Council CEO sent anonymous email to media alleging 'systemic corruption'

Gail Connolly is the former CEO of the City of Parramatta. She is under investigation by the NSW ICAC. (Supplied: NSW ICAC)

The former CEO of City of Parramatta Council tells a corruption watchdog she sent an anonymous email to reporters alleging "systemic corruption" by a senior staff member.

Gail Connolly spent the day being grilled by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Hearings were due to finish on Friday, but Ms Connolly will front the commission again from Thursday next week.

The head of a Western Sydney council sent an anonymous email to reporters alleging "systemic corruption" by a senior staff member was being "swept under the rug".

Gail Connolly is one of three women being investigated by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) following allegations the trio subverted hiring processes at the City of Parramatta Council to benefit themselves and their friends.

She and friends and colleagues Roxanne Thornton and Angela Jones-Blayney were members of a group of local government employees dubbed the "Pink Ladies", who socialised at events over a number of years.

The ICAC inquiry on Friday heard Ms Connolly in May 2024 became concerned about alleged time sheet fraud by council courier and driver Sam Tatsis.

Roxanne Thornton, Gail Connolly and Angela Jones-Blayney are subject to a NSW ICAC investigation into alleged misconduct while the women worked at the City of Parramatta. (Supplied: NSW ICAC)

It was alleged this had occurred because senior council staff member Justin Mulder had estimated and manually entered the hours worked by Mr Tatsis on behalf of the driver.

The commission was shown an email sent in September 2024 to a number of reporters and Parramatta councillors from an anonymous address that outlined the allegations.

"I estimate that over the past 5 years Sam has been paid for about 800 hours of work that was never performed," the email stated.

"Justin knows it is illegal to both enter and approve other staff's time sheets."

The author of the email claimed to be a former City of Parramatta employee, but Ms Connolly on Friday confirmed she had written and sent the email while she was CEO.

The inquiry was also shown messages from Ms Connolly telling Ms Thornton to seek information from the city's payroll department about what Mr Tatsis had been paid for the previous five years.

"Then we can work out the extent of the systemic corruption (years and $)," the message stated.

Ms Connolly told the inquiry she sent the anonymous email after becoming concerned about what she perceived as a lack of pro