Roozendaal car deal 'to avoid fire sale'

2 Nov 2012, 6:18 pm   -   Source: AAP

A corruption inquiry has heard former NSW treasurer and now Labor backbencher Eric Roozendaal was sold a cheap car to avoid a "fire sale" of the vehicle.

NSW Labor MP Eric Roozendaal was sold a Honda CRV for $10,000 less than it was worth to avoid a "fire sale" of the vehicle, a corruption inquiry has been told.

Mr Roozendaal is under intense scrutiny over what the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has been told is an alleged scam organised by former Labor MP Eddie Obeid and his son Moses in return for political favours.

MR Roozendaal, who was then the roads minister, was sold the black Honda for $34,000 in 2007, just days after a business partner and friend of the Obeids, Rocco Triulcio, had paid $44,800 for the vehicle.

In one of a series of events in which the car was registered to two other people before Mr Roozendaal's wife Amanda took ownership, Mr Triulcio had demanded the Honda be resold just days after paying for it.

In evidence to the commission, Mr Triulcio said he had acted out of anger at the man who had sold him the car - another Obeid family business associate Peter Fitzhenry - because of a separate deal involving the sale of his Mercedes.

Eddie Obeid's son Paul was asked why his brother Moses had arranged for Mr Roozendaal to purchase the car from Mr Triulcio at such a heavy discount.

He agreed the sale price for a new car was "quite mad", and had questioned why his brother wanted to offload it so quickly.

"Moses basically said that he wanted to resolve the issue quickly, (that) if Rocco is not going to take it, and if he doesn't find a buyer, Peter Fitzhenry would, and would sell the car," he told the inquiry.

"He said I've got a buyer, and I said, `Why so quick, what's the rush?' and he said if I don't find someone Peter's going to go and fire sale to one of his friends."

He said the Obeids had stepped into to "smother" the dispute between Mr Fitzhenry and the Triulcio family, even bearing the $10,800 loss on the car, because the parties were involved in a "multi-million dollar" development in Sydney's Elizabeth Bay.

Mr Obeid, who is responsible for the family's development interests, denied the discounted car amounted to a favour for Mr Roozendaal.

"Look, anybody who gets a discount of that nature, it's their luck," he said.

"Eric was in the right place at the right time."

Earlier in the day Rocco Triulcio said he did not know of any involvement by the Obeids in the car deal, or that Mr Roozendaal would eventually become owner of the black Honda, which had originally been registered in the name of his sister Nata Re.

But counsel assisting, Geoffrey Watson SC, accused the property developer of lying, and produced a financial statement for the Triulcio family company in which the Obeid Corporation was debited $44,800 for the cheque used to originally buy the Honda.

"It was an agreement by you with the Obeids that the car would be bought in the name of Nata Re, so as to provide a clean provenance so that eventually it could be passed on to Eric Roozendaal," Mr Watson said.

"No, I deny that," Mr Triulcio responded.

Also appearing on Friday, Ms Re denied being party to the "sham" car deal.

She said her signature and handwriting had been forged on documents relating to the sale, including on registration papers, and in her opinion she had never actually owned the vehicle.

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