Labor Party outcast Joe Scimone has broken his silence after the Independent Commission Against Corruption recommended he face criminal charges for accepting a bribe and handing over $30,000 to conmen posing as ICAC officials.
The night before the ICAC report's release on Wednesday, Mr Scimone signalled he would not be making any comment on its recommendations.
"I don't have any confidence in the media to report my comments accurately," Mr Scimone said. "So no, I won't be making any comment, to no-one."
But yesterday, Mr Scimone told the Mercury he was innocent.
"I believe that the report contains a number of factual errors," he said.
"And I deny any wrongdoing."
He refused to elaborate on what those factual errors were and declined to comment further.
In its third report into corruption at Wollongong City Council, ICAC found Mr Scimone, the council's former sustainability manager, had engaged in corrupt conduct when he accepted a $10,000 gold watch from developer Glen Tabak.
At the time, Mr Tabak's request for a reduction in Section 94 contributions on his Victoria Square development was before the council.
ICAC also asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider whether Mr Scimone should be charged with the offence of "corruptly giving a benefit to an agent" in relation to his dealings with conmen Ray Younan and Gerald Carroll.
Mr Scimone met the men at the Panorama House restaurant at Bulli Tops and was told by Younan that ICAC had been investigating him and tapping his phone and that Carroll was a senior investigator with the commission and could "make it go away". Mr Scimone handed over $30,000 to the conmen.
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