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A former Rodney District Council and Auckland Transport employee has escaped a prison sentence after admitting he accepted over $100,000 in bribes.
Barrie Kenneth James George, 69, was sentenced to 10 months home detention at the Auckland High Court on September 1, after pleading guilty to two representative charges of corruption and bribery of an official.
Mr George started working for Rodney District Council in 1974 and became transport operations manager in 1975, and infrastructure manager of transport in 2007. He then became northern maintenance manager at Auckland Transport (AT) in 2010.
The offending relates to million-dollar roading and infrastructure contracts between 2006 and 2012.
At the sentencing, Justice Graham Lang said Mr George was facing a three-year nine-month prison sentence, but that was reduced due to a number of mitigating circumstances, including that he was the whistleblower on more serious fraud in the organisation.
Justice Lang said a culture developed in both the Rodney District Council and AT between 2005 and 2012, where staff were encouraged to work cooperatively with roading and infrastructure contractors.
“A particular culture developed within the organisations in which employees were encouraged to fraternise with the staff of the contractors. This led to you regularly attending social events with members of their staff,” Justice Lang said.
The offending began at a work function in 2006, when a roading contractor presented Mr George with a travel voucher as a gift which enabled him to travel to Thailand.
“The end result was that Mr George received gifts having a total value of $103,580. The gifts took the form of travel vouchers, entertainment and liquor.”
Mr George received $57,293 in gratuities while he was an employee of the Rodney District Council, with the balance being received while he was an AT employee.
But, in 2012, Mr George raised concerns with AT about an “unsatisfactory ethical situation developing”.
“At that stage you did not directly indicate that you had received gifts yourself. Nevertheless, an internal investigation followed and you cooperated fully in that. During this investigation, you frankly acknowledged the fact that you had received the gifts.”
Justice Lang said there was “no suggestion” that ratepayers suffered a direct loss as a result of invoices being inflated or work not being undertaken as claimed.
But he said the offending had numerous consequences. Ratepayers expected public spending to be rigorously scrutinised and accepting any payments or gifts created the perception that those contractors would be treated preferentially.
“In a case such as this, the perception may arise that this type of practice is acceptable. That is particularly concerning in a situation where Auckland is developing rapidly and its infrastructure will no doubt be increasing rapidly in the near future.”
Mr George’s lawyer Robert Hollyman said Mr George was the first person to raise concerns about corruption at AT and fully cooperated with subsequent investigations.
“He did the right thing. Others knew what he knew, but he took it to the authorities and blew the whistle.”
Hollyman said Mr George was legal guardian of two of his grandchildren and would not be able to fulfill that responsibility if sent to prison.
Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey said it accepted there were a number of mitigating factors, but said the offending had the potential to damage New Zealand’s image as a corruption-free country and must be treated seriously.
Justice Lang said the sentence needed to bear in mind that the Crown didn’t want to deter future whistleblowers.
“I recognise he approached AT with concern, and if he hadn’t, this matter may not have come to light,” Justice Lang said.
Co-defendants Stephen James Borlase and Murray John Noone are due to stand trial on September 19.
