A FORMER Sydney Ferries boss who racked up more than $200,000 on the company credit card says he felt he had no choice because he couldn't tell his emotionally fragile wife how desperate the family's financial situation had become.
FORMER naval admiral Geoffrey Smith on Thursday told his sentencing hearing he was hired to help turn the troubled transport company around in August 2006.
By early 2009, allegations of rorting had surfaced and he was brought up before the corruption watchdog.He has now pleaded guilty to one charge of cheating or defrauding the company he directed.Smith said two fatal crashes on Sydney Harbour in 2007 ushered in a five-month inquiry and intense scrutiny.On the home front, his wife - who had previously been hospitalised and subjected to electroconvulsive therapy in a battle with depression - was diagnosed with cancer."I'm deeply ashamed," Smith told the Sydney District Court."I've let down a lot of people and I've done something contrary to all the values I've lived my whole life."He said he always intended to reimburse Sydney Ferries for his personal expenses, and with a crippling monthly mortgage of $11,000 and medical bills stacking up, Smith says he knew he needed to sell his home in leafy northern Sydney.But he couldn't tell his wife.They'd been married for 26 of his navy years and moved 32 times."She never asked for anything except that when the time came for me to retire we would buy a house and settle down and have a semi-normal life," Smith said."I was intensely worried that if I spoke to her about selling the house it would have a profound impact on her."When he eventually spoke to his wife about the "parlous" state of the family books, the global financial crisis was in full swing, and the house's value had dropped from an estimated $2.2 million to $1.86m - too little to settle Smith's debts.But Crown prosecutor Sara Bowers said Smith was spending Sydney Ferries' money on extravagances including a family trip to New Zealand, jewellery, a new swimming pool and two BMWs, including one for his "bedridden" wife."Not the necessities of life, are they," she said."I didn't think I had a choice," Smith said.Smith says he still wants to pay the missing money back using earnings from his retail job at hardware chain Bunnings and his superannuation.Judge Michael Finnane has indicated he intends to sentence Smith to two years, but that this may be served in the community under an intensive correction order, rather than in jail.The hearing resumes in August.Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Ferry fraudster Smith 'had no choice'
Dengan url
http://jemuranduit.blogspot.com/2014/06/ferry-fraudster-smith-had-no-choice.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Ferry fraudster Smith 'had no choice'
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Ferry fraudster Smith 'had no choice'
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar