Newcastle denies explosive salary cap allegations
By Dean Ritchie
October 19, 2007 12:00am
THE Newcastle Knights and the NRL were last night forced to defend explosive allegations of salary cap rorting after a detailed email was sent to every club chief executive.
Former Knights financial controller Brad Newton attached an 18-page document listing stunning claims of salary cheating at the club dating back to 2000.
The Daily Telegraph also obtained a series of emotional emails exchanged between Newton and Knights chairman Peter Corcoran.
But NRL chief David Gallop and the Knights management last night vehemently denied Newton's allegations, which involved players being implicated in salary cap rorting.
Gallop was forced to respond to all 16 clubs with a strongly worded letter of denial.
Corcoran said: "I'm not sure what Brad is on about to be truthful - all the particular incidents have been investigated and solved. It's all been put to bed."
Newton, who left the Knights in 2003, claims he was not comfortable with the club's treatment of the salary cap and that fallout from accusations he made "destroyed his life" and resulted in a mental breakdown.
In the emails, Newton demands a meeting with Corcoran over his claims. The meeting has never taken place.
Newton wrote to Corcoran: "The day I resigned I was a decent, honest hard-working loyal financial controller who witnessed enough poor management, deceptive management, dishonest and corrupt management, tax fraud, embezzlement - you name it - to last me an entire career."
Newton said last night he was driven out of Newcastle by the allegations and wants the club to admit its mistakes to clear his name.
Knights officials said Newton is simply an eccentric and disgruntled former employee.
Asked last night why he was desperate to pursue the allegations, Newton said: "It has sent me around the twist. I want the people who did it, and who denied it, to accept that these things happened and stop burying their heads in the sand. They have to stop hiding behind ignorance."
In Newton's damning document, he claimed "salary cap rorting (in 2002 and 2003) at Newcastle appeared commonplace".
He claimed in 2003 there was "deliberate and calculated salary cap rorting that was prevalent at the club since at least 2000".
"The NRL covered up their tracks by claiming the rorts did not happen," Newton wrote.
Newton also alleged the Knights:
PAID off Player A's mortgage in 2003, which was outside the salary cap;
PROVIDED Player B with a company car for two years which "deliberately" avoided the salary cap;
SUPPLIED Player C with Holden cars between 1999 and 2003 which were not declared in the cap;
WERE aware former football manager Steve Crowe forged Andrew Johns' signature for memorabilia. Crowe strenuously denies this;
BOARD elections in 2002 and before were invalid;
MADE $200,000 in payments to players in late 2001 disguised as grand final bonuses. All 2002 contracts were reduced by about $13,000 a player to get their 2002 player salaries lower; and
ISSUED a former CEO with a $200,000 tax-free payout when he left the Knights "with many dark secrets".
In an email to Corcoran, Newton wrote he had "lost faith in Newcastle's integrity and effectiveness".
Last night Newton said: "I resigned on principle because I wouldn't compromise my integrity.
"The Knights said there was nothing wrong and dismissed the whole thing. I was the only one being honest - the rest lied and came up smelling like roses.
"The Knights were still doing it after the Bulldogs (were caught rorting in 2002) - they were playing Russian roulette. The NRL gave the Knights preferred treatment."
Knights chief executive Steve Burraston angrily denied Newton's claims.
Burraston said the allegations had previously been investigated and dismissed by the NRL.
"The allegations are totally false," Burraston said. "They were investigated at the time and there was no substance found to them.
"He (Newton) left our organisation and, as I understand, wasn't given a reference. He is very disgruntled."
NRL management was so angry, officials sent an email last night to all clubs saying: "Any suggestion the NRL has failed to act on those investigations, or that it has failed to act consistently or appropriately, is completely false.
"The NRL salary cap auditor (Ian Schubert) had received a number of pieces of correspondence from the employee (Newton) in 2003 and had treated each seriously.
"The issue of grand final bonuses in 2001 was investigated and addressed by the NRL - there was no breach of the rules."
