60min Journo Stephen Barrett party to blackmail – wanted $50,000 to “shut his mouth”

EXPERIENCED Sydney journalist Stephen Barrett said he would “sit with Treasurer Scott Morrison or go to the opposition” as part of a wider $23 million blackmail of a massive tax fraud ­syndicate, it is alleged in court documents.

One member of the syndicate allegedly said that Mr Barrett wanted $50,000 to “shut his mouth”.

The Daily Telegraph can also reveal the extortion was allegedly cooked up in an inner west cafe three days before Mr Barrett and one of the accused conspirators confronted the syndicate.

Relations had soured inside the $165 million tax skimming scheme allegedly run by Adam Cranston — the son of deputy tax commissioner Michael Cranston — and his associates.

Source: ATO scam: Journalist Stephen Barrett a party to blackmail, police claim | Daily Telegraph