Parramatta executive denies owing player money as new claims surface of unpaid debts
Kate McClymont
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THE Parramatta Eels chief executive, Paul Osborne, who owes money to the club's chairman, has denied he owes money to a senior player who was promised a lucrative deal to join the club in recent years.
When asked about the matter yesterday, the player said he was on holiday and: ''I'm not getting involved in any of this crap.''
Mr Osborne denied through his lawyers yesterday that he owed any money to any player.
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The Herald can also reveal Mr Osborne, 45, was investigated over fraud allegations when a member of the ACT Parliament.
A builder, Barrie Morrison, claimed yesterday that Mr Osborne still owed him $29,500 for work done building a house on the outskirts of Canberra.
Although the Australian Federal Police cleared Mr Osborne of wrongdoing in relation to Mr Morrison's claims he had forged his signature and stolen a cheque, an internal review of the initial police investigation was scathing.
It found that Mr Osborne, a former NSW police officer, was in daily contact with the investigating officer, had been leaked other witnesses' statements which enabled him ''to anticipate the scope of the investigation''.
This was the first investigation into a ''serving member of the Legislative Assembly'', the 2001 internal affairs report said. ''That being the case, the conduct of the investigation should have been second to none. This was not the case.''
The Parramatta Rugby League Club board is in turmoil after director Glenn Duncan quit last week over the way the board was handling allegations involving Mr Osborne's financial dealings.
The board was told that, apart from Mr Osborne having to repay $35,000 in personal expenses he accrued on his club credit card, he had been slow in repaying $9000 in cash collected from the sale of football jerseys in December 2009.
The board was told when Mr Osborne was asked to repay the money he claimed he had given $5000 of it to a senior player. The money was finally repaid in March last year in $100 notes.
Club chairman Roy Spagnolo told a recent board meeting he believed money he had lent Mr Osborne may have been used to repay the amount.
When confronted by Mr Duncan at a board meeting recently, Mr Spagnolo admitted Mr Osborne still owed him money. Mr Spagnolo later sent an email to directors saying, ''Having reflected on the matter, and in the interest of probity,'' he would not deal ''with Paul's future employment while Paul is personally indebted to me''.
Days later, he told the Herald that Mr Osborne would be staying with the club. Mr Duncan has since resigned.
In addition to his financial problems, which Mr Osborne blamed on soured property deals, the CEO is also the subject of a bullying claim by a woman employee.
Both Mr Osborne and Mr Spagnolo told the Herald the woman's complaint had been ''dealt with by the board''. However, last Friday, the woman was still in settlement negotiations with the club's lawyers.
Mr Duncan is the chairman of Pirtek, the Eel's major sponsor which has a contract until 2013.
''The recent decisions of the board go against all my business principals which place me in a position of no longer being able to meet my expectations and duties as a director,'' Mr Duncan said of his recent resignation.
kmcclymont@smh.com.au
