The fact that Michael McGurk was in fear of his life in August last year may have influenced the corruption allegations he made to Fairfax journalists, the legal adviser for his estate says.
Fairfax Media, publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald, was criticised in the inquiry into the business dealings of Mr McGurk, for its role in sparking the investigation.
Allegations made by Mr McGurk to Herald journalists were partly responsible for sparking the inquiry into alleged corruption of senior NSW government officials and ministers.
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But Tim Game, representing Mr McGurk's estate, told the Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry he did not dispute the accuracy of the Herald's reporting.
Herald's story 'flimsy'
"The fears that (Mr McGurk) entertained may well have coloured the representations he made (to the Herald)," Mr Game told the inquiry.
Two Herald journalists met Mr McGurk after he began making corruption allegations based on a tape recording of a conversation he had with business associate Ron Medich on February 6, 2009.
Mr McGurk was shot dead at close range in September 2009, seven months after the recording was made.
On Wednesday, former federal minister Graham Richardson, who is now a lobbyist for Mr Medich, criticised the Herald over its role in sparking the inquiry, saying outside the hearing that the newspaper had based its stories on flimsy evidence.
AAP has contacted the Herald for comment but it has not yet responded.
Counsel assisting the inquiry, Jeremy Gormly, has said there is no evidence to support any of the 13 corruption allegations being investigated.
However, Mr Game said he believed there was more to the allegations made by Mr McGurk than was being credited by the inquiry.
