FORMER Wauchope businessman and mayor of the Hastings Shire Council, John Abi-Saab has been found not guilty of blackmail in a Sydney court.

The charges against the 77-year-old stemmed from his career in Sydney suburban politics where he was a former mayor of Strathfield.

He had been accused of using evidence of his successor Alfred Tsang accepting a bribe from a property developer to blackmail him into handing the mayoralty back to Mr Abi-Saab.

A District Court jury spent several days listening to intercepted calls and bugged meetings between the two former mayors. After two days of deliberating, the jury informed the judge that they were unable to reach a verdict.

Judge Deborah Sweeney instructed the six women and six men to try again.

After a further day's deliberation, the jury acquitted Mr Abi-Saab of four charges that he used "unwarranted" demands and threats in attempt to "procure for himself the office of the Mayor of Strathfield."

The jury had heard that in July 2004 a property developer Michael Saklaoui, a long-term friend of Mr Abi-Saab's, had used an off duty police officer to film Mr Tsang, the Unity Party mayor, accepting a $2500 bribe.

Mr Saklaoui then passed on the footage to Mr Abi-Saab who was accused of using it to blackmail Mr Tsang.

The court heard that during Abi-Saab's Labor mayoralty in 2003 a rezoning of properties was proposed which would vastly increase their value. One of those developers who stood to gain was Anne Bechara, a close personal friend of Mr Abi-Saab's.

However, once Mr Tsang became mayor that decision was reversed.

Phone intercepts played to the jury suggested Mr Abi-Saab using the threat of publishing the tapes to get Mr Tsang to hand the mayoralty back to him.

The anti-corruption watchdog then installed a listening device in Mr Abi-Saab's home where they recorded a series of conversations Mr Abi-Saab had.

Mr Abi-Saab's defence team suggested to the jury that the conversations were "ridiculous" and that the parties were merely talking rubbish. Mr James Stevens, the solicitor representing Mr Abi-Saab told the jury that while the conversations revealed a demand and a threat to Mr Tsang, the threats were not Mr Abi-Saab's but were Mr Saklaoui's threats and that his client was only the messenger.

* Sydney Morning Herald reporter