North Melbourne Football Club great David Dench jailed
AFL legend David Dench spent last night behind bars after a jury convicted him of his role in a multi-million-dollar university maintenance fraud.
National
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News.
AFL legend David Dench spent last night behind bars after a jury convicted him of his role in a multi-million-dollar university maintenance fraud.
Dench, 57, stood stoically in the County Court dock, his hands clasped in front of him, as the verdict was delivered.
He was found guilty of nine counts of obtaining property by deception and two of aiding and abetting the receipt of a secret commission.
The charges, each of which carries a 10-year maximum penalty, related to a sum of about $75,000.
The former North Melbourne star had been accused of defrauding about $1 million, but he was cleared of 14 other charges.
Dench was required to speak only briefly at the hearing when asked for his age, address and occupation.
He handed his personal belongings to family members before being led into custody.
Outside court his solicitor, Bernie Balmer, said it was important to keep in mind that his client had been found guilty of only around a third of the original 31 charges that had been laid.
"He is bearing up fairly well. The jury rejected most of the evidence that was given," Mr Balmer said.
Dench played starring roles at full-back for North Melbourne in the 1975 and '77 premierships.
He played 275 games for the Roos and was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2000.
The court heard Dench was a latecomer to the sophisticated scam, which involved a conspiracy by Victoria University directors and maintenance company owners.
The university was provided with false quotes to make it appear that companies owned by John Mario Cappellin were undercutting competitors for available work.
On other occasions work billed was never carried out, or was done at inflated prices.
The jury was told the work included plumbing, electrics, garden maintenance and cleaning of grease traps.
Dench began working as principal operator of one of Mr Cappellin's subsidiary companies, in which he had a 20 per cent profit share, in 1999.
Cappellin and others involved in the fraud were the major witnesses during Dench's eight-week trial.
Cappellin was jailed for 18 months in 2006 after pleading guilty to cheating the university out of $4.9 million.
Dench billed the university for air tickets to Sydney for two co-accused, a fence to be built at his property, and carpet at Greenvale Football Club, which he was associated with.
The largest single fraud was $30,000, built into a $300,000 cheque for legitimate work.
Dench said he had no knowledge of the scam and was simply doing his job as directed by Cappellin.
Judge Tim Wood will hear a plea for leniency on July 7.