Nino Napoli, former Education Department director, fronts court over Victorian schools scam
UPDATE: Ex-Education Department big wig Nino Napoli has faced court on 152 charges over a scam that saw millions siphoned from Victorian schools.
Law & Order
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FORMER Education Department big wig Nino Napoli has faced court after being charged over his alleged involvement in a scam that saw millions of dollars siphoned from Victorian schools.
Mr Napoli was among five people to face the Melbourne Magistrates Court today, including his young brother Robert Napoli and sister-in-law Domenica Napoli.
Charge sheets filed with the court allege Mr Napoli was involved in dealing with more than $400,000 that were the proceeds of crime.
He is facing 152 separate charges, including: furnishing false information, dealing with the proceeds of crime, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, and conspiracy to defraud.
Of those, 64 charges detail specific amounts alleged to have been gained illegally between 2007 and 2014 ranging from just $514 to $26,000.
In total, Mr Napoli is charged in relation to $416,529 being the proceeds of crime.
Mr Napoli’s cousin Carlo Squillacioto and friend Michael Giulieri also appeared in court for a brief administrative filing hearing, during which a timetable of how each case would proceed was outlined.
Mr Suillacioto is facing 68 charges of a similar nature to Mr Napoli, while Robert and Domenica Napoli are charged with 17 and 16 offences respectively.
Mr Giulieri is charged with just three offences of conspiring to pervert the course of justice and making false statements to the Independent Broad-Based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC).
The IBAC last year found that “serious and systemic corruption” saw public officials divert money from some of the state’s most disadvantaged children for “their own personal gain”.
IBAC’s Operation Ord found that by exploiting “lax” accounting practices in the so-called “banker school” system it was possible to secure payments for false and inflated invoices, or inappropriate expenses such as excessive hospitality, travel and personal items.
Prosecutors asked for longer than usual to prepare a brief of evidence in the cases of Mr Napoli, Domenica Napoli, Robert Napoli and Carlo Squillacioto.
A brief of evidence in those matters must be served by May before a committal mention hearing scheduled for July 25.
Mr Giulieri’s matter will return to court in March when another of Mr Napoli’s cousins, Daniel Calleja, is expected to appear at court charged over the alleged scam.
