NSW union boss gave in to ‘temptation’ when pocketing bribe
A father-son duo that led NSW’s powerful construction union awaits their fate after admitting to pocketing $30,000 in secret payments.
The former head of the NSW CFMEU “gave in to temptation” when he pocketed multiple bribes from a gyprocker looking for favourable union treatment, a court has heard.
Former state secretary Darren Greenfield and his son Michael, a former assistant secretary, will have to wait another week to learn whether they’ll be imprisoned for corruption after judge Leonie Flannery reserved her sentencing decision.
The court on Thursday heard the older Greenfield had accepted four cash payments totalling $20,000, while his son had accepted two payments totalling $10,000, from a gyprocking company looking for preferential treatment from the union.
The younger Greenfield was also charged with signing a statutory declaration in 2018 that falsely declared a foreign worker was driving a vehicle when it received a fine for running a red light when it was Mr Greenfield driving.
Lawyers for the Greenfields argued the pair should receive a lesser sentence than the man who bribed them, partly due to their pleading guilty earlier this year.
A legal representative noted the two were a “lightning rod” for criticism of the union, stemming from revelations of corruption in the construction sector.
The payer of the bribes, known as AF, was not charged in relation to two of the payments levelled at the Greenfields, a representative for the Greenfields said ahead of sentencing. He said it was “quite clear” AF had sought a “pathway” to Darren Greenfield, and to a lesser extent Michael.
AF was sentenced in 2022 to 2½ years’ jail, served by intensive corrections order.
“He was hoping to find a way to make the wheels turn to enable him to find more work or some work for his firm,” the Greenfields’ lawyer said of the man who paid the kickbacks.
He added no union member was affected by these transactions, saying the payments “don’t change the day-to-day activities of any union member … (The charges relate to) a bare bones set of transactions … small amount of money, nothing is actually done … no benefits (were) realised”.
He said Darren Greenfield had given “many, many years” to the union movement, and “he gave in to temptation” in relation to the payments.
He said the former secretary, when working for the union had been “relentless in his pursuit to claw back money to go back into the pockets of the membership” from building companies that had collapsed.
He said Michael Greenfield’s driving offence was now seven years old and the “template” for falsely declaring another driver had been suggested by others.
Michael was also an NRL player during an era where there were a “series of concussions” that are now in very “sharp focus”, he said. “He has some symptoms – memory loss and mental function – which he attributes to probably 30-odd concussions in his career.”
The driving offence wasn’t “sinister” but one of “those dumb things” people do, the Greenfields’ lawyer said.
The Greenfields were silent as they left Sydney District Court.
A supporter who left with Darren Greenfield after sitting in the public gallery during the court case, tried to spit at The Australian’s photographer, with the motion captured in a picture.
A lawyer for the crown said attempts by the defence to minimise the offending of the two by saying AF had “sought” them out should not be considered, with the two “inherently more culpable” because of their senior positions in the union.
She said the elder Greenfield was not under financial stress when he took the bribes and both Greenfields had the potential to distort the construction market from their roles with the Construction Forestry and Maritime Employees Union.
The crown lawyer said Michael Greenfield’s offending, including taking bribes at the CFMEU’s office, showed a “lack of regard for the trust and position held by the offender”. Both Greenfields had passed the threshold for imprisonment.
The sentencing comes after the pair in April admitted to receiving six $5000 payments from a plasterboard company.
Greenfield Sr plead guilty to two charges of receiving corrupting benefits and two charges of receiving cash or payment in kind from an employer.
His son pleaded guilty to a charge each of accepting a corrupting benefit and receiving cash or payment in kind.
The Greenfields were first charged in 2021.
Greenfield Sr was sacked from his union position in August last year after the NSW branch was put into administration.
His son resigned two weeks later.
