Hamilton North Bowling Club secretary manager Phil Pereira charged over alleged $100k fake armed robbery
A suburban bowling club manager is facing allegations he helped plan a fake hold-up at his own club to share in a cash windfall of over $100,000. And the alleged victim, another employee, has also been arrested.
Newcastle
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A bowling club manager is facing allegations he helped plan a fake armed robbery at his own club for a $100,000 cash windfall – and his workmate who played the victim is also alleged to have been part of the plot.
Robbery and serious crime squad detectives allege Hamilton North Bowling Club secretary manager Phil Pereira, along with club functions manager Jamie Lee and another man, cooked up the idea to stage an early morning robbery and split the huge proceeds from a successful poker tournament with a $75,000 pool played the previous day.
Police raced to the popular suburban Newcastle club before dawn on December 30 to find 44-year-old Lee, before being told two men armed with knives had stormed the building and bashed Lee before stealing huge wads of cash and all security footage.
But Strike Force Rummage investigators will allege Hunter Valley man and a mate of Pereira’s, John William Tutt, was the person who entered the club at 4am.
News of the robbery quickly spread and Pereira even gave an interview to a local television station the morning of the alleged December 30 hold-up, telling a reporter he hoped the victim was “ok”.
“Hopefully Jamie is all right. Jamie is the one who got hurt this morning, so hopefully he is okay,” Pereira told NBN News. He later added: “It is pretty shocking I guess is probably the word, but we are slowly getting through the morning.”
Periera, 50, was also slowly getting through Wednesday afternoon, after being helped along a Cooks Hill driveway wearing his bowling club shirt and a pair of handcuffs by robbery and serious crime squad detectives following an intense eight-week investigation.
He would later be charged with one count of stealing property as a clerk or servant and was granted bail in Newcastle Local Court on Thursday.
Part of his bail conditions is that he not enter the bowling club he had managed.
Police will allege Pereira, Lee and Tutt made up the plan to lift the cash, a large chunk of which was a pool from a huge poker tournament played at the suburban Newcastle club the previous day.
They allege Tutt, 47, was involved in the “armed robbery” and entered the club about 4am before “assaulting” Lee and taking off with the cash from a safe and all the club’s security footage.
Lee, 44, was treated at the scene by paramedics after complaining of pain to his stomach and torso before being taken to John Hunter Hospital for treatment.
Tutt was arrested by Strike Force Rummage detectives in Muswellbrook on Wednesday and initially charged with robbery whilst armed with an offensive weapon, participating in a criminal group and possessing a prohibited drug.
However, those charges were withdrawn on Thursday and he was instead charged with entering building/land with intent to commit an indictable offence, larceny with a value greater than $15,000. and possessing a prohibited drug.
The Muswellbrook man has not been required to enter any pleas.
Pereira, whose full name is Phillip Andrew Pereira, spent the night in custody and was not required to enter a plea in Newcastle Local Court on Thursday when he successfully applied to be released on bail.
Detectives then turned their sights on Lee and arrested him on Thursday.
He was charged with stealing property as clerk or servant, participating in a criminal group contributing to criminal activity, and knowingly making a false or misleading statement.
Lee will face court on March 6.
The investigation was kicked off by Newcastle City detectives before they were joined by robbery and serious crime squad investigators from the state crime command.
The strike force continued to investigate motives for the robbery before beginning the arrests at Muswellbrook on Wednesday.
Pereira and Lee remained employed by the club before their arrests.
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