THE senior bureaucrat at the centre of the Currawong corruption inquiry, Warwick Watkins, has been sacked from the public service after 41 years after admitting using a letter backdated by former planning minister Tony Kelly to mislead investigators.
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Mr Watkins's deputy, Bob Costello, who drafted the backdated letter, has been suspended.
Mr Watkins was chief executive of the Land and Property Management Authority when he exchanged contracts with the developer Eco-Villages Pty Ltd to purchase the former workers' retreat at Pittwater for $12.2 million two weeks before the state election in March.
He was stood down and the matter referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption over allegations he had completed the purchase without authorisation from Mr Kelly or the then premier, Kristina Keneally.
During public hearings the ICAC heard that Mr Kelly signed and backdated a letter which Mr Watkins gave to investigators to give the impression Mr Kelly had authorised the purchase.
Mr Watkins admitted to the inquiry through his legal counsel that use of the letter was ''inappropriate and dishonest''.
Mr Watkins has continued to draw his chief executive salary while on the ''unattached list'' of displaced public servants since being stood down from the position in March.
A spokesman for the Department of Premier and Cabinet confirmed Mr Watkins was sacked yesterday ''as a result of the evidence given and admission made by Mr Watkins at the recent ICAC inquiry''.
It is understood that Mr Watkins resigned from his positions as NSW surveyor-general, registrar-general and commissioner of the soil conservation service last week.
During the inquiry Mr Watkins listed as among his other government roles chairman of the Geographical Names Board and president of the Board of Surveying and Spatial Information.
The spokesman said Mr Watkins ''is no longer employed in any capacity within the NSW public sector''.
During his 41-year career with the public service, Mr Watkins is said to have developed a reputation as an ''empire builder'', leading to an array of nicknames.
The former treasurer Michael Costa is understood to have referred to Mr Watkins as ''worldwide Warwick'', while the former planning minister Frank Sartor dubbed him ''the Arthur Daley of the public service''. Another nickname attributed to Mr Watkins was ''the black box'' for his ''capacity to survive anything''.
The spokesman said the Department of Finance and Services was ''considering other matters raised during the inquiry. One other officer has been suspended as a result of the inquiry.''
The Herald understands the suspended officer is Mr Costello, who was the chief financial officer at the Land and Property Management Authority at the time of the Currawong sale.
Mr Costello told the inquiry he had drafted the backdated letter. He met Mr Kelly at the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place, where Mr Kelly signed and dated it.
Mr Costello said he had cautioned Mr Watkins not to write the letter and warned him that it would ''take on a life of its own''.
He described Mr Watkins as a ''fairly forceful character'' and said he was a ''bit scared of him".
