The Sauce: Ashlyn Nassif wedding uncertain following arrest

Ashlyn Nassif’s marriage to her partner had all the makings of one of the weddings of the year, but a fraud scandal has left her immediate future in limbo. Don’t miss The Sauce.

It’s been a tough week for Ashlyn Nassif.

The glamorous lawyer daughter of a flamboyant property developer Jean Nassif and partner in a successful law firm, who has allegedly been involved in a $150m fraud, was supposed to be marrying her fiance “Christopher” at a lavish wedding this year.

Sources familiar with the event say the couple had been scoping out The Grounds of Alexandria as the wedding venue with the entire precinct to be hired.

One source claimed stylists had been enlisted while Ashlyn had also sourced a designer gown.

The word around town was the no expense spared wedding was to have been held in June, although the fraud scandal has now raised questions as to whether the nuptials will now have to be put on hold.

Property developer Jean Nassif (right), with his daughter Ashlyn (centre) and her fiance Christopher,

Photographs posted on social media in March last year show Jean having the time of his life at the couple’s engagement party.

A year later, the Toplace director has been batting away calls from Lebanon to appear before a state parliamentary inquiry into alleged corruption at Hills Shire Council – he denies any wrongdoing – while supporting Ashlyn as she faces charges of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, as well as publishing false or misleading material to obtain an advantage.

Ashlyn was released on bail being arrested on Tuesday by the organised crime squad as part of a major fraud investigation into a controversial multimillion the Skyview development in Castle Hill.

Ashlyn Nassif leaves Surry Hills police station. Picture: David Swift

It is alleged she supplied a bank with fake pre-sales contracts in order to obtain a $150 million loan to help her father build the apartment project.

As for her father, the parliamentary inquiry set up to examine allegations a Hills Shire councillor and senior Liberal Party members had been “paid significant funds” to install councillors who would be supportive of applications put forward by Jean Nassif may have ceased due to the upcoming state election, but new inquiries are set to occur.

Labor leader Chris Minns has pledged to suspend the council “pending an inquiry by the Office of Local Government” while Premier Dominic Perrottet has charged his party office to conduct its own investigations.

Stay tuned.

BIG BROTHER

In A creepy case of Big Brother, a surveillance camera which captures audio as well as CCTV has suddenly been erected opposite the home of a young family in the Hawkesbury area.

A surveillance camera which captures audio as well as CCTV has suddenly been erected opposite the home of a young family in the Hawkesbury area.

The spy camera which went up with no warning apparently does not need a warrant – even though it is recording 24 hours a day.

Pregnant mum Tara whose young children are being filmed while they play outside her home, said it is an outrageous invasion of her and her children’s privacy and they are being treated like criminals.

But after much ringing around, trying to work out who the spy camera belongs to – it was discovered it had not been set up by police, but by the Environment Protection Authority, which says it is investigating illegal dumping.

COMIC TIMING

With three weeks to go before the state election, scores of Perrottet government ministers’ staff have been contacting the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) to sort the paperwork on their exit pay should the Coalition lose, forcing them out of a job.

Given the seriousness of the subject matter, it is little surprise why staff were bemused when DPC emailed over the severance pay forms for them to fill out.

Not only were the official government documents written in “comic sans” font – that used for comics, memes and primary school children learning materials – but in different colours.

“Not since the NAPLAN math-gate fail have we had such a laugh,” one staffer said.

“I honestly thought this was done by a 12-year-old.”

BRAD-ILLICIOUS

It was the year Nirvana released Nevermind, the Baltic States broke from the USSR and film goers were introduced to Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.

It was also when Health Minister Brad Hazzard began his state parliamentary career.

With a career spanning more than 30 years, it is no surprise the veteran Liberal is respected across all sectors of the notoriously factionalised party.

Brad Hazzard has spent 30 years in parliament. Picture: NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

This was noted by his staffer Toby Williams who is hoping to step into his shoes as the new member for Wakehurst on March 25.

Williams, who launched his campaign at the Collaroy Surf Club last Thursday, paid tribute to his boss, whom he revealed was known among his parliamentary colleagues as “Uncle Brad”.

Among the Young Liberals, Brad was referred to as “Brad Dad”, Williams said.

But before Williams could go on, one of the guests offered her own contribution, yelling out:­ ­ “Brad-ilicious”.

LAST TRAIN

A reflective Transport Minister David Elliott and Infrastructure Minister Rob Stokes who paused to stare into the darkness of an underground railway tunnel during a media event last week.

With just blackness before them, Elliott – who sought to find a pathway to continue to his career after losing his preferred seat in a factional battle – turned to his retiring colleague to declare: “Rob, this is our political careers. This is the end of the tracks.”

Clearly musing on what some say has been less than ideal election campaign with two of Premier Dominic Perrottet’s brothers contributing to the sideshow by refusing to appear before a parliamentary inquiry, Stokes replied: “I am pretty sure I can see Jean Claude down there.”

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