$50,000 cash found on former Ipswich mayor given to him via wanted fugitive

THE $50,000 cash found on former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale was given to him via a wanted fugitive and was being carried to Brisbane to settle a legal dispute over a gambling debt, according to the fugitive’s barrister.

Former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale resigned on Tuesday. File picture

• Caught on camera with cash
• Home, council offices raided

THE $50,000 cash found on former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale was given to him via a wanted fugitive and was being carried to Brisbane to settle a legal dispute over a gambling debt, according to the fugitive’s barrister.

The extraordinary claim comes after Mr Pisasale resigned as mayor on Tuesday, citing ill health, a day after his home and office were raided by police as part of a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation.

It is part of a complicated and bizarre version of events described to The Courier-Mail by Brisbane barrister Sam Di Carlo and told through various supporting documents.

Former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale leaves his hospital bed to announced his resignation. Picture: Peter Wallis

According to Mr Di Carlo, the $50,000 was to settle a property dispute in the Supreme Court of Queensland.

“(I said) Paul, can you do me a favour?” Mr Di Carlo said.

“He said, ‘Yeah buddy, anything’. I said, ‘There’s a parcel I’ve got to get from Melbourne to Brisbane fairly urgently; if I got someone to drop it off to you, could you deliver it?’.

“He said, ‘Yeah, no worries’.”

Believing he was doing a favour for his friend, Mr Pisasale was allegedly given a package by an unknown man in the lobby of his Melbourne hotel on May 12.

He has claimed he did not know the package contained money until he opened it in his room.

Mr Di Carlo said he had reassured a concerned Mr Pisasale it was not illegal for him to transport the money interstate.

Barrister Sam Di Carlo said he asked Paul Pisasale to collect the money in Melbourne as a favour. Picture: Tara Croser.

The next day, at 5.45am, Mr Pisasale was detained at Melbourne Airport after sniffer dogs alerted AFP officers to him. They found 500 $100 notes, wrapped in black tissue paper, inside a white plastic bag and within a black suitcase.

A statutory declaration signed by Chinese man G Tian in Brisbane on May 22 said he brought the $50,000 into Australia in April to give to his fugitive son Hui “Martin” Tian.

The characters in the bizarre circumstances surrounding former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale's resignation.

The money was to settle a civil dispute, in which Mr Di Carlo was representing one of the defendants. The dispute was over a loan to Hui Tian from a “neighbour” in which the Brisbane house of his Chinese aunt, Y Fan, was unwittingly used as collateral.

In the statutory declaration, G Tian claims the loan was used by his son for gambling, so G Tian wanted to repay the money to Y Fan because he “felt sorry” for her.

Also in the declaration, G Tian confusingly states: “It is very difficult to transfer money from China and Australia because it is very difficult. There are certificates and approvals you must obtain and it takes some time. I do not have a bank account in Australia.”

Mr Di Carlo, who has also represented Hui Tian in criminal matters, said there was a warrant for his arrest in Queensland.

Queensland Law Society president Christine Smyth yesterday said the arrangement was unusual.

Mr Di Carlo agreed it was unusual for a barrister to act as an intermediary in these matters but said it was part of building trust with Chinese clients.

Mr Pisasale’s home and office were raided by police on Monday before the mayor checked into a hospital.

The next day he called a press conference announcing his resignation.