RaceCafe..#1...Tipsters Thread.... Share Your Fancies For Fun...Lets See Who The Best Tipsters Here Are.
Fartoomuch

Pokie Fraud

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On 16/06/2017 at 9:21 PM, JackSprat said:

Firstly let me say that I've never met any of the people involved in this case.

From what I understand, every club in the country was aware that the Bluegrass Trust was set up from day one with the prime, but unstated objective, of generating income for harness racing clubs. Over the years of it's existence many many millions of dollars was pumped into stakemoney. Money that the majority of owners, trainers, and drivers will have benefited from at some stage.

Nobody was complaining while the cash was flowing into the industry.

Other than pull the wool over the eyes of a few dim witted Internal Affairs officials, and deduct a generous commission from the proceeds for himself, what has Mike O'Brien actually done wrong here?

It seems to me to be a double standard for the industry to now be distancing tiself from the O'Briens and calling them crooks, when only a short while ago everybody was only to happy to pocket the millions of dollars they pumped into the game.

Oh so right thank goodness someone is seeing this episode correctly. Restores faith in N.Zers. Easy to go for blood when being hounded by media and prosecuting lawyer. Not to sure what accused lawyer was doing right.

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And here is the outcome of the court proceedings for these scumbags

 

 

Prominent Marlborough racing figure Michael O'Brien has been sentenced to four years and six months jail, for taking millions of dollars through gambling machine frauds.

The 58-year-old has just been sentenced at the High Court in Wellington, alongside Kevin Coffey, 60, who received 12 months home detention for his lesser role in the frauds.

Crown lawyer Grant Burston said O'Brien's "selfish and greedy" offending netted him millions of dollars over several years.

The court heard that O'Brien was a key figure for both pokie machine venues, and racing clubs that wanted to receive funding grants from the pokies.

"He directed the trusts grants application process," Burston said.

"Michael O'Brien was running a dishonest scheme for which he received a backhander of a third of the grants given out while he was running the scheme.

"Mr O'Brien's offending was selfish and greedy. The racing clubs believed they had no other choice but to pay him a third funding, if they were to get any grant money at all.

"That was the trap they felt they were in, that they otherwise wouldn't get the pokie funding that they needed."

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17 hours ago, eljay said:

Wonder if he'll appeal?      With good behaviour he probably up for 12 to 18 months max.       Rumpole probably would have more accurate estimate (if he reads this forum!)

Probably arrogant enough to, Where are all his supporters from here now.- hiding after getting it all wrong i suspect.

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Last man in the chain sentenced today.Paul Max,after spending 6 weeks locked up, got 12 months home detention. Wasn't a harness man however a good guy who,in the days when I knew him and prior to all of this, supported local charities and sports clubs in and around Nelson.

Pokies came into NZ in the early 1990's and it was a cowboy setup then - many publicans did a 2 for 1 deal with their local sports clubs - that was the way it was.

Arthur Pitcher, who ran the ChCh Casino for many years, said that the best way to maximise profit in a casino was to fill it full of pokies and do away with the other forms of gambling. Sadly they are the most addictive devices for far too many, across the globe.

 

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