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 Jonovski, Esen plead not guilty in ICAC case 

Jonovski, Esen plead not guilty in ICAC case

10 Feb, 2010 04:00 AM
Two sacked Wollongong councillors accused of giving false or misleading information to the Independent Commission Against Corruption entered pleas of not guilty in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court yesterday.

The charges against Kiril Jonovski, 66, and 44-year-old Zeki Esen arise from the ICAC public inquiry into corruption at Wollongong City Council held almost two years ago.

A third sacked councillor, Frank Gigliotti, 50, entered not guilty pleas to the same charges during the first hearing into the matter on October 27, last year.

All three are being prosecuted under the ICAC Act accused of intentionally lying at the inquiry and failing to mention a meeting with developer Frank Vellar at Wollongong's Flame Tree Cafe on October 18, 2006, which came under ICAC scrutiny.

They face up to five years in jail and fines of up to $22,000 if convicted.

A hearing at the Downing Centre has been set down to start on June 30.

It is expected that the charges against Jonovski, Gigliotti and Esen will be heard together. Gigliotti has also pleaded not guilty to additional charges, including two in relation to comments he made to ICAC concerning Wollongong MP Noreen Hay.

ICAC claims Gigliotti intentionally lied when he claimed in a statutory declaration to the commission that Ms Hay had asked him to lodge a rescission motion to overturn the council's rejection of Mr Vellar's proposed redevelopment of the North Beach Bather's Pavilion during a meeting he said she organised between the trio in July 2007.

In the statutory declaration, Gigliotti also said he told ICAC about the meeting after investigator David Lusty asked him to "come clean on Noreen Hay".

In its third and final report handed down in October 2008, the ICAC said Gigliotti's evidence and statutory declaration did not identify "impropriety on the part of any person".

It is also alleged Gigliotti told the ICAC former Wollongong council commercial projects and property manager, Peter Coyte had attempted to incite a bribe from developer Lou Tasich - an allegation dismissed by the commission.

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