Canberra centre Jason Bulgarelli was sacked yesterday afternoon after club officials intercepted a package containing commercial quantities of ecstasy.
In a case that has cast a pall over the entire club, Bulgarelli may now also face criminal investigation. Last night ACT police were still looking into the matter. They had not yet interviewed Bulgarelli.
Bulgarelli has denied the package was his, and said it had not been sent to him. He has sought legal advice to contest his termination, which was officially for a breach of the club's code of conduct.
"Jason adamantly refutes the claims and the process of termination. The matter is now in the hands of Jason's legal representatives," his manager David Riolo said in a statement.
It is understood that circumstances surrounding Bulgarelli's sudden sacking occurred several months ago.
At that time, the club received a parcel addressed to a person unknown to it, James Brow, an allegedly fictitious name. The parcel obviously contained small items that rattled.
As part of the club's safety procedures, the police were called and they took the parcel away. They opened it and had the contents analysed.
In the meantime, shortly after handing over the package, a female club official claimed Bulgarelli approached Raiders staff seeking a parcel, quoting the name that had been on the parcel and saying he wanted to pick it up.
But Bulgarelli is understood to dispute the woman's version of events. He claims that he approached the woman seeking a jersey that had been sent to him that he was required to autograph. The case has been hanging over Bulgarelli since that time. The club informed him it would await the analysis before considering its actions.
The ACT police on Wednesday advised the Raiders that the parcel contained ecstasy tablets.
Bulgarelli was about to benefit from a large increase in his salary to more than $100,000, and there have been suggestions that his sacking, without any hearing at board level, has helped the club meet its salary cap requirements. Last night Raiders chief executive Simon Hawkins would not comment.
Bulgarelli, 28, was the club's rookie of the year in 2003. The former Illawarra junior representative joined the Raiders in 2003 and made his first-grade debut in May that year.
Raiders players say they knew nothing about the case and were informed via text messages on their phones about 4pm yesterday that Bulgarelli was leaving the club and they would be told the circumstances at training on Monday.
