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Hot Topic Hawke’s Bay
Hot Topic Hawke’s Bay
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Court papers to be filed against Auckland Mayor Len Brown

NBR Staff
Wed, 15 Jan 2014

Papers to be filed in an Auckland court today allege Auckland mayor Len Brown broke the law by not declaring free hotel rooms and upgrades.

Retired Wellington Accountant Graham McCready is taking a private prosecution against Mr Brown under section 105 of the Crimes Act, specifically corrupt use of a document.

Mr McCready will file two charging documents in the Auckland District Court stating that between November 2010 and November last year, Mr Brown accepted for himself and his wife Shan Inglis three complimentary hotel rooms and five free room upgrades from SkyCity and SkyCity Grand Hotels, the New Zealand Herald reported.

The freebies are estimated to be worth about $4500, according to Mr McCready.

The charges each carry a maximum jail term of seven years.

Mr Brown’s acceptance of the gifts led to "favourable consideration" towards SkyCity and the mayor subsequently voted on matters relating to the casino company without disclosing the gifts in his register of interests, or disqualifying himself, Mr McCready alleges.

The development follows an EY (Ernst & Young) report published after revelations of Mr Brown's two-year affair with Bevan Chuang found the mayor failed to declare $39,000 in free hotel rooms and upgrades in total.

Mr McCready is known for successfully bringing private prosecutions against public figures. These include a case against MP Trevor Mallard for fighting in public, and charges against ACT leader John Banks for filing a false electoral return. The Banks case was taken over by Crown law in October.

NBR Staff
Wed, 15 Jan 2014
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Court papers to be filed against Auckland Mayor Len Brown
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