The former Auckland Council building inspector is accused of accepting bribes worth at least $58,000. Photo / 123rf
The former Auckland Council building inspector is accused of accepting bribes worth at least $58,000. Photo / 123rf
A former Auckland Council building inspector allegedly accepted bribes in the form of significant renovations to his residence and cheques referring to him as “Inspector Guy”.
Nicholas David Orlando Bright, 45, appeared in the Manukau District Court yesterday facing 21 corruption and bribery charges while employed by Auckland Council between 2018 and 2020.
Charge sheets obtained by the Herald show Bright is alleged to have accepted bribes from the director of an Auckland building company to the value of at least $58,000 over the two-year period.
Among the charges, it is alleged that Bright accepted a bribe in the form of having a bathroom at his residence renovated to a value of at least $3752.24. This included the provision of labour and materials from the company.
In 2019, Bright allegedly accepted the provision and installation at his residence of a set of double-glazed windows with aluminium joinery, valued at $11,659.75, a Mitsubishi heat pump valued at $1650.37 and a rebuilt carport valued at more than $3137.56, as well as “gas-fitting works” at his home.
Gas-fitting works included the installation of an additional external water heater at the rear of Bright’s residence, the reconnection of hot and cold pipework, and the replacement of his existing cooktop with a Bosch four-burner cooktop in his kitchen, all valued at more than $1300.
Court documents alleged that two cheques totalling at least $8000 were accepted by Bright in 2019, referencing him as “Inspector Guy” and “Inspector”.
Four other payments were recorded as diary entries, totalling more than $9500.
The former building surveyor also allegedly accepted nine cash bribes between October 2019 and May 2020 from the building company’s director worth at least $19,000, which he deposited into his bank account, court papers state.
Charge sheets allege the bribes were given to influence Bright in respect of his role as a building inspector.
Auckland Council director of regulatory services Craig Hobbs said the issue came to light in the early days of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, when a staff member allegedly observed Bright working in an area of Auckland that he was not assigned to and raised this as a concern with their manager.
At the same time another anomaly surfaced during a normal review process, Hobbs claimed.
He said Bright was suspended from all duties pending an investigation. Disciplinary proceedings began, but Bright resigned before they could progress. These events occurred over four weeks around May 2020.
The former building inspector is accused of receiving cash, cheques and having work done on his own house. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Hobbs said Bright joined Auckland Council in 2018, having formerly worked for Manukau Building Consultants – a standalone entity that provided inspection services in the former Manukau City Council area, which was largely absorbed into Auckland Council’s building consents team in 2018. He resigned from the council in late May 2020.
“We cannot comment on the details of this case while it is before the court, however, we would like to emphasise just how seriously we take situations like this,” said Hobbs.
“Taking advantage of our systems and behaving in the manner alleged is not only against the law but it is a breach of our trust and is extremely disappointing for everyone working in building consents who take pride in maintaining quality building standards for Aucklanders.”
Auckland Council said it as soon as it became aware of the issue, it commenced an investigation, including an audit of all work done by Bright, and referred the case to the police for further investigation.
Hobbs said the council was not aware of any properties impacted by the case.
“All work that relates to these charges has been reviewed. For independence, we engaged a senior inspector from outside Auckland Council to carry out the review of his work,” he said.
The building company director, who has interim name suppression, faces 23 charges of corruption and bribery of an official.
The two additional charges are for bribing an official with a set of custom-made aluminium doors valued at $1500, plus installation at their address, valued at $552, and a set of double-glazed windows with aluminium joinery, valued at $4000, including installation, court documents state.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) filed bribery and corruption charges against both accused and the pair appeared in the Manukau District Court yesterday.
Bright was remanded without plea and is scheduled to reappear on May 7.
The building company director entered not guilty pleas and will reappear for a case review hearing on August 9.
Investigating potential corruption of public officials, particularly where health and safety may be compromised, was a focus for the SFO, the office’s director Karen Chang said.
“The SFO would like to acknowledge Auckland Council for referring this matter following their own investigations.”
This is not the first time bribery charges have been laid against an Auckland Council employee.
Stephen Borlase, the head of roading contracting business Projenz, was jailed in 2017 after what became New Zealand’s largest-ever bribery prosecution.
An SFO investigation found Borlase bought-off Auckland Transport and Rodney District Council officials, including Murray Noone and Barrie George.
Borlase’s offending involved a series of kickbacks to Noone - more than $1 million - for contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to Projenz between 2005 and 2013.
