A former manager of the Alice Springs Turf Club, Graham Smith, has been charged with stealing more than $30,000 from the club.
Detective Senior Sergeant Allan Milner said police believe the offending took place between March 1 and September 1 last year.
The 47-year-old Smith has been charged with stealing and criminal deception.
Alice police say a summons file has been submitted for Smith to appear in the Alice Springs Local Court at a later date.
Saturday, April 20, 2024
The freedom of the press still furnishes that check upon government which no constitution has ever been able to provide – Chicago Tribune.
I would like to know the stats on this particular type of fraudulent activity since the late 1960s in Alice and remote community organizations in Central Australia.
There was a dramatic increase in phantom wages and managerial fingers in the till following the introduction of Training Allowances under the Holt government (1968) then the opening of the funding floodgates under Whitlam (1972).
Sporting organisations in town became a popular target. What is it about the Alice that has attracted this type of crime that is so destructive for the general community?
My guess is that despite police investigation integrity over the years, politics has played a big part in keeping a lot of these crimes from general public knowledge.
Transparency is the only way to ensure that the people of Central Australia are aware of, and can take appropriate action to combat a worrying problem of fraud in the community that nay well be a bigger problem than they know.