of Auburn councillors in Sydney — including high-profile deputy mayor Salim Mehajer — are accused of a failure to address the appearance of conflicts of interest in council planning decisions.

Known as the "super six" by other local politicians, the half-dozen councillors include the mayor and deputy mayor — both property developers, a businessman who consults for local developers, a real estate agent and a former builder.

Auburn council has been under the spotlight since the lavish wedding of Mr Mehajer last month, which featured $40 million worth of sports cars, helicopters, motorcycles and limousines.

The wedding focused public attention on Auburn council, which is made up of 10 councillors. Decisions are made via a majority of six votes.

Councillors who have property or other financial interests affected by council proposals must, in most cases, leave the chamber when the vote is held.

However, there are concerns about the appearance of a conflict of interest among some of the remaining councillors because of their close relationships.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-23/auburn-council-claims-conflict-of-interest-super-six/6799928

Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer fined $220 for shutting street for lavish wedding

Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has been fined $220 for shutting down a street of Lidcombe in Sydney's west for his lavish weekend wedding.

Cr Mehajer angered neighbours when he closed down the street and sent fake flyers via a letterbox drop warning residents that their cars would be towed if they got in the way.

The wedding also took over a local park, included four helicopters and a fleet of sports cars and motorbikes....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-19/auburn-deputy-mayor-fined-$220-for-shutting-streets-wedding/6707650

No idea how a pleb/shitstain like that even got into office.

Auburn must have very strange voters.

-PB

No idea how a pleb/shitstain like that even got into office.

What grinds my gears is that councillors are able to vote upon matters/approvals that they have a pecuniary interest in. About time the State government shut this hotbed of corruption down.

Typical Australia. Vote in a moron. Takes years for him to be ousted despite the blaring obvious corruption

I banged his wife before she was a Lebo (Y)

Typical Democracy. Vote in a preselected moron. Takes years for him/her to be ousted despite the blaring obvious corruption. Repeat.

I banged his wife before she was a Lebo (Y)

I banged his wife before she was a Lebo (Y)

I would be interested to know how he got in in the first place tbh. I don't think you will find much democratic about the process.

'Mr Teflon': Sydney's showiest politician comes unstuck

He's a millionaire deputy mayor from Sydney whose outlandish antics have become a media mainstay. But as Trevor Marshallsea reports, a mounting list of allegations could end his career.
It's a story that has it all - power, intrigue, ostentatious wealth, allegations of corruption, and a bizarre plan to run a country.
And that's not to mention Ferraris, a fighter-jet flyover at a lavish wedding, and an American rapper with an entourage of barely clad women.
For six months Sydney has been in thrall to the rise of politician Salim Mehajer, the son of a property magnate who entered the family business and became a developer in his own right.
But Mr Mehajer, the deputy mayor of the Auburn City Council in Sydney's west, was last week suspended from office for four months for failing to disclose financial interests.
Next week, the state government is expected to sack the whole council over development approvals linked to Mr Mehajer's property interests.....
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-35490225