http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...hitect-of-deceit/story-e6frexnr-1225857172372
STORM boss Brian Waldron was never going to take the rap on his own. Half an hour before David Gallop opened his press conference and revealed the full extent of Storm's salary cap rorting yesterday, a panicking Waldron told me: "There were people on the board who knew about everything that was going on.
"It's happening everywhere. What about [name withheld] leaving us and getting paid $200,000 by [sponsor withheld] outside the cap by the [team name withheld].
"This is a joke. All clubs do it. I can't say any more.
"Ring me back after they announce what they've got."
It was the last of a dozen phone calls The Daily Telegraph exchanged with the disgraced former Storm boss since we were tippped off about an impending scandal on Monday afternoon.
Now at the fledgling Melbourne rugby franchise the Rebels, Waldron has been described by News Limited chief executive and chairman John Hartigan as "the architect" of league's biggest fraud.
Waldron had been happy to talk all week but at 4pm yesterday he suddenly stopped taking calls or replying to our text messages.
The alarm bells started ringing at 3.30pm on Monday when a senior NRL coach rang me and suggested the Storm were about to be nabbed for massive breaches.
"It's as big as the Bulldogs," the coach said, "maybe even bigger."
So I had the first of around a dozen phone conversations with Waldron.
On Monday afternoon he said there was nothing in it, telling me in his usual confident style that competition points would remain intact but conceding the possibility of a small fine.
"Ian Schubert is aware of everything we did in my time at the Storm," he said.
"Let me check it out with a few people and I'll ring you back."
At the same time I checked the story out with NRL boss David Gallop.
He said he was aware salary cap auditor Ian Schubert was checking a number of issues but investigations were still to be finalised.
He indicated it was nothing major - certainly not in the same league as the Bulldogs in 2002.
About half an hour later Waldron rang back.
"Now don't make a big issue out of this but there are four very minor things they are looking at," he said.
"Cameron Smith's contract with Fox Sports, the pay-out to Dallas Johnson [who is not implicated] and a couple of other things. We've also been making payments of about $25,000 a year for the players end-of-season holiday. Schubert knew about that.
"They are also looking at fringe benefit taxes which were paid on player agents' fees. That's the full extent of it. It's all bullsh*t."
We now know Waldron was either lying or suffering from severe memory loss.
In another phone call on Wednesday, he attempted to distract me with the promise of a major signing story at the Rebels.
"I might have something for you tonight - Mark Gasnier is close to signing," he says.
"I'll ring you as soon as we know. You should have it by Friday."
Last night, Waldron was no longer so chatty. His phone was ringing out.
Phone call after phone call went unanswered and text messages were ignored.
His career, once the envy of sports administrators across the country, is in tatters.
His position at the Melbourne Rebels, believed to be worth $400,000-a-year, is untenable.
The Rebels' franchise - which must establish credibility in a hostile market - will have no choice but to sack him or ask for his resignation.
It's all over for the the biggest salary cap rorter in Australian sporting history.
After all its written by BUZZLIGHTYEAR. is he even credible
