Gordon Nuttall guilty of corruption, breaks down in tears at verdict
GORDON Nuttall is a "broken man" says his son, after the former government minister was found guilty on 10 counts of corruption and perjury.
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FORMER state government minister Gordon Nuttall broke down and cried when he was found guilty on five official corruption and five perjury charges today.
Nuttall, who is already serving the maximum seven years for earlier convictions for taking secret commissions, will be sentenced on the new convictions late next month.
He could face a total of 28 years jail _ both official corruption and perjury carry a maximum of 14 years jail and the Crown is entitled to ask for cumulative sentences.
However, the Crown is more likely to ask for a concurrent 14 years jail terms.
The District Court jury in Brisbane retired to consider its verdicts at 4pm on Monday and returned at 11.10am after 13 hours of deliberations.
As the jury retired its first verdict of guilty on an official corruption charge, Nuttall's daughter Lisa began to cry.
As each guilty verdict was read out Nuttall became obviously more distressed and finally turned to Lisa and his son Andrew with tears in his eyes.
Judge Kerry O'Brien then adjourned the trial until the week of November 22, for sentence.
Outside court, Andrew Nuttall said his father is a broken man but that his family would continue to stand by him.
"I just want to say we still maintain our father's innocence, and will support him through whatever happens from now on,'' he said.
Nuttall had told his son and daughter Lisa only moments before the verdict to stay strong.
"He's devastated. He's absolutely devastated,'' Andrew said.
"I don't know why, but someone doesn't like him and it just goes to show, doesn't it?''
Andrew said the case had "ruined" his dad.
"He's not the man that he used to be. He used to be a proud and strong man and now he's broken," he said.
He said his family had never lost in faith in their father's innocence.
"We will continue to support him."
He said his father's health was a worry as he had lost 25kgs and was devastated.
Gordon Nuttall's lawyer barrister John Rivett said any decision on an appeal would wait until after the sentence hearing next month.
Mr Rivett said he understood his client's alleged accomplice in the kickbacks Brendan McKennariey would not be prosecuted.
He said as he understood it McKennariey would not be prosecuted and had everything to gain and nothing to lose by giving evidence in the trial.
The 13 day trial heard Crown allegations Nuttall received more than $150,000 in corrupt payments made up of $130,000 in cash payments delivered by businessman McKennariey to Nuttall's home and the remainder in cheque and bank payments.
Nuttall, 57, had pleaded not guilty five charges of official corruption and five alternate charges of receiving secret commissions between December 2001 and July 2005.
He also pleaded not guilty to five counts of perjury at a Crime and Misconduct Commission hearing on September 28, 2006.
Four of the corruption charges involved actual payments to Nuttall but the fifth corruption charge involved Nuttall agreeing to receive money from the health project.
However, because he was no longer a minister when he received the money the Crown worded the charge differently.
It then used the allegation he got $130,000 to prove Nuttall had agreed to receive it.
The court heard businessman McKennariey became involved with Nuttall in two schemes for which Nuttall allegedly got kick backs while he was Industrial Relations Minister and Health Minister.
In when 2001 Nuttall was the Minister for Industrial Relations, McKennariey got work through a program to help indigenous people in a work place health and safety program.
McKennariey and a man named Graham Doyle were involved in th scheme but they had to use a "front man" because of an earlier falling out with another government minister Robert Schwarten.
The scheme was not very successful but Nuttall got about a total of $11,200 in December 2001.
The payment was made after McKennariey received a large payout as settlement for a dispute with the state government over an unrelated scheme.
The trial heard by 2004, Nuttall was Health Minister and McKennariey had come up with an idea for a scheme to assess waste water which had been developed by a Central Queensland Unversity researcher.
Again using a front man, McKennariey won a contract and received more than $600,000. It was alleged Nuttall had received $130,000 in cash _ four payments of $25,000 and then one fo $30,000 _ over a period of time from McKennariey.
In evidence McKennariey told the trial he had made five trips to Nuttall's home in 2005-2006 with shopping bags crammed with cash which he gave to Nuttall under Nuttall's house.
The trial also heard allegations Nuttal had "plainly" lied five times to a CMC hearing in relation to various aspects of the two ventures.
Nuttall claimed the money paid into his bank in cheques and cash was repayment of $50,000 he loaned McKennariey while he denied ever receiving the $130,000 in cash.
He told the court when he appeared before the CMC he had been in a depressed and confused state.
But the Crown said Nuttall had deliberately lied to cover his association with McKennariey.