THE aim of the Scott Neylon letter-writing investigation appeared relatively simple.
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Make "any such enquiries that may be reasonably necessary to establish the facts of the matter".
Was City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath involved in the nasty letter-writing campaign and did he pass confidential information to his best friend of 25 years, long-term Japanese resident and letter writer Scott Neylon?
But the investigation ignored key evidence the Newcastle Herald could have provided, because this newspaper was never contacted.
Scott Neylon has submitted 19 letters to the Herald, eight of which have been published.
None of this information was requested for the investigation.
Former senior Hunter policeman Allan Connor said an investigation that did not interview all relativent parties and seek all relevant documents and evidence was "simply questionable" and provided no confidence to the public.
Mr Connor, who served in the police force for 20 years, said it was not only the content of the letters that would be "crucial" to an investigator looking into their source, but also the evidence left during their submission.
"It's a bit unusual when the whole investigation was about the emails and letters that came to the Herald, that they were never requested," Mr Connor said.
"There is a whole range of data and information around the submission of those letters that would be crucial to examine.
"Perhaps there might have been privacy issues for the Herald handing that over, but it appears that was never tested, which creates doubt about the level of confidence anyone can have in the outcome of the investigation."
At the heart of our investigation was examining the letters and following the clues left behind by their author.
Mr Neylon's letters to the Herald comment about the goings on in Newcastle in great detail.
Hunter Water, clean coal, V8 supercars, council controversies, Stockton beach, Newcastle Ocean Baths, East End residents and the Newcastle Maritime Museum are all isses Mr Neylon has been compelled to write about.
Among evidence provided in the submission of the letters were a host of IP addresses, two email addresses, four mobile phone numbers and a number of residential addresses.
These were cross referenced in people search databases, which lead to further email and residential addresses.
The Herald has interviewed dozens of people, including all of the victims of the nasty letter-writing campaign.
Friends who knew Mr Neylon from high school were contacted to verify where he lived, and to determine when he left the south coast, where he grew up, and moved to Queensland to attend Griffiths University.
His work records, located on old versions of his company's website, indicate he has been living and working in Japan since 1998.
A range of databases were used to conduct dozens of searches using the information gathered from the letter submissions.
This included paid electoral roll searches, property, company and people searches.
Mr Connor, who has had firsthand experience dealing with external investigations due to a work situation with his wife, said it was important for ratepayers, who paid for the investigation, to have faith that the process was as "thorough and fair as possible".
He pointed out that any investigation carried out by NSW Police would be "worlds apart" from an investigation handled by a private investigation firm contracted by government, in this case Pinnacle Integrity, even if they do employ ex-police officers.
This view is backed by a 2016 NSW Ombudsman review into the NSW government's use of external investigators.
The Ombudsman found the use of external investigators could "be costly and may not always produce effective results".
Issues identified by the Ombudsman included not interviewing relevant witnesses or obtaining relevant documents, and factual conclusions being drawn in investigation reports on the basis of evidence which does not meet an applicable standard of proof.
"These companies are set up to make money, as you would expect, and they operate in a completely different system to the police," Mr Connor said.
"It's also important to understand their previous relationship with the government agency they are doing the work for.
"Have they done work for them before and keen to do more, who have they dealt with in the organisation and what parameters were set for the investigation that they had to operate within?"
Outside of Mr Neylon listing his address on the electoral roll as Mr Bath's Lake Macquarie home, the Herald has be unable to find any evidence of the 48-year-old living in the Hunter.
His interest in Newcastle, besides his best friend of 25 years Mr Bath, remains a mystery.
The letters contain Mr Neylon's descriptions of his life, which are contradictory and often incorrect.
In one letter, Mr Neylon purports to have a teenage child. In another, he is a pensioner who spends his days at City of Newcastle pools with his grandkids.
In reality, he lives in Japan teaching English and is married to a Japanese woman.
He has provided no explanation for the lies, or his motive to deceive and mislead.
One is left to wonder how he explained this to Pinnacle Integrity, or if he answered those questions at all, as the Herald revealed on Friday that the investigator could not compel Mr Neylon, or any other witness, to agree to an interview, or answer questions they didn't want to. Written submissions were acceptable.
Mr Connor said any investigation should be methodical, adhere to transparent procedures and offer impartiality to all parties.
"This isn't a transparent investigation, this is cloaked in secrecy and that's an issue for the public's confidence as well," he said.
"How do they know how the investigation has been conducted, what the terms of reference are and in a situation like this it needs to be fair to everyone involved, including the ratepayers who are paying for it.
"Vital information hasn't been examined and you are just left to question why."
Pinnacle Integrity did not respond to questions about why it did not seek access to the letters.
"Pinnacle Integrity, as conduct reviewer, can confirm that the evidence relating to the matters under inquiry were sufficiently and thoroughly investigated in accordance with the procedures," a spokeswoman said.
"The investigation process and evidence relating to the matter remain confidential."
