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Club sacks drug player
By Peter Kogoy
November 13, 2004
CANBERRA RAIDERS centre Jason Bulgarelli's football career is in ruins after he was sacked yesterday for allegedly being the intended recipient of a package mailed to club offices at Bruce which contained the drug ecstasy.
Surprised ... Bulgarelli is maintaining is innocence.
The 28-year-old former Illawarra junior representative, who joined the Raiders in 2003 from Queensland Cup side Easts Tigers, still had a year to run on his contract.
Bulgarelli's agent David Riolo told The Weekend Australian last night: "Jason is innocent and will prove it by having his name cleared through the ACT court system. He also has the right to take the case to the NRL appeals tribunal.
"Jason also has the right to sue for wrongful dismissal."
Riolo said he had originally been informed by a senior Canberra club official by phone that a package addressed to a "James Brow" had arrived at Raiders HQ last Tuesday.
"I was then told somebody at the club opened the package, found some pills before sending it off to be independently tested," Riolo said.
"The club then informed me the result of the testing came back as meth-amphetamine.
"At first I didn't know what it was and was forced to look up the word on the internet that the stuff was ecstasy."
When contacted last night, Raiders chief executive Simon Hawkins confirmed the club had sacked Bulgarelli after intercepting a suspicious package.
"On club legal advice I can't comment other than to confirm Bulgarelli has had his contracted terminated which still had a year to run," Hawkins said.
"What I can also tell you is that the original allegation wasn't treated lightly and we thought long and hard before coming up with this decision."
Hawkins then referred all other inquiries to to ACT Police at Belconnen.
But when contacted, a senior Belconnen police spokesman said: "There is no person named Bulgarelli of interest to us."
Bulgarelli made his first-grade debut for the Raiders against Penrith in round 10, 2003 and played 37 games.'
By Peter Kogoy
November 13, 2004
CANBERRA RAIDERS centre Jason Bulgarelli's football career is in ruins after he was sacked yesterday for allegedly being the intended recipient of a package mailed to club offices at Bruce which contained the drug ecstasy.
Surprised ... Bulgarelli is maintaining is innocence.
The 28-year-old former Illawarra junior representative, who joined the Raiders in 2003 from Queensland Cup side Easts Tigers, still had a year to run on his contract.
Bulgarelli's agent David Riolo told The Weekend Australian last night: "Jason is innocent and will prove it by having his name cleared through the ACT court system. He also has the right to take the case to the NRL appeals tribunal.
"Jason also has the right to sue for wrongful dismissal."
Riolo said he had originally been informed by a senior Canberra club official by phone that a package addressed to a "James Brow" had arrived at Raiders HQ last Tuesday.
"I was then told somebody at the club opened the package, found some pills before sending it off to be independently tested," Riolo said.
"The club then informed me the result of the testing came back as meth-amphetamine.
"At first I didn't know what it was and was forced to look up the word on the internet that the stuff was ecstasy."
When contacted last night, Raiders chief executive Simon Hawkins confirmed the club had sacked Bulgarelli after intercepting a suspicious package.
"On club legal advice I can't comment other than to confirm Bulgarelli has had his contracted terminated which still had a year to run," Hawkins said.
"What I can also tell you is that the original allegation wasn't treated lightly and we thought long and hard before coming up with this decision."
Hawkins then referred all other inquiries to to ACT Police at Belconnen.
But when contacted, a senior Belconnen police spokesman said: "There is no person named Bulgarelli of interest to us."
Bulgarelli made his first-grade debut for the Raiders against Penrith in round 10, 2003 and played 37 games.'
