He accused the corruption watchdog of running "sham inquiries" designed to "make ICAC look good". Illustration: Rocco Fazzari Earlier in the day Mr Obeid's former ministerial ally Ian Macdonald also received a court attendance notice. Mr Macdonald, a former mining minister, is facing criminal charges for misconduct in public office for gifting a lucrative coal licence to a company then chaired by his "mate" and former union boss, John Maitland. Mr Maitland will also be prosecuted as an accessory. In a report released in June, the ICAC found that Mr Obeid, his former factional ally, Joe Tripodi, and former NSW Maritime chief executive Steve Dunn acted corruptly over the Obeids' cafe leases.

The court attendance notice reveals that the charges relate to a period between August 1, 2007, and November 30, 2007, when it is alleged Mr Obeid did "wilfully misconduct himself by inducing Stephen Paul Dunn" to "deal favourably with Circular Quay Restaurants Pty Ltd". This was the company which, on paper, was run by Mr Obeid's brother-in-law, John Abood. But a Fairfax Media investigation in 2011 revealed that the beneficial owner of the Circular Quay cafes, which included Arc, Sorrentino and Quay Eatery, was the Obeid family, who hid their interest via a trust. During the ICAC inquiry, it was revealed that Mr Dunn, a protege of Mr Obeid's, moved swiftly to make decisions which Mr Obeid and his family had sought for a decade. On September 4, 2007, within two weeks of becoming deputy head of NSW Maritime, Mr Dunn had stopped the cafe leases going to public tender.

During this crucial fortnight, text messages and phone calls revealed that Mr Dunn was talking frequently to Mr Obeid, as well as to the relevant minister, Joe Tripodi. In June, upon hearing three more corruption charges were being levelled against him, including over the Circular Quay cafe leases, Mr Obeid said there was only a 1 per cent chance of him ever facing criminal charges. There is no set maximum jail term in NSW for the criminal offence of misconduct in public office. Mr Obeid's and Mr Macdonald's matters will be before the Downing Centre Local Court for mention on December 18. NSW Premier Mike Baird said on Thursday that the prosecutions would be of great comfort to the community.



"This is exactly what they want to see: if someone does the wrong thing, if they abuse public office, if they act in their own interest, if they undertake corrupt activity, there are consequences and they need to face them," Mr Baird said.

NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson also welcomed the charges against his former parliamentary colleagues. "It is a significant day for the people of NSW that we will now see these corrupt individuals face the full force of the law," Mr Robertson said. "They have betrayed the people of NSW with their disgraceful behaviour and they deserve to face criminal charges." The announcement comes as the ICAC comes under pressure over the number of prosecutions flowing from its high-profile investigations. A parliamentary inquiry that was charged with investigating potential changes to the ICAC Act to increase the body count released a discussion paper on Thursday, which raised questions about whether the offence of misconduct in public office should be codified and a maximum prison sentence prescribed. With Michaela Whitbourn and Sean Nicholls