Apartment deal exposes possible connections between Parramatta Eels and Obeid family
Josh Massoud, James Hooper, Rebecca Wilson Exclusive
The Daily Telegraph
August 15, 2014 12:00AM
A $600,000 apartment in Ryde has exposed connections between the Parramatta Eels and the family of corrupt ex-Labor MP, Eddie Obeid.
A Daily Telegraph investigation has found prop Darcy Lussick bought the two-bedroom apartment in a new 400-unit complex at Top Ryde just over 12 months ago from a company solely controlled by one of Obeid’s five sons, Gerard Obeid.
The $600,000 purchase price was $30,000 less than what Gerard Obeid’s company, Pope Property Holdings Pty Ltd (Pope Property), paid for the unit three-and-a-half months earlier.
But Lussick’s manager Wayne Beavis said the transaction was part of a legitimate Marquee Player Agreement (MPA), backed by appropriate paperwork.
Eels insiders have also confirmed that discussions with Obeid’s youngest boy, Eddie Jnr Obeid, were on foot as the club moved to poach halfback Chris Sandow from South Sydney in 2011. Sandow’s four-year deal included a third party agreement (TPA) for $50,000, which does not identify Obeid Jr as the benefactor.
But club officials at the time believed the TPA was to be financed by Obeid Jnr, a passionate Eels supporter who has been regularly sighted at Pirtek Stadium.
Eddie Obeid Jr was also present for discussions between Eels officials and a high-profile player in 2012, with Peter Nolan in charge of the club’s recruitment at the time.
Nolan left Parramatta midway through this year to take up the same role at Brisbane, a club now under NRL investigation for salary cap discrepancies between 2011 and 2014, before Nolan arrived.
The NRL on Thursday night confirmed its salary cap team had been made aware of the Obeid links this week and had launched an immediate investigation.
“Now that they have been raised, those are the kind of matters which would form part of the regular audits we conduct at each club,” an NRL spokesman said.
Lussick agreed to join Parramatta from Manly in July 2012, on a three-year deal that the Sea Eagles could not come close to matching. Just over a year later, Lussick purchased the unit at Top Ryde.
Documents from the NSW Land Titles Office reveal the sale was settled on August 1 2013. Gerard Obeid’s signature appears on the bottom of the Certificate of Transfer, as sole director and treasurer of Pope Property.
Records show that Pope Property has owned seven apartments in the complex including a penthouse that was sold for $2.225 million earlier this year.
The records reveal Pope purchased all the apartments directly from the developer, Crown Top Ryde Pty Ltd (Crown). Six have been sold, with all but Lussick’s exchange delivering Gerard Obeid’s company a snappy profit.
Pope Property first bought the apartment in question from Crown on April 17, 2013 for $630,492. Three-and-a-half months later, Lussick bought the apartment for exactly $600,000 — spelling a quick fire $30,492 loss for Gerard Obeid’s company.
Eels insiders and Lussick’s agent, Beavis, have also confirmed the 25-year-old also did not pay NSW Government stamp duty — believed to be valued at around $20,000 — when the apartment was purchased.
This constituted a Marquee Player Agreement (MPA) worth $50,000 that included the difference in purchase price and stamp duty.
Beavis first met Eddie Obeid Jnr prior to Lussick agreeing to terms with Parramatta in July 2012, but cannot recall the exact circumstances of their introduction.
He said the unit transaction was part of “legitimate MPA deal that was declared to the NRL”, based on a favourable purchase price. Lussick also secured a loan to finance the property.
“It’s a legitimate transaction and I’ve got the paperwork to prove it,” Beavis said.
Lussick settled his unit purchase just one day after the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found both Eddie Obeid and another of his sons, Moses Obeid, had engaged in corrupt conduct.
On 31 July, ICAC announced both father and son had acted dishonestly in their dealings with a Bylong Valley mining tenement.
The Commission also found the Obeid family had financially benefited from the corrupt conduct, and recommended that police consider laying relevant charges against both men.
Eddie Obeid Jr has also been questioned by ICAC in a subsequent hearing.
He appeared on the witness stand in April to answer questions about an alleged $3 million stake in Australian Water Holdings, which is being investigated for grossly overcharging Sydney Water. ICAC’s findings in relation to that inquiry are expected to handed down in October or November.
Gerard Obeid is not believed to be a person of interest for ICAC.
Whereas his father and Moses are both South Sydney fans, Eddie Obeid Jr is a staunch Eels supporter.
It’s understood the split caused some friendly tension within the Obeid family in early 2011, when Sandow was torn between rich offers from the Eels and Rabbitohs. In the end he went with Parramatta’s deal, widely reported to be worth $2.2 million over four years.
Parramatta’s head office and boardroom have undergone sweeping changes since Sandow and Lussick joined the club.
Steve Sharp’s Parra First ticket replaced the Roy Spagnolo-led 3P in May last year, while current CEO Scott Seward was appointed last September.
Nolan has also left, effectively replaced by Daniel Anderson, who now oversees all recruitment as football operations boss.
However, the current regime is well aware of Eddie Obeid Jr’s affinity for the club. There’s also been suggestions, which reached Parramatta HQ earlier this year, of ICAC possessing intelligence linking the Obeid family and Eels players.
It’s understood ICAC is not investigating Parramatta or its players and the NRL has denied any knowledge of information ICAC may possess in relation to the Eels.
The Eels on Thursday night stressed any potential issues related to previous management, and denied knowledge of any wrongdoing on behalf of Lussick, Sandow, and their representatives.
The club also said no member of the Obeid family had an ongoing relationship with management or the board.
“These matters relate to a period before the current administration, however we are unaware of any inappropriate dealings by these players or their managers,” a club spokesman said.
“The individuals mentioned (members of the Obeid family) have no official role or relationship with the current management or board of the Eels.”
The Obeid link
THE Obeid name will forever be associated with the Independent Commission Against Corruption and findings of corruption.
Eddie Obeid, a former Labor powerbroker, was found to have acted corruptly on four occasions.
Mr Obeid was found corrupt for “misusing his position” to benefit his family’s financial interest in relation to the grant of a water licence at Cherrydale Park.
Another former Labor minister Ian Macdonald granted a lucrative coal mining lease over land that owned by the Obeid family and that the Obeids encouraged their friends to buy up land in the area.
The family was also found to have hidden their involvement in mining projects through complex company structures.
In an ICAC report Obeid was found to have misused his position to make “representations” to former minister Carl Scully about offering lease holders at Circular Quay new five year deals “at a time when Mr Obeid was influenced in making the representations by knowing that (leaseholders) had donated $50,000 to the Australian Labor Party as payment for carrying out what they understood to be a promise that their interests ... would be looked after by the government.”
“The Commission finds that [Obeid] improperly influenced Mr Dunn to use his contacts at the DWE to seek information about water licences in the Bylong Valley and to facilitate [Obeid] speaking with a DWE official to obtain further information about water licences affecting Cherrydale Park,” the report said, noting also the 15 year friendship and “close association” between the two men.
The ICAC also found Obeid misused his position “to further his own interests” by lobbying former minister Michael Costato promote Direct Health Solutions, without disclosing his financial ties to the company.
