There has been a certain amount of pearl-clutching at revelations that a director of the property development company at the heart of the controversy that briefly tore NSW Fair Trading apart had relatives who had friends who may have known criminals.

To recap, a few months ago Building Commissioner David Chandler was encouraged by then-fair trading minister Eleni Petinos and former deputy premier John Barilaro to meet the directors of Coronation Property after he had issued a stop-work order on one of its projects.