Moses Obeid,52,received a five-year term of which he must serve three years behind bars. However,Justice Elizabeth Fullerton reserved the harshest sentence for former mining minister Ian Macdonald,who was sentenced to nine and a half years,of which five years and three months will be non-parole.
However,Eddie Obeid’s lawyers immediately lodged an appeal.
“This is a very,very unusual set of circumstances,” Judge Fullerton said,approving Mr Obeid’s release on bail to head straight to his Hunters Hill home.
She said there were exceptional circumstances in this case and that Corrective Services had failed at the first barrier by indicating that the three convicted men would be held in cells at the Sydney Police Centre in Surry Hills overnight before being transferred to Silverwater for processing on Friday. She said she was concerned about the possibility of Mr Obeid contracting COVID.
“He risks death if he contracts COVID,” Judge Fullerton said.
All three have filed a notice of intention to appeal with Moses Obeid and Ian Macdonald’s lawyers saying the verdict was unreasonable.