Carlton great Peter Bosustow says he feels ‘dudded’ out of fundraiser money

Peter Bosustow’s family say it’s unclear how much money was raised at a recent fundraiser for the ailing Blues champ because the organiser hasn’t shown them any proof of donations.

Carlton great Peter Bosustow feel he has been “dudded” out of the money from a fundraiser in his honour. Picture Theo Fakos

Carlton great Peter Bosustow has received money from his fundraiser after coming forward with the devastation of not seeing a cent from the outpouring of support and donations.

Known as “The Buzz” the popular premiership forward appeared at a night in his honour earlier this month but was chasing the organiser, Carlton supporter Gozz (Goran) Margeta, for the money donated and handed over for auction items.

Since the Herald Sun revealed the family’s plight, Bosustow’s wife Shelley said they just received $30,000.

“There could be a lot more money than that but we’ve had no proof of donations,’’ she said.

“A lot of people have come to us saying they gave money so we just don’t know.”

Friends and supporters were gutted to hear claims from Bosustow, who is battling liver and rectal cancer, that he was dudded out of the money.

Bosustow and his family had been in contact with Margeta in an attempt to discuss the issues with a cheque for $15,000, given to Bosustow’s daughter, bouncing last week.

Close friend Kate Jesaulenko vented her anger over the situation, saying it was disgusting that Bosustow was still waiting to see funds.

“All I will say is if there is nothing to hide, there is nothing to hide at all,’’ she said.

“It’s not just the family but the entire Carlton community that have an issue.”

Bosustow is battling liver and rectal cancer

Bosustow had a huge impact in 65 games with the Blues in the early 80s.

Adam Pope from Fabulous Catering is still owed $13,000 after providing food for guests.

“He paid some money in cash on the night but we’re waiting for a legitimate payment,’’ Pope said.

“We’re a struggling catering company coming out of Covid and we pushed up hill to make this happen.”

Carlton fan, Dr Peter Wirth, attended the event in Carlton hoping to support Bosustow and his family.

“When I learned about his health issues I wanted to reach out,’’ Dr Wirth said.

“I bought the jumper donated by Doug Hawkins, signed by himself and Ted Whitten, on the night and myself and others are pretty dirty about this.”

Bosustow, 64, said he had been contacted by many people who learned of his plight.

“Some donors have contacted me saying they are devastated the money hasn’t gone to me,’’ he said from Perth last week.

“At this stage I’ve got nothing, I haven’t seen a brass razoo.

“I’ve got an obligation to 170 people who turned up because they were supporting me and my family.

“I have more radiation and chemo this week and I’m in a good situation to beat this, but the stress does not help.”

Friends of Bosustow are rallying behind the Carlton great.

He added: “We’ve all tried to contact him to settle this amicably and we all wanted to help him organise it.

“But he said no, I’ll do it. He called us for three years trying to sort this. We took the whole family over and our kids are devastated.

“He’s promised us money and one of the cheques has bounced already. It was a fantastic night and (I feel as though) he’s done the wrong thing by us.”

Bosustow’s wife Shelley said it was a disappointing and stressful situation.

“The Carlton Football Club aren’t happy about this either.

“We’re extremely frustrated. All the donors are upset too, it’s put a huge dampener on it.”

Bosustow played most of his career in Perth but had a huge impact in 65 games with the Blues in the early 80s as a back-to-back premiership player.

In attendance were friends including former teammates Jimmy Buckley, Mike Fitzpatrick, Wayne Johnston, Mark Maclure and Mark ‘Jacko’ Jackson, as well as actor Vince Colosimo, businessman Tony Hachem, and Kate Jesaulenko, daughter of Blues legend Alex Jesaulenko, who raised almost $25,000 last year for Bosustow via a GoFundMe page.

Bosustow lost more than $190,000 in the collapse of lifetime home lease scheme operator Sterling First in 2019, forcing him to sell some prized memorabilia to keep a roof over his head.

Margeta has not responded to inquiries from the Herald Sun.