"One day when the records of this state are written, I'll be a part of it," Eddie Obeid proudly boasted to The Sydney Morning Herald upon his elevation to ministry of Bob Carr's Labor government in 1999.
"And, of course, I want to be recognised. I've got a good family, I've done well in business. I've got ability and I want to be recognised [for] much more than just building a good home for myself and having a few rental properties."
The former cab driver and property developer could not have known that the name Edward Moses Obeid will be remembered for so much more than building a good home and having a few rental properties.
As he faces the prospect of imprisonment, posterity will record him as possibly the most corrupt politician the nation has ever known. The tentacles of his crooked empire, largely hidden from view by complicated trust structures, encompassed coal leases, cafes at Circular Quay, swathes of developments from Port Macquarie to Top Ryde and offshore pole sales. Even the state's water infrastructure was a potential cash cow for his family's multimillion-dollar domain.
For nigh on 20 years Obeid used his parliamentary office, not for the good of the people of NSW, but instead to gain leverage and favours for the advancement of himself and his nine children.
Like Chicago crime boss Al Capone, who was jailed for tax evasion, Obeid was found guilty over one of the lesser acts of his vast corruption. What brought him undone was his failure to disclose his family's interests in cafes at Sydney's famous Circular Quay while lobbying his colleagues and bureaucrats to gain an advantage for his family.
Obeid protested that he was merely acting for the benefit of all leaseholders at Circular Quay. A jury found otherwise.
Obeid's "lack of perception concerning his own obligations as a parliamentarian … highlights the moral vacuum at the core of his political being", noted assistant commissioner Anthony Whealy, QC, as he handed down his damning report into Obeid's misuse of his parliamentary position to gain an advantage for his family at Circular Quay.
"Edward Obeid snr … argued that his subjective intentions were to do good for the community … he was, as the commission finds, acting in all these matters with the more mundane, indeed grubby, pursuit of improving his family's financial position. No amount of window dressing or pretence can disguise or conceal this unpleasant reality."
As a consequence, on December 15, Obeid must face his own "unpleasant reality" – whether he will be granted a reprieve to stay at Passy, the Hunters Hill mansion acquired with his ill-gotten gains, or NSW taxpayers will continue, in effect, to foot the bill for Obeid's misdeeds as he serves time at Her Majesty's pleasure.
In further unpleasantness, not only is Obeid likely to have his parliamentary pension of $120,000 withdrawn, the Baird government has indicated it will claw back the estimated $280,000 legal assistance he was given for this particular ICAC inquiry.
