Steve Barrett: AFP dropped statement of key blackmail witness Daniel Hausman

The AFP dropped a statement from the star witness in the blackmail trial of TV reporter Steve Barrett, a court has heard.

Daniel Hausman arrives at the John Maddison court in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

Australian Federal Police stopped taking a statement from the star witness in the blackmail trial of veteran crime reporter Steve Barrett because they thought he was “sugar-coating things”, a court has been told.

Daniel Hausman, a former property developer who has admitted co-operating with AFP officers to get himself a lighter sentence for his role in a $25 million blackmail, has revealed he spent 17 days making a statement that was then dropped.

Veteran crime reporter Steve Barrett arrives at court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

The NSW Supreme Court has been told during that period Hausman had drawn a diagram entitled “My Benefit” purporting to show how much he received from the blackmail plot.

AFP officer Ron Knighton, second from left.

The court was told Hausman sent the diagram to AFP officers including case manager, agent Ron Knighton in August 2019. But the court was told the diagram had to be revised with further calculations – just a month later in September 2019 – because Hausman admitted he had been telling lies about how much money he got.

Daniel Hausman has given contradictory evidence. Picture: John Grainger

“I never heard from the police after they stopped it. After the comment that I was sugar coating things,” Hausman told the court.

Hausman has admitted to telling numerous lies to the AFP in his initial police record of interview after his arrest in 2017 and then again telling more lies to the AFP in a co-operating statement he began making with the AFP two years after his arrest.

Hausman, who has been convicted and jailed for a minimum of six years for the blackmail, has been giving evidence in the trial of his alleged co-accused a veteran crime reporter and former 60 Minutes producer. Mr Barrett has pleaded not guilty to one charge of blackmail.

It is alleged Mr Barrett, with Hausman and Daniel Rostankovski, was part of a joint criminal enterprise hatched in February 2017, to demand $5 million from a group who were allegedly behind a large-scale tax fraud known as the Plutus Payroll fraud, or they would publicly expose them.

Crown Prosecutor Patricia McDonald arrives at the NSW Supreme Court. Picture: News Corp Australia

The crown case alleges the group, which included Adam Cranston the son of the former Deputy tax Commissioner Michael Cranston, were allegedly siphoning off millions in PAYG tax and GST for themselves by contracting out the payroll tax responsibilities to second tier companies with straw directors.

On Tuesday, Hausman was caught out giving contradictory evidence in the court before Judge Peter Johnson, about his first meeting with Mr Barrett.

Hausman had told the court last week he had paid Mr Barrett to do a “job” for him in 2010 and promised him a success fee if that job was successful.

He gave evidence last week that he met Mr Barrett at The Oaks Hotel with his stepfather, John Banks, and that he (Hausman) had withdrawn $1000 from an ATM and paid Mr Barrett himself.

But on Tuesday under cross examination from Clive Steirn SC for Mr Barrett, Hausman gave the court a different version, saying he watched Mr Banks take the money out from the ATM and watched Mr Banks pay Mr Barrett.

Hausman did not answer a question from Mr Steirn as to which version was false.

The trial is continuing.

Originally published as Steve Barrett: AFP dropped statement of key blackmail witness Daniel Hausman