Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer’s lavish wedding — but at what cost?
VIDEO: The deputy mayor who wreaked traffic chaos by illegally closing an entire street for his lavish wedding filmed a very special pre-wedding video.
THE Sydney councillor who wreaked traffic chaos by illegally closing an entire street for his lavish wedding at the weekend will be grilled by fellow councillors about the event at their next meeting.
Auburn deputy mayor and millionaire property developer Salim Mehajer hired four helicopters, a jet, a sea plane and a motorcade of luxury sports cars and motorcycles in an extravagant ceremony when he tied the knot with fiancee Aysha on Saturday.
He also notified neighbours last Tuesday that their entire block at Frances St in Lidcombe for the event last Tuesday would be shut for the occasion and any vehicles left on it would be towed at their expense — despite having no permission to do so.
A dozen of police officers had to be called in to manage dangerous traffic conditions and questions have been raised about whether Mr Mehajer broke the law with the unauthorised.
Auburn Councillor Irene Simms described the move as “deplorable” and said she would grill Mr Mehajer when council met this Wednesday.
“It’s deplorable behaviour. A councillor should be an example and follow the rules,” she said. “It’s atrocious how residents were treated. It’s embarrassing to the council.”
Mr Mehajer, 29, was nowhere to be seen yesterday and did not return The Daily Telegraph’s calls.
It is not the first time he has been involved in controversy.
PICTURE GALLERY: THE DEPUTY MAYOR’S LAVISH WEDDING
In 2012 the first-term councillor was convicted of negligent driving after hitting two pedestrians in his Ferrari 612. He was acquitted on appeal in 2013.
His father Mohammad Mehajer, also a developer, was sentenced to three and a half years jail in 2013 for being part of a conspiracy to defraud the National Australia Bank of $3 million.
But one of his groomsmen, Ibrahim Azam, leapt to his defence claiming everyone was happy with how the day went, including the police.
“The police were quite good, we had told everyone,” he said. “Salim’s that type of person he likes to enjoy himself and give others that kind of experience as well.”
But police are anything but happy and are investigating if they can invoice Mr Mehajer for the cost of the managing the ensuing chaos.
Local Government Minister Paul Toole has ordered a full briefing on the matter after leaflets were distributed to residents of the street threatening them their cars would be towed if they parked on the street.
The notice, signed by a traffic control company, appeared like it was an official document.
Mr Mehajer had no authority to issue the order after a development application to close the street was refused by Auburn Council.
One neighbour thought the notice related to road work and had no idea it was for a wedding celebration.
“It’s disrespectful to other people,” she said. “People with money think the money talks, they can do anything they want to do.”
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Auburn Council general manager Mark Brisby yesterday told councillors an application for a full road closure had been denied but “council did issue a road occupancy license for the purpose of filming activities from 8am to 12pm”.
“The subsequent disruption which the police had to deal with is regrettable and Council was not forewarned of the scale of vehicular activity that took place,” he said.
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