Former Logan City Council Mayor, Luke Smith has been handed down a suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to several corruption and misconduct offences.
Timothy Luke Smith, 53, appeared in Brisbane District Court on Tuesday 7 March, a day before he was due to face trial, pleading guilty to three corruption charges.
His sentencing on Thursday 9 March comes five years after his initial arrest by the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).
Smith pleaded guilty to a receiving a secret agent commission, public office misconduct and failing his obligations to update his register of interests.
The court heard he received a boat from a developer trying to influence his position in council back in 2016.
Smith transferred the registration of the boat to his own name and later sold it for $46,000, keeping the proceeds.
An earlier committal hearing revealed Smith had agreed to purchase the boat from a political donor in return for support to progress a Springwood hotel development project with building height restrictions above agreed levels.
A separate misconduct charge in 2017 involved using his influence to favour Council director Jane Frawley during a recruitment process.
The third charge surrounded a failure to disclose to Council a matter of interest which required a reporting period of 30 days.
Smith’s suspended sentence was handed down by Judge David Kent KC, who told the court the charges were all “serious breaches” of an elected official’s responsibilities.
“It is particularly important that those who have the privilege, the honour and responsibility of an elected official should not abuse their position,” he told the court.
Smith was given an 18-month suspended sentence and ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service.
Current Logan Mayor Darren Power, who was a councillor at the time of Smith’s arrest and reported misconduct concerns to the CCC, told ABC News he was ready to “move on” but that Smith should have “apologised to residents” years ago.
“It has cost the city a lot of money and obviously the spotlight has been put on Logan,” Cr Power told the ABC.
“It is a time of closure now.”
