Call girls and concerts: Police documents allege Paul Pisasale went out with a bang
FALLEN Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale led a hedonistic lifestyle on the ratepayer tab in his final frenetic months in office, even seeking a threesome with prostitutes, police documents allege.
Crime & Justice
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FALLEN mayor Paul Pisasale led a hedonistic lifestyle on the ratepayer tab in his final frenetic months in office, say corruption investigators who secretly tailed him across three states.
At one stage, investigators tapped his phone as the once wildly popular politician allegedly asked a developer to organise a “threesome” with prostitutes in Melbourne.
He then fabricated a meeting with that developer, who had an Ipswich project, to charge council for the interstate pleasure trip, investigators claim in police documents deployed for the court case.
The fake meeting coincided with Pisasale attending a Bruce Springsteen concert.
Further, Pisasale allegedly confected a second “fictitious” meeting to discuss “sustainability” with a waste company so he could charge ratepayers $2800 to attend a Keith Urban concert in Sydney.
According to police documents, Pisasale is also accused of having call girls organised by Brisbane barrister mate Sam Di Carlo – who allegedly promised Pisasale a slice of his share in a $40 million Ipswich project.
Investigators portray a mayor juggling council duties with a playboy lifestyle when his alleged double life crashed to a halt after being stopped at Melbourne airport with $50,000 in May last year.
The Courier-Mail can reveal he had been subject to a complex surveillance operation spanning phone intercepts, tails, even obtaining CCTV footage and electronic records of when his hotel door opened.
A month later, he resigned and has since been hit with 23 charges by the Crime and Corruption Commission, including corruption, fraud and possession of a restricted sex drug. Pisasale has indicated he will fight the claims.
Several charges zero in on a project to convert scrub in Ipswich’s Yamanto into a service station, childcare centre and eatery venture.
The developer is Melbourne’s Chris Pinzone, and the CCC alleges Di Carlo had a 10 per cent stake in the project. Di Carlo is accused of offering Pisasale a cut if the then-mayor improperly influenced the council planning outcome.
Pisasale told others he had made a commitment to get the project over the line, would personally “drive” the development and spoke to town planners, according to police documents.
Pinzone denied to The Courier-Mail that Pisasale was offered any financial interest in the Yamanto project or that Pisasale did anything to benefit the project, saying the politician was powerless as it is a commercial development on commercially zoned land.
There are also allegations of inducements.
In one December 2016 phone call, Pisasale allegedly asked Di Carlo to “organise a female” for an upcoming Melbourne trip.
He also allegedly discussed “organising prostitutes for a Christmas Party”. The police documents allege Di Carlo replied he would “organise the girls.”
Two months on, Pisasale was speaking to Pinzone. The politician had a free ticket to see US rocker Springsteen in Melbourne.
But Pisasale did not have any council business, investigators allege, so he organised for Pinzone to email details of a “fictitious” meeting.
In that same call, Pisasale allegedly told Pinzone he was “catching up with a Chinese girl” on the concert night and wanted a “threesome.”
Pinzone offered to “get her ready” and a prostitute “JoJo” was arranged, police documents allege.
Pinzone denied to The Courier-Mail fabricating the meeting and said he could prove a meeting occurred. He also said he had never paid for prostitutes for Pisasale, but the pair had shouted each other meals.
The mayor was back in Melbourne in May 2017. Victoria’s corruption watchdog was watching when Pisasale arrived in Melbourne that weekend, purportedly to gift a boomerang to celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.
Investigators allege he flew despite knowing it was too late to make the Oliver event and by 3.30pm was with Pinzone at Melbourne’s elite Westin Hotel.
While there, Martin Tian, described as a criminal client of Di Carlo, arrived and handed Pisasale $50,000 in cash, investigators allege.
Twenty-eight minutes later, Pinzone and Pisasale allegedly went to Pisasale’s room.
By 4.30pm, the police documents allege a call was intercepted in which Pinzone asked an escort agency to send “JoJo” over for “my friend from Queensland” for one hour. “I think he got JoJo last time. Can you bring JoJo?” Pinzone allegedly asked.
CCTV footage allegedly shows a car arriving, Pinzone pointing a woman in Pisasale’s direction, and the mayor going to a lift with her.
Pisasale’s hotel room door opened moments later and then again in one hour, according to electronic hotel records obtained by investigators.
The covert operation came to a head when Pisasale was halted the next morning at Melbourne airport with the $50,000.
Pisasale has not been charged over the cash, which Di Carlo says was being carried by Pisasale as a favour for an unrelated client’s settlement.
That fateful May trip, and others, were for social reasons, investigators allege.
The Sydney trip in December 2016, for instance, was allegedly to see Urban’s concert.
Pisasale had been given tickets from his friend, menswear trader Joseph Richards.
But investigators allege Pisasale needed an official reason to travel and he is accused of asking the then chief executive of Veolia’s Australian operations, Doug Dean, to email details of a false meeting with the firm’s French representatives in Sydney. Veolia has a waste-disposal facility in Ipswich.
Pisasale stayed at a Darling Harbour unit, thought to be owned by Veolia.
Investigators claim the only event close to an official meeting was when Pisasale arrived “unplanned” to Veolia’s office because he was “nearby having breakfast”. He was allegedly there less than 25 minutes. Veolia refused to comment and Dean could not be reached.
Di Carlo has been charged with offences including corruption, which he is defending. Pinzone has taken the CCC to court to restrain whether he can be charged.
Attempts to contact Richards and Pisasale were unsuccessful.
Email Kelmeny Fraser or phone 3666 6126
Email Liam Walsh or phone 3666 6413
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