How Torbay tried to box clever over a Stones concert Undercover of the night: Mick Jagger an unwitting fund-raiser. Richard Torbay has learned the hard way that you can't always get what you want. But in the past the high-profile independent member of Parliament got what he needed - including a $25,000 donation in the form of a corporate box to hold a fund-raiser at a 2003 Rolling Stones concert. The donor of the box is listed as John Cassidy, at the time the boss of construction company Abigroup and its subsidiary the Sydney SuperDome at Homebush, where the Stones played. It is not just Mr Cassidy's donation that is now under investigation. As a result of Fairfax Media's enquiries about Mr Cassidy's involvement in a controversial property deal while Chancellor of the University of New England, that matter too has been referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Mr Cassidy, 68, is a big wheel in the New England region. He and his business partner Darrell Hendry made an estimated $50 million each when they sold their major shareholding in Abigroup to German company Bilfinger Berger a decade ago. In early 2004 Mr Cassidy retired and added to his already substantial pastoral holdings in the Armidale area by acquiring prime gazing land for another $13 million. In December 2003, Mr Cassidy was appointed to the chancellorship of UNE. Minutes of the university's June 2007 council meeting, which have been obtained by Fairfax Media, reveal Mr Cassidy nominated Mr Torbay for an honorary doctorate from the university for his service to UNE and for his "recent appointment as NSW Speaker of the House." That same year Mr Cassidy was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his service to university administration, as well as to the construction industry. His chancellorship ended in 2008 after a prolonged and bitter battle with academic staff and his vice-chancellor, Alan Pettigrew. In April this year, Mr Torbay, who had succeeded Mr Cassidy as UNE's chancellor, dramatically quit all his public positions, including his parliamentary seat and as the Nationals' candidate for the federal election. Mr Torbay's house and electoral office were subsequently raided by officers from the Independent Commission Against Corruption, allegedly in relation to electoral donations. Fairfax Media has previously revealed that in December 2010, Mr Torbay received $100,000 - one of the largest personal donations ever recorded - months after organising a successful meeting between then planning minister Tony Kelly and Cameron McCullagh, a Sydney accountant who wanted a heritage order lifted on a mansion he owned. Electoral Commission records reveal that only weeks out from the March 2003 state election, Mr Torbay took advantage of the Rolling Stones' "Licks" tour to hold a fund-raiser. The chance to see Mick Jagger and his bandmates belting out hits including Sympathy for the Devil and Jumpin' Jack Flash raised an impressive $25,000 for Mr Torbay's campaign. According to the Electoral Funding Authority records, "J & A Cassidy (Loan of Corporate Box for Concert) " is listed as the donor and the amount is recorded as $25,000. Mr Cassidy, a director of Sydney SuperDome at the time, said he could not recall making such a donation. "I don't recall that, no," he told Fairfax Media. Contacted at his home in Uralla, Mr Cassidy suggested the $25,000 donation "would be from Sydney SuperDome, if anything" and suggested contacting the then chief financial officer of Abigroup, Darrell Hendry. Mr Hendry did not return calls. An Abigroup spokesman said the company had "no record" of the donation having been made by either Abigroup or its subsidiary Sydney SuperDome. Mr Hendry and Mr Cassidy have been business partners for decades. So when it emerged in late 2005 that Mr Hendry had bought a property from the UNE while his mate was the chancellor, questions were raised. The Tattersalls Hotel had been acquired on the university's behalf for $900,000 a decade earlier by Mr Torbay, who had risen from the ranks of kitchen hand to run the UNE Union. But the iconic art deco hotel with its 42 bedrooms was not the money-spinner that the union had hoped and in 2005 the union was put into administration with instructions to sell the hotel. The day after Mr Torbay was appointed to the university council, on September 29, 2005, the council resolved to take over all the assets and liabilities of the troubled UNE Union. A new entity, Services UNE, was established. It was initially recommended that the administrator Stephen Hall, from local accountancy firm Forsyths, organise an auction for the hotel, but it was later decided to sell by tender. The successful tenderer was Mr Hendry's company Armpub No.1. Although the deal had not been finalised, Mr Hendry was quoted in The Armidale Express in mid-December 2005 about his purchase and that he would welcome a partner in the hotel business. Corporate records show on January 30, 2006 - three days before the pub sale was finalised - Mr Cassidy joined Mr Hendry as a director of Armpub, the company which bought the hotel. Some weeks later rumours began to surface that Mr Cassidy had joined Mr Hendry as an owner of the Tattersalls in Beardy Street. Under the headline "Cassidy slams hotel rumour," the chancellor told the Express of his outrage at the suggestion he had inside knowledge on the sale. He claimed he only discovered his Sydney-based friend Mr Hendry had purchased the hotel when he read it in the Express back in December. Mr Cassidy denied having any knowledge of the tender process, the article suggested. However, it can be revealed that Mr Hall, the administrator, worked with a select group including Mr Cassidy on the recommendation to dispose of the hotel. Mr Hall did not return calls from Fairfax Media. Last month Fairfax Media wrote to UNE requesting the business papers relating to the hotel sale. Vice-Chancellor Jim Barber replied: "The issue you have raised has been referred this week to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). I have done this promptly and UNE will co-operate in any way we can to assist the ICAC. Mr Cassidy could not be contacted in relation to the hotel sale.