Ex-mayor facing court after ICAC probe

Prosecutors are pursuing a former Sydney mayor who was last year declared corrupt by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Former Ryde mayor Ivan Petch was investigated by the NSW anti-corruption watchdog in 2013 for allegedly disclosing confidential information as part of a smear campaign aimed at the council's general manager.

Petch, a former NSW MP, has now been charged with being an accessory to blackmail, committing misconduct in public office, and giving false or misleading evidence to the ICAC.

He and four others targeted as part of commission's Operation Cavill are due to face court in September.