Bayside Council to target shamed bigwig’s estate
BAYSIDE Council is planning to go after the estate of deceased former Botany Council chief financial officer Gary Goodman, who was found by ICAC to have been at the centre of a multimillion-dollar fraud from the municipality.
Southern Courier
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BAYSIDE Council is planning to go after the estate of a deceased local authority bigwig who rorted millions of dollars.
Former Botany Council chief financial officer Gary Goodman, who died in November, was found by ICAC to have been at the centre of a multimillion-dollar fraud at the local authority. His death came before any criminal charges were brought.
Bill Saravinovski, who is mayor of Bayside Council — a merger of the former Botany and Rockdale councils — said it was only right to target Mr Goodman’s estate.
“I am sorry about his death and I am sorry for his family but at the end of the day his estate has to pay for his conduct,” Cr Saravinovski said.
“So whatever he had, that money was not his and it should be paid back to the people of Bayside.”
A legal expert told the Southern Courier the council could claim money from Mr Goodman’s estate but may have trouble quantifying the amount they are entitled to.
Last month Bayside Council bosses said they were calling on the State Government to refund $17 million — which they claim they are down as a result of the Botany fraud.
ICAC has previously said Mr Goodman raised more than $5 million in bogus invoices.
A spokesman for the Office for Local Government said it had yet to be approached by Bayside Council.
“The government provided significant funding to support the merger ... Bayside was provided with $10 million towards the upfront costs and $10 million to kickstart delivery of community infrastructure projects,” he said.
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