POS named in Storm rorts

[Guest]

Vasco - I am not just trying to cause trouble or an arguement..

I just want to try to understand how and why they blame News and the NRL??

as I said. I am happy to listen..

I find it very difficult to believe that News Ltd, the owners of the storm, who have members on the Storm board, knew nothing of an extra $3 million payed out to players.

They have been very quick to point the finger squarely at Waldron.

I don't believe it.

[Pass the Ball]

I find it very difficult to believe that News Ltd, the owners of the storm, who have members on the Storm board, knew nothing of an extra $3 million payed out to players.

They have been very quick to point the finger squarely at Waldron.

I don't believe it.

Didn't the majority of that $3 million come from third parties and bogus invoicing..

News itself did not just pay the players an extra $3 million did they..??

[Billy Gunn]

Didn't the majority of that $3 million come from third parties and bogus invoicing..

News itself did not just pay the players an extra $3 million did they..??

I would have thought the News placed Directors might as it's their responsibility to understand the workings of the club in which they are paid to manage.

I would have thought the Coach who knows how many times each player takes a shit each day would know more about the deal they are on?

Apparently the "independent" audit paid for by News in which they chose what to release to the media found that no one knew anything. I can see why the club ran at such a big loss no one knew anything about anything.....

surely that can't be accurate ??

[Pass the Ball]

Billy - I believe Bellamy is up to his eyeballs in it, along with the players and the player managers..

[Chooks4Life]

I ****ing HATE Bellamy why the **** was he Nsw Coach half his ****ing team is in qld he is the biggest grub and after everything he was allogated of they chose him i know its irrelevant to this thread but **** i wanted to get that off my chest i hate the grub he should go brush his teeth for ****s sake

[novice chook]

Mario, I believe the all the independent directors had the opportunity to be involved in the Delloite report but 3 out of the 4 refused to co-operate. So they have no right to whinge that they had no input.

Same goes for the players and player managers who also refused to co-operate with Deloitte regarding the report.

You would have thought that if all these people had nothing to hide they would have been a little more obliging.

But they all hide behind the excuse of "privacy and confidentiality". Not that that will help them in the end.


NC

[Johnny Tobin]

Mario, I believe the all the independent directors had the opportunity to be involved in the Delloite report but 3 out of the 4 refused to co-operate. So they have no right to whinge that they had no input.

Same goes for the players and player managers who also refused to co-operate with Deloitte regarding the report.

You would have thought that if all these people had nothing to hide they would have been a little more obliging.

But they all hide behind the excuse of "privacy and confidentiality". Not that that will help them in the end.


NC

Novice, that is very naive and I am surprised.

The "independent report" was commissioned by News Limited, who are at war with these independent directors. They had no reason to think they would be treated fairly.

Since the start of this News has tried to distance themselves from it and hang Waldron and others out to dry. In fact, their reporting on him in the first few days was disgraceful. That will pick up again as a result of the "independent report".

It just goes to show what a joke the NRL is. They should be doing the "independent report" but there is no way it could be independent when they are also owned (partly) by News.

Bring on the Independent Commission - not that I think for a minute the influence of News will disappear.

[Kingbilly]

Its not about who to blame, its about NSW claiming ignorance and innocence when most of us think that is not close to being true.
Its about NEWS going on the attack and going into spin doctoring and pushing the blame on others to avoid being dragged into it

[novice chook]

JT, I'm not being niave, I realise that the 'independence' of the report is farcical.

But the reality is that a lot of the people who refused to co-operate did so because they have something to hide. And so they have no right to whinge about the outcome of the report, which was based on the information available.

I can't fathom why most are attacking News Ltd for covering their butt whilst accepting of everyone else involved in this disgraceful debacle who is doing exactly the same.

Maybe it's because I don't have a personal set against News Ltd like a lot of other people on here.


NC

[Chookies74]

Didn't the majority of that $3 million come from third parties and bogus invoicing..

News itself did not just pay the players an extra $3 million did they..??

BINGO!
they are safe as houses, irrespective of what anyone thinks.

I feel a Floyd Landis moment will happen.....as per Floyd, it'll take a while, probably a few years, but eventually someone's conscious will make them tell the truth.

[Guest]

News Ltd sack independent Storm directors, no evidence that players knew of cap rorting

CHRIS BARRETT

July 15, 2010 - 2:40PM

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...ml?autostart=1


$1.1 million in playing talent goes

Bellamy cleared

Report referred to police

Five managers named as knowing

Players and directors criticised



The News Ltd-commissioned report into the Melbourne Storm salary cap rorting has pointed the finger at five senior officials for orchestrating and being involved in the illegal payment of players.

Three months after the Storm's salary cap scandal broke News Ltd chairman John Hartigan and the company's chief operating officer Peter Macourt have today released a summarised version of a forensic audit of the club carried out by the accountancy firm Deloitte.

The report reveals that Melbourne contravened the salary cap by almost double the figure that had been estimated by the NRL when it handed down its penalty in April.

It said that the Storm had exceeded the cap by $3.17 million over the five years between 2006 and 2010 and were on schedule to be $1.3 million over the cap for next year.

Hartigan said the four independent directors of the Storm, who have launched legal action against the NRL, had been removed from their posts this morning.

He said of the four - chairman Rob Moodie, Petra Fawcett, Peter Maher and Gerry Ryan - only Fawcett had agreed to participate in the auditor's investigation.

The changes, he said were made by Valimanda, the News Ltd subsidiary that owns the Storm.

Hartigan pinpointed five current and former senior officials as being behind or being involved in some way in the illegal payment of players.

They are former chief executives Brian Waldron and Matt Hanson, former chief financial officer Paul Gregory, former recruitment chief Peter O'Sullivan and another ex-financial boss Cameron Vale.

Hartigan said of the five officials only Vale co-operated with the audit.

Hartigan said the findings of the report would be referred to police.

"Is it fraud? That's something for the police to decide," he said.

Hartigan said the report may be made available to the NRL, while the Australian Taxation Office has also shown interest in the investigation's outcome.

Hartigan said there was no evidence players knew of the cap rorts, but said no player co-operated with the Deloitte investigation.

Victoria Police said News Ltd had yet to make a complaint.

"At this stage Victoria Police is not investigating and the matter has not been referred to us," a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

Waldron, O'Sullivan and Vale have all departed the club while Hanson and Gregory have been suspended from duty since the salary cap penalty was invoked on April 22.

O'Sullivan is now the Sydney Roosters recruitment manager while Vale is chief financial officer at AFL club North Melbourne. Macourt later said that O'Sullivan might not have knowledge of the payments.

"There is no place for them in our club," said Hartigan who expects Hanson and Gregory to be sacked by a newly constituted Storm board.

"There is evidence ... that some of the people worked together to cover their tracks. The club engaged in wide-ranging and elaborate cheating and must take its medicine.

"We had some rats in our ranks. A small group of senior officials at the club orchestrated the payments."

Stephen Rue was appointed to the Storm board alongside Craig Watt and Frank Stanton, the acting chief executive.

There were also details in the report of the players who received the extra payments.

Hartigan listed them in alphabetical order; seven are current players, six have since left the club.

They are: Will Chambers, Michael Crocker, Cooper Cronk, Matt Geyer, Ryan Hoffman, Greg Inglis, Dallas Johnson, Antonio Kaufusi, Anthony Quinn, Billy Slater, captain Cameron Smith, Steve Turner and Brett White.

However, he said there was no evidence that the players were knowingly complicit in the club's rorting of the salary cap.

The report says three players - Inglis, Smith and Slater - had signed or had their managers sign "side letters" with the Storm that showed amounts to be paid well in excess of the contracts they had lodged with the NRL.

These letters also were not evidence of involvement of the rort by players, said Hartigan.

Hartigan also said coach Craig Bellamy had been exonerated in full by the Deloitte report.

The 15-page report released at News Ltd headquarters in Surry Hills also outlined the ways in which the Storm were able to achieve the rort.

They centre around illegal third party payments as well as supposed "donations" and "consulting fees" involving several entities including the charity Unity Foundation and entertainment company the McManus Group.

But the report also found no evidence to suggest these companies knew the payments were contributing to a salary cap breach.

The main method of payment involved the club arranging for third parties to "employ" and/or pay players, the report said.

The third parties issued invoices to the club for amounts described as donations or consulting fees.

The club paid the invoices, said the report, and they were recorded in the accounts under these titles rather than as payments to players.

Other illegal methods identified included the guaranteeing of their party agreements, the provision of cars to players and members of their family, gift vouchers to players, rental assistance, airfares for personal travel by players and their immediate family members and other benefits such as payments for a boat and media training.




I'm just referring to the parts of the aticle "in bold"..

Don't know whether POS is in the clear or not..

Strange days indeed..

[elo]

Like I said, it's absolutely poor form for O'Sullivan's name to be dragged through the mud when he is linked with 1 contract and it's not even known if he knew that contract was outside of the cap. I am certain Politis would have sacked him months ago if he thought POS was part of the rort.

[Guest]

Like I said, it's absolutely poor form for O'Sullivan's name to be dragged through the mud when he is linked with 1 contract and it's not even known if he knew that contract was outside of the cap. I am certain Politis would have sacked him months ago if he thought POS was part of the rort.

Its funny how bourbon bec's whipping boy chose to name drop POS when Macourt comes out and says that POS may not have known about the illegal payments. FFS he was only there for 1 year of the 5 year rorting

Bec's Boy has been on the offence from day 1. He has done what he can to ensure no news executives are implicated!

[Guest]

Billy - I believe Bellamy is up to his eyeballs in it, along with the players and the player managers..

I am with Pass the Ball on this

All of tehse cretens knew, for mine their outright refusal in providing information proves they have something to hide.

They will have their day when the tax office takes a legal stand point and their documents must be provided.

[Guest]

I am with Pass the Ball on this

All of tehse cretens knew, for mine their outright refusal in providing information proves they have something to hide.

They will have their day when the tax office takes a legal stand point and their documents must be provided.

Bellamy even tried to ad Mason to their cheating roster early this year.He is either a liar or real fukn dumb...