Sydney mayor allegedly threatened and children secretly recorded after he refused to step down, Icac hears

A Sydney mayor was allegedly threatened, followed and his children were secretly recorded after he refused to honour an agreement to step down, the NSW corruption watchdog has heard.

Former independent Strathfield council mayor Matthew Blackmore has fronted the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) inquiry, codenamed Operation Rosny.

The inquiry is investigating accusations levelled against former Labor councillors Sharangan Maheswaran and Karen Pensabene, including whether they engaged in blackmail or possible surveillance against Blackmore.

Blackmore in 2022 had initially agreed to split the mayoralty, so he would take the position first before resigning to allow a Labor councillor, which was expected to be Pensabene, to finish the term, he told the commission.

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Maheswaran wanted to ensure Labor leadership at the council, state and federal level before the 2023 state election to bolster campaign efforts, Icac heard.

But in January 2023, Blackmore revealed to the two Labor councillors he wanted to stay on as mayor, which led them to become agitated and upset, he said.

Maheswaran allegedly told Blackmore: “What you’ve got to understand, Matthew … I’ve got a reputation in the party that if I don’t like someone, they don’t get away with crossing me. It would take me about six weeks to take you down.”

Blackmore responded by saying he could “get fucked”.

Blackmore told the commission his wife had taken a photo of Maheswaran’s car on the street outside their home, which was near a brothel.

Asked if he was aware this photo could be used to his political advantage, he said he only wanted it to check if the number plate was Maheswaran’s.

Blackmore had seen the car in front of his house a number of times and was “a bit intimidated as to whether he was stalking my house,” he told the commission.

Pensabene later messaged Blackmore to warn him Maheswaran was “out of control”, and said he was printing 20,000 attack flyers.

One of the flyers, which Blackmore referred to as a “shit sheet”, was left on the former mayor’s car, and Pensabene warned him that “everything so far is less than 10% of what is coming”.

At a later meeting, Maheswaran told Blackmore he’d had operatives following him for five months, taking photos and recording his conversations without his knowledge, according to Blackmore.

Blackmore took it to mean they were going to continue releasing media stories if he didn’t resign as mayor.

Soon after, he began receiving inquiries from journalists working for News Corp and YouTuber FriendlyJordies.

According to a statement from Blackmore, Maheswaran told him: “All of this will go away when you resign from the mayoralty. It will stop. You’re not going to have any harassment as long as you agree to with us to do this.”

Maheswaran also alleged Blackmore had used the mayoralty vehicle to take a family holiday and told him the location of the vacation.

“The holiday thing was one of the worst because we weren’t actually intending to go and our plans were changed last minute so no one really knew where I was going,” Blackmore said.

The entire situation has changed his sense of personal safety.

“I can’t go to sleep without checking my house is locked,” Blackmore said.

In a text to Pensabene, he wrote: “I feel sick that my children have been surveillanced [sic] by Sharangan’s undercover people.”