The former mayor of Bathurst, Robert “Bobby” Bourke has been found guilty of misconduct in public office over his role in an attempt to blackmail a fellow councillor through an anonymous letter.
The letter threatened to reveal mental health issues if the councillor, Jacqui Rudge, didn’t resign from council.
ABC News reports that the jury deliberated for six hours before returning a guilty verdict.
The prosecutor described the actions of Mr Bourke and another man as a ‘joint criminal enterprise’ which attempted to undermine the democratic system of local government.
The defence asked the jury to consider that the “nasty letter” might have been just politics rather than blackmail.
Mr Bourke will be sentenced in September.