Veteran Sydney crime reporter Steve Barrett ordered to undergo retrial on blackmail charge

Veteran crime reporter Steve Barrett will undergo a retrial on whether he blackmailed an alleged tax fraud syndicate.

Veteran Sydney crime reporter Steve Barrett has been ordered to undergo a retrial after a jury was unable to reach a verdict on whether he blackmailed an alleged tax fraud syndicate.

The former 60 Minutes producer, 63, had pleaded not guilty during a five-week trial to becoming involved in the 2017 conspiracy to demand $5 million from the alleged $105 million syndicate that was operating through a payroll services company called Plutus Payroll.

Steve Barrett outside the Supreme Court in Sydney in May. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

But a NSW Supreme Court jury became deadlocked on his blackmail charge after a marathon nine days of deliberating and Justice Peter Johnson, SC, discharged it last week.

Barrett was mentioned in the same court on Friday and records show his matter has now been stood over until November 8, 2021, for another trial before Justice Johnson again.

He did not enter any new pleas and remains on bail.

Barrett’s defence barrister, Clive Steirn, SC, had stressed to the court last week a second trial would put a “huge strain” on his client personally and financially.

When the jury was discharged an emotional Barrett left the court and said: “I’m not guilty”.

The trial was told members of the Plutus group, which included former ATO deputy commissioner Michael Cranston’s son Adam, were allegedly diverting millions in PAYG tax and GST owed to the government to themselves by outsourcing payroll tax responsibilities to second tier companies with fake directors.

Prosecutors had argued Barrett had pretended to be looking into a story about fraud when he walked into a meeting with Cranston and read off a script that threatened to expose the alleged fraudsters unless they paid up.

After the jury of his first trial was dismissed, Barrett left court and said: ‘I’m not guilty.” Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

But the jury heard Barrett was not in the room when another blackmailer actually made the verbal demands for the millions.

Mr Steirn said his client had been conned into looking into a fraud story by property developer Daniel Hausman, who was the architect of the blackmail.

Barrett also argued that he was only supposed to be paid $2000, which would have represented 0.04 per cent of the $5 million.

His legal team argued that money would not have motivated him to blackmail the Plutus crew.

Hausman previously confessed to his role in the blackmail and is in jail, while the Plutus group remains before the courts.