His career from early on until its end, was marked by a series of public allegations about impropriety and corruption. In October 2000, he was accused of sexually assaulting an Australian Democrats staffer at a New South Wales Parliament House function the month before. The complainant made an initial statement to the NSW Police, but withdrew it the following day. It was later alleged that one of the police officers who investigated the original complaint was a member of Tripodi's branch of the ALP.