Did Goff lie or was he deceitful?

Last week I wrote a post detailing a conversation a talkback caller had with Phil Goff on Radio Live last week in which he denied all knowledge of wannabe Labour MP Neelam Choudary's immigation scam, for which her husband was subsequently convicted. You can listen to the interview here or over here. The following is the transcript:

Caller: Look Phil, the NZ Herald reports that, um, Labour Party member and, and, your friend Neelam Choudhary contacted you prior to her first meeting with Dr Richard Worth…
Goff: That’s correct.
Caller: ...at Sylvia Park on the 26th of November of last year. You advised her to take someone along to that meeting, she did so and took her husband along who sat out in the carpark, while she had the meeting. Why did you gave her this advice? Did you know that her husband was facing serious immigration scam charges in the court and in fact he was convicted the next week…
Goff The answer to that is no I didn’t know at that point that that was the case, why did I give her that advice, because, if, ah , you know, I suppose, uh, along with most other New Zealanders, ah, if the minister wants to have a private meeting and is offering a job to someone that he knows is in the oppositions camp, ah, I though, ah , fairly early on that there might be an ulterior motive, didn’t have any evidence for that, but I suggested that – actually I would have suggested that she took someone else into the meeting with her unfortunately she didn’t do that, ah, I think it was for her own protection that I made that recommendation

We have about as much evidence as the deleted texts that Worth offered Choudary two jobs.Although Choudary said that Worth offered her a job at the cafe meeting, Goff said he offered advice as Worth was to offer her a job. But how did Goff know that, given the offer had not been made? Did he know he was going to offer her two jobs, as Choudary has claimed?[ Incidentally how well does he know Richard Worth's "korean friend"]

Surely Goff knew of Choudary's husband's immigration case. He certainly knew 12 days after the Worth meeting when he read this in the paper. And on 5 June - when most National insiders knew the nameless immigrant was Choudary - Goff he said he had kept in contact with the woman and her husband last year - when the texts started happening.

Five days later Goff said that he had met Choudary's husband just once, implying the one contact.That was the day this blog was one of two that outed the identity of Choudhary, and Goff may have know that she'd be on the TV news that evening.

The weird thing about this whole saga is that Neelam Choudhary claimed that Richard Worth offered her jobs that she didn't take up, while the following week her husband was convicted for sending out letters offering jobs that didn't exist. But it was also Neelam Choudary that reportedly received money for the scam. I wondered why she was always dressed so nicely.

But it wasn't until 6 May months after Goff was aware of the texts - that he phoned John Key and told him he "had a problem, a woman had come with a complaint that she had been offered particular positions under the portfolio of Dr Worth... that the offer of those positions was as the basis to developing a sexual relationship".

Like, five months later he's just been told a Minister has been texting a woman "dozens and dozens" of times to develop a sexual relationship and it's such a problem he has to suddenly ring the PM at 9:30pm and tell him right away, purely because the poor Indian migrant had only been in New Zealand long enough to get approval of her application to be a member of the Labour Party.

Neelam Choudary is in hiding

Phil Goff's strikingly beautiful confident migrant is too scared to show her face, thanks to Phil Goff, after he advised her, used her, and churned her out.

After Goff's pimping, not only is Choudary's Facebook page down, she has taken all her photos off the Grassroots Labour site and taken down her profile photo. Only her personal email address and cellphone numbers are public. I`ll have more on Choudary and Goff this weekend.

Wonder who that guy in the photo is...

Did Phil Goff lie on Radio Live today?

I was telephoned today by a person who chatted on talkback with Phil Goff today. Goff said on talkback this afternoon that back in November he did not know Neelam Choudary's husband was facing fraud charges for an immigration scam. He did not know about the scam. After Richard Worth texted Choudary on November 26, Goff advised her that it would be prudent to take support person to her meeting with Richard Worth at Sylvia Park Cafe.When asked why on air, Goff refused to provide a clear answer.

Perhaps, as this person told me, it may well have been because there were legal ramifications to the discussion if it was related to Choudary's husband's court case the following week.

If that was the discussion Goff had with Choudary and/or he was aware of the court case, Goff obviously knew of the charges. But Goff said today he did not know of the charges at that time. Yet he would surely have known Choudary was candidate for Botany prior to the election. Other Labour people appeared to know of the charges, as a well-connected and key Labour Party member writing for the Standard says:

I suspect the husband’s conviction was a reason she wasn’t chosen for Botany, a seat Labour would never win anyway....of course the local Labour party would have known that this woman’s husband was [facing fraud charges] when they chose the candidate.

So why did Goff claim today that he didn't?

If Goff did know about the scam or was told by Choudary prior to the November meeting, and the talkback discussion today is how it was relayed to me, there is only one conclusion: Goff is lying.

Given that Worth had only been appointed a minister the week prior to the November 26, he would hardly be in the position to appoint advisors - and then offer people board positions over the telephone.

It's time Goff came clean about his naive and strikingly attractive "migrant to this country" and declare what he knows because he has all the markings of a pimp.

update: Listen to the audio of the interview

Neelam Choudary: Goff admits that Worth didn't mention see through clothing

Phil Goff is looking more and more like an idiot by the hour now we see his attempts to get political gain have backfired.

Goff claimed that Richard Worth sent text messages to Neelam Choudary regarding a transparent garment.

These texts were several invitations to go swimming, late-night texts to go out to dinner, an invitation to go on holiday in India with Dr Worth, and to wear see-through clothing.

Now Goff says Worth actually used the term ‘zardosi’. The statement tabled in Parliament that Goff relied on and no doubt approved was actually written by a Labour staff member, who listened to Mrs Choudary by phone and did not even take the statement down word for word. The statement never mentioned that Goff knew about the initial cafe meeting between Choudary and Worth, or even that it took place. It didn't mention any late nigh dinner invites nor invites to go on holiday in India. In fact she was in India for a period of time she was texted.

The statement was tabled in Parliament more than a month after John Key was informed by Goff about the texts. In other words Goff did have a bit of time to get it right.

The statement did mention a transparent garment. But no texts or phone calls were made regarding a transparent garment - the word zardosi was used. Goff has interpreted zardosi to mean a transparent garment because it sounds salacious. Zardosi is not very transparent, actually. Zar means 'gold' and dosi means 'embroidery. Garments are made of such material and are often used in bollywood films, of which Worth is a fan of. Zardosi is in fact defined as:

an intricate hand embroidery using gold, silver or multi-colored wire on a variety of fabrics. Traditional garment from India.

No wonder Goff didn't want to get that particular text out in a hurry. Did Goff ask Choudary if it was deleted? Also did Goff ask Choudary to take down her Facebook page. Here's the cache of that page. If you want to read more on this drama I'm not stopping you.

Richard Worth's Korean woman

Well now that Neelam Choudary's name is in the public domain as the Indian woman that Worth was texting, who is the Auckland Korean woman who was, shall we say, also friendly with Richard Worth?

Reports have said that she is a 45-year old Korean businesswoman who came to New Zealand in 2000, studied, and went into property development. She is a mother of three children, divorced and a prominent member of the Korean community. She is part-owner of several companies.Both her and Worth were at the Government's Commonwealth Day Observance reception in Wellington on the evening of March 9.

Some questions:
Did this mysterious Korean woman meet the Korean Ambassador on 5 March? Was Richard Worth anywhere near?

Did she attend last year's Korean Film Festival, of which the Korean ambassador is a patron?

If so, was one of the films she watched called Seducing Mr Perfect?

Does she she know the vice-chairperson of the trust that co-ordinated the film festival as well as Richard Worth does?

As a businesswoman, does she have any association with any of the businesses in the Korea New Zealand Business Council?

Neelam Choudary hoped to remain anonymous

So Phil Goff was trying to ensure Choudary's name remained anonymous Why? Because Choudary has been campaigning and canvassing for the Indian vote for the Labour candidate for the Mt Albert by-election to be held on Saturday.

A person who is known for seeking nomination as an candidate fir a general election while her husband was scamming people is not really the sort of person Labour wants to be associated with in a by-election campaign.Which is also why she was not the Labour nominee for Botany in the last election. Just ask someone who is involved in the current Mt Albert campaign. Like this woman.

So why did Goff she was "strikingly beautiful"? To uplift her given that her husband was strikingly criminal?Why now that Choudary is outed does Goff want to move on?

Update And Goff knew about the meeting in the cafe between Worth and Choudary last year all along before one text message was sent.

What I saw

I was looking at this profile of a Labour activist last night and wondered how " strikingly beautiful" she would appear to a certain person who is one of her Facebook friends.

Then I saw this.

One was a married woman who had stood unsuccessfully for selection as a candidate for Labour Party nomination in last year's election, so presumably knows which way is up.

Then this.

After the meeting Koro Tawa was warmly congratulated by Labour List candidate, Mr. Raymond Huo and by fellow nominee, Neelam Choudary.

Even my wife things she is strikingly beautiful.

Then I saw this from Whale Oil. He beat me to it.

Also a Neelam Choudary is married to a Kumar Akkineni Choudary who was found guilty of an immigration scam last year. Neelam Choudary was also in the know and you can read about that here. Is this the Neelam Choudary Richard Worth has been sending text messages to, if she is married to Kumar, Worth has hit on a woman who tried to get selection as a Labour candidate into Parliament while her husband was conducting an immigration scam.

update Here's an article about Choudary's sari demonstration.

Red is regarded as an auspicious colour and is commonly worn by brides because it has several emotional, sexual and fertility-related qualities.White is regarded as pure. black is the colour of sorrow and ill omen while yellow is traditionally regarded as the colour of religion and asceticism.

Anybody know Richard Worth's favourite colour?

More on the story here.