A building linked to disgraced former Labor minister Eddie Obeid's family has been damaged in a suspicious fire, the second blaze at the same Sydney property in just over a week.
Police and firefighters received multiple calls from witnesses just after 6pm on Tuesday to say flames were coming from the unoccupied Bellevue Reception Centre, on Restwell Street in Bankstown.
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Fire damages building linked to Obeid family
A building linked to the disgraced former Labor minister Eddie Obeid's family has been hit by a second fire in eight days. Vision: Seven News.
Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters arrived a short time later to find a blaze had started on the centre's second floor. They extinguished the fire, which police say caused structural damage to the property. No one was injured.
A NSW Police spokesman said the cause of the fire was not yet known, but fire investigators believed it was suspicious.
Initial investigations suggested someone had forced their way into the building and there were several fire ignition points, the spokesman said.
Police from the Bankstown Local Area Command set up a crime scene at the centre, which will be examined by forensic officers on Wednesday.
The building that houses the function centre is owned by company Redpoc, whose directors are Eddie Obeid's long-time friend and former business partner Wally Wehbe, and Paul Obeid, the former minister's son. The building is listed as Redpoc's "principal place of business" on company documents.
Tuesday's fire comes eight days after the same building was damaged in another blaze.
![Eddie Obeid was jailed last month for misconduct in public office.](/web/20170104202917im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/b/i/h/d/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtli7j.png/1483507366746.jpg)
In that incident, a fire alarm went off just after 4am on Boxing Day and firefighters quickly put out a fire that started on the second floor, near the centre's office.
The same building was also damaged by fire in June 2015, when an unknown man forced entry through a back door and a fire started soon afterwards.Â
![The Bellevue Reception Centre was also damaged by fire in June and December 2015.](/web/20170104202917im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/l/j/z/d/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtli7j.png/1483507366746.jpg)
That fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system by the time emergency services arrived, but the foyer, which had recently been renovated, was damaged. A NSW Police spokesperson told Fairfax Media on Wednesday the investigation into the 2015 fire was ongoing.
And in 1993, not long after Mr Obeid and Mr Wehbe had purchased the mini shopping centre and opened The Bellevue, one of the shopping centre tenants, a tobacconist, noticed petrol dripping through the ceiling and called the police.
Mr Obeid later claimed that the attempted petrol bombing was due to rivalry over a Lebanese beauty contest that had been held at The Bellevue earlier that week.Â
There is no suggestion that Mr Wehbe or Mr Obeid had any involvement in the fires.
Fairfax Media has contacted the function centre for comment.
BANKSTOWN | #FRNSW attending a building #fire #Firefighting operations in progress. #Smoke and #flames from 2 level building.
â Fire & Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) January 3, 2017
Mr Wehbe was one of 55 people to provide a character reference for Eddie Obeid, who was jailed last month for misconduct in public office over his family's secret business dealings at Circular Quay.
Writing on behalf of the Australian Lebanese Christian Foundation, Mr Wehbe said, "our member [sic] and executive have always found Mr Obeid to be open, honest, generous and genuine".
The ALCF was founded by Eddie Obeid in 1986.
Justice Robert Beech-Jones last month sentenced Eddie Obeid to a maximum five years' jail with a non-parole period of three years.
with Michaela Whitbourn