Suspicions raised about sale of Moimoi's car to official
Date November 1, 2013
Chris Barrett
Fuifui Moimoi and his old Ford Falcon have wound up embroiled in the allegations directed at Roy Spagnolo that have resulted in the former Parramatta chairman being banned from the board for two years.
Among the questions put to Spagnolo after an
independent audit of the former Parramatta Leagues Club administration was why Moimoi, the Eels forward who used to be managed by Spagnolo, was paid $15,000 by the club in November last year for his car when it had a likely private sale price value of between $3800 and $5200.
The car, a 2004 Falcon, was bought off Moimoi for the use of the Eels' welfare manager Jason Irvine. The difference in what Moimoi was paid by Parramatta and what the vehicle was said to be worth could be considered a minor salary cap breach if proved.
It has also been claimed Moimoi was paid a ''licence fee'' of $596 in October last year which, like the payment for the car, was allegedly accounted for improperly.
Spagnolo disputes the allegations raised about the payments to Moimoi in the report by Russell Corporate Advisory, saying that
the club's then head coach and Parramatta Leagues Club chief executive had been involved in helping him locate a car for Irvine.
''Ricky Stuart, myself and Bob Bentley sat there, and they needed a car immediately for one of the new people,'' Spagnolo said. ''Fui was trying to sell his car, and I was aware of it, and he said he wanted $15,000. We did a valuation online [at Redbook], it was $14,200 and we agreed to give him $15,000.
It had mag wheels, it had woofers.
''I had nothing to do with it - all I did was make Ricky Stuart and Bob Bentley aware that Fui was selling the car, and that was it.''
It is understood the Eels are prepared to self-report to the NRL if they uncover any evidence of salary cap infringements.
''I'm not aware of anything right now, and we certainly make a commitment that if there is anything that we need to be aware of we'll research and investigate it properly and take the action we need to take,'' Parramatta football club chief Scott Seward said.
