Paul Pisasale is a former mayor of the

City of Ipswich The City of Ipswich is a local government area in Queensland, Australia, located within the southwest of the Brisbane metropolitan area, including the urban area surrounding the city of Ipswich and surrounding rural areas. Geography The Ci ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia, and convicted extortionist. Pisasale was mayor of Ipswich from 2004 to 2017, making him one of Queensland's longest-serving mayors, and was last elected in 2016 with 83.45% of the popular vote. He resigned as mayor in 2017 following a raid on his office by the Queensland

Crime and Corruption Commission The Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) is an independent Queensland Government entity created to combat and reduce the incidence of major crime and to continuously improve the integrity of, and to reduce the incidence of misconduct in, the ...

. He was subsequently charged with corruption in 2017. He was committed to stand trial on a number of other charges in 2019, including charges of sexual assault where he was accused of "unlawfully and indecently" assaulting an Ipswich woman, and charges of perjury. Pisasale subsequently pleaded guilty to these charges which included two counts of sexual assault, official corruption, unlawful drug possession, 27 counts of fraud, secret commission by an agent, and fraud of property.

Criminal convictions

Pisasale was convicted of two counts of

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

on 24 July 2019 where he was found to have impersonated a private investigator as part of a plot to unlawfully obtain $10,000 from another individual. His appeal against those convictions was dismissed in March 2020. Pisasale later pleaded guilty to a range of additional charges including

perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

, corruption, and

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

. His criminal behaviour was described as "systematic corruption and failings" whereby Pisasale "exploited and manipulated" his position in the Council including the commission of sexual assault offences within his former official chambers. Pisasale was initially sentenced to two years in jail to be suspended after 12 months for his

offences, and commenced his sentences at the

Wolston Correctional Centre Wolston Correctional Centre is an Australian high-security prison facility in Wacol, Queensland, Australia. Wolston is a 'protection' prison, and as such houses many paedophiles, sex offenders and high-profile prisoners. In addition to those c ...

, where he was admitted to hospital from an exercise-related injury within days of his incarceration. He was sentenced to an additional seven and a half years in jail for the crimes he admitted in 2020, and will be eligible for parole in October 2022.

Honors and other awards

In 2010, Pisasale was awarded the title of "Queensland Local Hero" by the

National Australia Day Council The National Australia Day Council (NADC) is a non-profit social enterprise owned by the Australian Government and is the national coordinating body for the Australian of the Year awards and Australia Day. It was established in 1979 and inc ...

. 2012 saw Pisasale receive the Queensland Civil Justice Award for going beyond the call of duty in the 2011 floods. In 2013, he was also awarded a Life Sciences award for championing master-planned communities, job creation, protection of the environment and being an advocate for education by Life Sciences Queensland, an industry-led organisation which works with government and industry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pisasale, Paul 1951 births Living people Mayors of Ipswich, Queensland Politicians convicted of corruption Australian fraudsters Australian perjurers Australian politicians convicted of crimes Australian politicians convicted of fraud