News knew of Storm rorts

[bartman]

It's hardly "news" that something is amiss with News Ltd and their involvement in the game.

But that's been the case for a long time (since 1996 for most sensible fans in fact!), and not something that's changing in a hurry - thanks to the Storm's cap scandal keeping News in the game for the time being, when they were about to get out.

It's really funny seeing people focus on some... non-specific, but you know... feeling that that maybe because News rightfully paid for the audit... that, you know... well something must be amiss? Anything but focus on the fact that a club organisation cheated, and is now paying the rightful consequences in all their inevitable detail.

As for there being two sides to this issue, the non-News Ltd side still reports that... the Storm cheated the cap, and their premiership wins now count for absolutely nothing. No conspiracies there!

 

[LESStar58]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/news-knew-of-storm-rorts-20100719-10hw3.html

Watch for another vomit inducing article from Bourbon Beccy defending her boyfriend based on this article.

Seriously, how many more twists and turns and developments can this whole f**king thing take. Myself and a few other Storm supporters just want this all to go away. Why the hell doesn't everyone just give it a rest?

 

[BIKER_DRAGON]

This story, if true will finally finish the NRL from running the game. The sooner the NSWRL or the ARL take back full control of the game the better. Then that total f**king brain dead moron David Gallop can piss off to the end of the dole queue, Where he f**king well belongs.

 

[thorson1987]

This story, if true will finally finish the NRL from running the game. The sooner the NSWRL or the ARL take back full control of the game the better. Then that total f**king brain dead moron David Gallop can piss off to the end of the dole queue, Where he f**king well belongs.

F**K that sh*t right off. We need the IC to run the game, not people worried about losing their blazers.

 

[LESStar58]

This story, if true will finally finish the NRL from running the game. The sooner the NSWRL or the ARL take back full control of the game the better. Then that total f**king brain dead moron David Gallop can piss off to the end of the dole queue, Where he f**king well belongs.

I agree... just not with the part about the ARL running it. Too many old boys with too many conflicts and too much bullsh*t. IC is needed.

 

[bartman]

Seriously, how many more twists and turns and developments can this whole f**king thing take. Myself and a few other Storm supporters just want this all to go away. Why the hell doesn't everyone just give it a rest?

Once the Storm's squad is under the cap, it will all go away - you guys can have a legal team again to support, and it will all be yesterday's news.

At the time of the penalty Phil Gould said the Storm could get under the cap again in two weeks to a month, when he was arguing that they should compete for points this year. I guess it was those independent ex-directors who were more focused on "other things" plus that "united we stand" rallying cry that can be blamed for it being dragged out this long?

 

[Brutus]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...f-big-tobacco-20100720-10jj3.html?autostart=1

Storm row: 'News has the ethics of big tobacco'

TOM REILLY

July 21, 2010

THE Storm's former chairman, Rob Moodie, has launched a withering attack on the club's owners, News Ltd, comparing their ''intimidating'' tactics to those of multinational tobacco firms.
Dr Moodie, who has battled with tobacco companies in his position as one of Australia's foremost preventive health experts, told the Herald: ''Coming up against News Ltd isn't easy. From my experience in health I'd compare their tactics to those of a tobacco company - they are just so powerful, they have so many resources and they can be very intimidating.
''I have been shocked by their approach to ethics.''

The health expert, who enjoys an international reputation for his work on HIV/AIDS, also criticised the close relationship between the media company and the NRL. News Ltd owns 50 per cent of the National Rugby League as well as significant shares in Foxtel and Fox Sports.
He said: ''It seems to me that News Ltd and the NRL have been acting as one ever since the [salary cap] breaches were discovered. They may own a half share of the NRL but their influence seems to go beyond that.
''That's the power of News … It would be different if the Storm and NRL were owned by an organisation that wasn't a media company. They can release things and put their spin on issues to suit their agenda.''
Last night the NRL chief executive, David Gallop, denied that the Storm's owners had undue influence with his organisation.
''We reject the suggestion that News endeavoured to influence the penalties that we imposed on the Storm,'' he said.
''Rob Moodie accepted those penalties both privately and publicly in April and we acted in reliance upon that acceptance.
''We dealt with News Ltd that day only as 100 per cent owners of the club.''
Dr Moodie also told the Herald he believed News Ltd was keen to distance itself from the salary cap rorts.
''Let's not forget that [the former Storm chief executive officer] Brian Waldron was a News Ltd employee.''
The chief executive of News Ltd, John Hartigan, said last night: ''This is another PR-driven spray by Dr Moodie but it shouldn't deflect focus from the fact that senior people at the Storm behaved abominably and under his watch.''
Dr Moodie's comments came as News Ltd defended itself against accusations in the Herald yesterday by the Storm's former acting chief executive, Matt Hanson, that it was made aware of the salary cap breaches as early as February.
A statement from the company said that its directors Craig Watt and Frank Stanton ''forcefully rejected'' Mr Hanson's allegations.
However, a News Ltd spokesman, Michael Sharp, confirmed that Mr Hanson had reported these conversations to the accounting firm Deloitte which carried out an investigation into the salary cap breaches.
Mr Sharp said: ''Matt Hanson told Deloitte that he told Craig Watt about the general salary cap issues at the Storm in February 2010 and confirmed that he did not go into specific circumstances.
''Mr Hanson told Deloitte that he discussed the salary cap audit with Frank Stanton around March 2010, particularly several issues that had arisen from the audit that needed to be resolved.''
After reading Mr Hanson's comments, Dr Moodie praised Mr Hanson for having the courage to speak out and called for the Deloitte report to be made public.

 

[manly40gimps0]

Accuser 'up to his eyeballs in cap rorting'

ACCOUNTANCY firm Deloitte has confirmed the worst for former acting Melbourne Storm chief executive Matt Hanson.
That he never told its investigators he had warned News Limited director Frank Stanton about the level of the salary cap rorts months before the scandal broke.
The club's owner, News Limited (publisher of The Australian) issued a statement yesterday to denounce Hanson's allegations that Stanton and fellow Storm director Craig Watt had known about the problems at the Storm long before the scandal was revealed in April.
News Limited chairman and chief executive John Hartigan also rejected any suggestion he might have been aware of the breaches - eventually found to total $3.1 million - until a few days before the NRL announced the club had been caught cheating the system on April 22.
"Matt Hanson was up to his eyeballs in the salary cap rorting at the Storm," Hartigan said.
"These untrue allegations come from a man who, until late April 2010, kept crucial information about the rorting at his home to escape detection.
"He was central to the administration and misrepresentation of third party payments to players and he cannot escape culpability by making false allegations against others."
Hanson claimed he told Watt in February the club had cap problems before telling Stanton in mid-March the Storm was $700,000 over the cap for this year.
He claimed he passed information of the conversation with Stanton on to Deloitte after the firm was commissioned by News to investigate the breaches.
However, that claim was rejected by Stanton and Deloitte in the statement issued by News yesterday.
"Mr Stanton absolutely denies Mr Hanson said this to him and Deloitte has confirmed that Mr Hanson did not provide any such details to its investigators," the statement said.
News also said Hanson told the board the club was facing technical breaches for four separate issues amounting to no more than $183,000 and that was the only figure tabled at a board meeting on April 15, a week before the scandal broke.
The findings of the Deloitte investigation have been passed on to Victorian Police. "The matter has been referred for consideration for further investigation," a police spokeswoman said.
Hanson continued to ride the publicity trail yesterday telling Melbourne radio station 3AW that independent Storm director Gerry Ryan had known as early as January about the level of the club's cap breaches.
Ryan and fellow independent directors Rob Moodie, Peter Maher and Petra Fawcett were all sacked by News for not co-operating with the Deloitte inquiry. The quartet had taken legal action against the NRL for not following due process in issuing the club's punishment. The case is expected to be dropped in the Victorian Supreme Court tomorrow.
Hanson, one of five culprits alongside former chief executive Brian Waldron fingered over the large scale deception, claimed Ryan was the first Storm director to be told. "I spoke with Gerry Ryan and Gerry told me when I got back from the World Club Challenge I should probably let one of the News directors know because he hadn't attended a board meeting in a while and at that point in time he was thinking of not being on the board anymore," Hanson said.
'I haven't said anything on this for three months and I've bided my time. When I took over the Storm it was my first CEO role and I inherited a little bit of stuff and I told my board because I wasn't going to try and fix it all by myself." Hanson admitted he had no written evidence to support his allegations.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...s-in-cap-rorting/story-e6frg7mf-1225894768491

 

[meltiger]

Even IF anyone at News knew, there is no way Hartigan knew.


Think back to the day the cheats were exposed and his reaction. Regardless of what you think of Hartigan, there is no way he knew about it.


"Hanson admitted he had no written evidence to support his allegations"


LMAO Yet yesterday was claiming he "Responded to written question from Deloitte" ... Did he forget to photocopy or scan his response? Shame he didn't think of not leaving a paper trail when he was up to his neck in rorting the comp...


The sooner this liar gets his snout out of the publicity bucket, the sooner the club can move on.

 

[Patorick]

Dr Moodie, who has battled with tobacco companies in his position as one of Australia's foremost preventive health experts, told the Herald: ''Coming up against News Ltd isn't easy. From my experience in health I'd compare their tactics to those of a tobacco company - they are just so powerful, they have so many resources and they can be very intimidating. I have been shocked by their approach to ethics.''

Was he asleep from 1995-1997?

 

[meltiger]

Just posting the other point of view. Read if you wish.

& yet you posted an opinion further down.


If you don't want to discuss your opinions on a discussion forum, then don't post them.

 

[Brutus]

& yet you posted an opinion further down.


If you don't want to discuss your opinions on a discussion forum, then don't post them.

Settle kettle...

 

[Loudstrat]

It actually would not surprise me.

I have been pro NEWS so far in this issue - believing that regardless of what anyone else does - Melbourne have to take their punishment and grow the f*ck up.

Having said that - News Ltd have - since 1995 - been a f*cking cancer on the game. They have held the gqme back by denying relocation (Lets never forget that they knocked back Balmain's merger with Brisbane Easts, and Souths merger with Adelaide in 1998. The East Coast Tigers and South Australian Rabbitohs would both be strong brands, and 12 seasons old by now). They have bullied those who sang to a different tune (eg watch how the stealth of first the NRL comp and now the ESL has sidelined the CRL for example), and given themselves rewards ($10 million annual dividend, and low TV rights deal) and are riddled with double standfards and conflict of interest.

It would not surprise me how low this could go - and how much it could dredge up.

Still, we can only judge what we glean through the media. And that suggests that Melbourne deserved to get done for rorting the cap.

 

[Brutus]

It actually would not surprise me.

I have been pro NEWS so far in this issue - believing that regardless of what anyone else does - Melbourne have to take their punishment and grow the f*ck up.

Having said that - News Ltd have - since 1995 - been a f*cking cancer on the game. They have held the gqme back by denying relocation (Lets never forget that they knocked back Balmain's merger with Brisbane Easts, and Souths merger with Adelaide in 1998. The East Coast Tigers and South Australian Rabbitohs would both be strong brands, and 12 seasons old by now). They have bullied those who sang to a different tune (eg watch how the stealth of first the NRL comp and now the ESL has sidelined the CRL for example), and given themselves rewards ($10 million annual dividend, and low TV rights deal) and are riddled with double standfards and conflict of interest.

It would not surprise me how low this could go - and how much it could dredge up.

Still, we can only judge what we glean through the media. And that suggests that Melbourne deserved to get done for rorting the cap.

Great post. I never thought I'd say that about your work in this section.

I'd totally forgotten about the East Coast Tigers and SA Rabbitohs.

They were great ideas.

The 10 million annual dividend and low TV rights deal are an absolute disgrace. And some people think that the NRL are paying for the Storm out of goodness of their hearts - it's rugby league's money ffs.

 

[bartman]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/storm-ledger-of-lies/story-e6frexnr-1225895330745

Storm ledger of lies

• By Josh Massoud
• From: The Daily Telegraph
• July 22, 2010 12:00AM
• 4 comments

Happier times...sacked Storm chiefs Matt Hanson (left) and Rob Moodie and (inset) their names signed on stat decs claiming the Storm were under the salary cap. Source: The Daily Telegraph



ON February 25 this year, Dr Alan Rob Moodie walked into Carlton Police Station with a statutory declaration claiming the Melbourne Storm were $9715 below the salary cap.

Under the watch of constable Caitlin Jones - a registered Justice of the Peace - Moodie signed the document, which confirmed his belief that the "contents of the report are true and correct in every particular".
Five months later, the setting has adopted an ironic twist because, while no evidence has been uncovered to suggest Moodie had any knowledge of the rorts, police are now reviewing the scandal.
Disgraced former CEO Matt Hanson's copy was signed almost three weeks later before a solictor, whose services he might require once more should the Victorian police decide to press perjury charges.Both Moodie and Hanson's declarations were attached to a ledger detailing a breakdown of payments for Melbourne's top 25 players this season.


According to the list, the squad was valued at $4,090,285 after concessions and bonuses had been taken into account - $9,715 below the $4.1 million cap.
According to the NRL's subsequent findings in April that saw the club stripped of two premierships and ruled ineligible to compete for points this year, the true amount was $4,815,214 - a breach of $724,956.
Last week, the transgression was racheted beyond seven figures when club owner News Limited (publisher of The Daily Telegraph) released its independent audit of Melbourne's books.
When the dust settled, there was a $1,018,253 discrepancy between the figure pledged in the statutory declarations and that discovered by the independent auditor, Deloitte.
Hanson did not return calls last night while Moodie - in Vienna for an AIDS conference - was not available for comment.
The NRL, which drew-up the statutory declaration and received them as part of its annual salary cap audit, was yesterday shown the full audit report and revealed further inquiries would now be made.
"I can confirm our solicitors and [salary cap auditor] Ian Schubert met with Deloitte yesterday afternoon and were shown the full report," Gallop said.
"As a result of the presentation, there's more information we'll be asking for."
In response to the declarations supplied by Moodie and Hanson, Gallop said: "It's a serious obligation for the chairman and CEO of the club to provide us with a statutory declaration that sets out the club's true position," Gallop said. "We want true disclosure of what the club's top 25 players are being paid - it's not to be taken lightly."
The declarations confirm the signatory has made "all due and proper inquiries in order to ascertain the nature and the amount of all of the remuneration."
It also warns the signatory of the provisions of Victoria's Evidence Act, which sets penalties, including imprisonment, for those who provide false information. The matter has been referred to Victoria Police for investigation.

I suppose those stat decs should have remained "confidential" as well?

Very hard to believe the anti-New bleating from these ex-News employees that were clearly in the wrong, imo. Take your punishment guys, and move on out of the game.

 

[manly40gimps0]

ASIC wants to see Storm report

Posted July 21, 2010 10:34:00


It is believed corporate regulator ASIC has asked for a copy of the auditors' report on the Melbourne Storm salary cap issue.
A spokesman for News Limited says he understands that the watchdog has approached the auditors, Deloitte, about the matter, but it is not clear what exactly it is looking into.
He has also responded to criticism that the report has not been released publicly, saying it contains private information about payments to players and evidence that was given on condition of confidentiality.
He says it has been released to Victoria Police, Victoria's State Revenue Office, and the Australian Tax Office.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/21/2959821.htm?section=business

 

[Cloudsurfer]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/21/2959821.htm?section=business

BRING IT ON!!!!! Everybody assumes News Ltd are the golden boys in all of this & assume everone else is guilty of everything under the sun. I think they are bluffing their way out of responsibility for any of this - perhaps the authorities should include them in their investigations. Its easy to put the spotlight on everyone else but I wonder what would happen if it was turned back on them? Oh, that's right they are the self-righteous, squeaky-clean , fair-minded, hard-done-by ones in all of this. I don't believe for a minute that with News ltd directors on the Storm board, in charge of & handling their own financials for FIVE years during this debacle that they did not know what was going on in some capacity or other (f***, wouldn't you sack or replace someone that was that incompetent if it was your business?) Oh, that's right...we're still making heaps of money so lets play it out & then take the focus off us by blaming everybody else without the wherewithal to fight back.
The authorities will investigate individuals named in the 'independent' report but I wonder if they would go outside of that brief against an organisation like News ltd if indications are they are culpable in some way (not that there will be any indications in the report)
Catch 22
You guys talk like News ltd has been Storms saviour for the past 6 years & technically they have but don't think for a minute that they lost anything - there interests have ALWAYS been covered & still are. I'm not talking conspiracy - just cold hard business.

 

[bartman]

News Ltd was and is the Storm. There's no point making a distinction, and pretending the evil corporation is to blame, and the Storm itself was clean. News own the Storm, and as employers of all staff it has a duty to clean the scum out of the place, and it is doing so. There's no conspiracy here - your club was f**ked and systematically rorting year after year.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

News Ltd was and is the Storm. There's no point making a distinction, and pretending the evil corporation is to blame, and the Storm itself was clean. News own the Storm, and as employers of all staff it has a duty to clean the scum out of the place, and it is doing so. There's no conspiracy here - your club was f**ked and systematically rorting year after year.

Not disputing that at all - we're all well aware of that & if we weren't there are enough of you telling us every five minutes. My point is exactly what you just said "News ltd was and is the Storm. there's no point in making a distinction..." Tell me how they couldn't, wouldn't have known at some point long before it hit the fan. Please don't tell me that Waldron was clever enough to hide it that well for so long from a multi-national, billion-dollar empire (from his employers no less) but suddenly 5 years later get caught - we all know he wasn't clever at all. News ltd would've been out of business long ago if that's how sloppy they are. Or maybe its that they have just been sloppy and caught not doing their job & are scrambling to convince Uncle rupert otherwise.
Either way you and others keep choosing to believe what you want (they're good spinners & know how to sell a story - its how they make their money) You won't consider any of this unless you're on the receiving end one day.

 

[Ulysseus]

When the dust settled, there was a $1,018,253 discrepancy between the figure pledged in the statutory declarations and that discovered by the independent auditor, Deloitte.
Hanson did not return calls last night while Moodie - in Vienna for an AIDS conference - was not available for comment.
The NRL, which drew-up the statutory declaration and received them as part of its annual salary cap audit, was yesterday shown the full audit report and revealed further inquiries would now be made.

His weekend habits catching up with him perhaps?