Fallon update.....

[my miss storm cat]

I'm still getting caught up but this is from RP on Thursday.....


Prosecution witness admits to ‘misleading' statement

by Paul Eacott
.

THE opening witness called for the prosecution in the race-fixing trial involving Kieren Fallon and five other men at the Old Bailey on Thursday admitted that part of the statement he gave to police was “downright misleading”.

David O'Reilly, Betfair's legal adviser, returned to the witness box for cross-examination in the delayed afternoon session after earlier telling the court that the accounts controlled by Miles Rodgers were responsible for more than 40 per cent of all lay bets on the horses in question on the exchange in 17 out of the 27 suspect races.

O'Reilly had also said that accounts believed to be operated by Rodgers matched more than 60 per cent of all lay bets on four horses in the races in question – including when Rodgers' own horseLegal Set was beaten at Lingfield on December 30, 2002, the first race under suspicion.

He had told Court 12 that the betting activity on the Rodgers-controlled accounts was responsible for dramatic pre-race drifts on a number of occasions, but later had to admit that this had been misleading as the data supplied to the court for eight of the races had included bets placed in running.

In the statement he gave to police, O'Reilly had said Levitator had been a “good” example of a drifter when he finished second under Fallon at Leicester on June 14, 2004, but under questioning on Thursday admitted he eased only from 13-2 to 8-1 on the exchange before the off, with the highest prices matched by the Rodgers-controlled Betfair accounts of 11-1 coming in running.

Peter Kelson QC, representing Rodgers, said to O'Reilly: “You gave assurances in your statement that Levitator was a good example of drifting, but, in fact, that is not a good example. Would you accept it's downright misleading?”

“Yes, I would accept that,” responded O'Reilly.

The court also heard how only 1.83 per cent – £37.02 – of the money matched by the Rodgers accounts on Cd Europe on February 18, 2003 came at a top price of more than 28-1 (29.14), with the remainder coming at much lower prices. O'Reilly had not mentioned the Cd Europe race in his original statement, it was claimed, and it appeared only in his second statement, dated March 10, 2005, at the request of investigating officers from City of London police.
Earlier, O'Reilly had told the court that Rodgers had held an account with Betfair – and was thought to be using 12 other names – in December 2002. The account registered in the name of his then partner Joanne Richardson was in the top one per cent of Betfair users in volume terms.

O'Reilly said the accounts “frequently bet quite heavily on the same horse in the same race”.

He added: “Nine or ten of these accounts were registered in the Sheffield area. Some were accessed from the same computer and four used the same password.”

He said that the accounts were “generally taking the strong position against the one horse – that that horse will lose”.

This, however, was another claim that was refuted by Kelson, who later told the court that when Rodgers laid the Darren Williams-ridden Chispa to win £1,260 when he finished third at Newcastle on March 24, 2003, he also backed Legal Set, the 5-2 favourite who was ridden by Fergal Lynch and finished second, for £1,750, so in fact lost £490 on the race with Betfair.

The court also heard how Rodgers placed six bets on the phone using the account registered to Richardson, and was never challenged as to why somebody who was evidently male was betting on an account registered to a female. O'Reilly added that this “is something we have subsequently changed”.

Rodgers, who also faces charges under the Proceeds of Crime Act, Fallon, Lynch, Williams and two other men, Shaun Lynch and Philip Sherkle, deny all charges against them.

The case continues on Friday.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

I'm still getting caught up but this is from RP on Thursday.....


Prosecution witness admits to ‘misleading' statement

by Paul Eacott
.

THE opening witness called for the prosecution in the race-fixing trial involving Kieren Fallon and five other men at the Old Bailey on Thursday admitted that part of the statement he gave to police was “downright misleading”.

David O'Reilly, Betfair's legal adviser, returned to the witness box for cross-.

That is going to help?

[brockguy]

uh oh... a few holes are appearing that might get Fallon off.. from the racingpost::

THE head of security for British horseracing on Monday denied making a drunken claim that he was out to get Kieren Fallon if it was the "last thing" he did.
Paul Scotney was giving evidence at the race-fixing trial of Fallon and five other men accused of conspiring to throw 27 races as part of a £2.12 million betting scam.

Mr Scotney, head of security for the British Horseracing Authority, told the Old Bailey that information passed on from Betfair sparked the investigation.

He said that Miles Rodgers, the businessman accused of being at the centre of the conspiracy, had been brought to the attention of racing authorities in early 2003.

The authority, then known as the Jockey Club, had been alerted to unusual betting patterns following a race involving Legal Set the previous December.

Ridden by Darren Williams, one of three jockeys on trial, it lost the race. Rodgers had allegedly won money by betting on the horse to lose.

Mr Scotney described how Rodgers was "warned off" racing in March 2004 after a disciplinary panel ruled that he had laid two of his own horses - not alleged to be among the horses in the current case - to lose.

This was in breach of a ruling in September 2003 forbidding owners to "lay" their own horse.

MrScotney was cross-examined over his claims by Christopher Sallon QC, defending Shaun Lynch, who is in the dock alongside his brother, Fergal Lynch.

Mr Sallon asked Mr Scotney about a complaint made about him by trainer Alan Jarvis over an incident at asocial function in November 2006.

Mr Scotney, a former Metropolitan Police superintendent who took up his post at the Jockey Club in October 2003, said that he did not recall the meeting.

Mr Sallon put it to him: "At that meeting in 2006, which Mr Jarvis attended, you said quite audibly that you will get Kieren Fallon if this is the last thing you do?"
"I would not have said that," Mr Scotney replied.

"You possibly said it while you were drunk?" Mr Sallon asked.

"No, I would not have been drunk," replied Mr Scotney.

It is alleged that the six defendants were involved in a conspiracy with others between December 2002 and September 2004 to defraud Betfair customers and other punters.

Fallon, 42, formerly of Newmarket, Cambridgeshire, but now of Tipperary, Ireland, Fergal Lynch, 29, of Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, and Darren Williams, 29, of Leyburn, North Yorkshire, deny the charges.

Shaun Lynch, 37, of Belfast, Rodgers, 38, of Silkstone, South Yorkshire, and Philip Sherkle, 42, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, also plead not guilty.

Rodgers also denies concealing the proceeds of crime. All the defendants are on bail.

The case was adjourned until Tuesday.

[NoChanceToDance]

Strange.

Having seen Paul Scotney a few times he really doesn't seem like the sort of man to do such a thing.

But there again, having seen Fallon on a number of occasions he doesn't seem like the person to fix races.

Everyone i have spoken to who work within racing in Newmarket are sure he is guilty, but many of whom think he will get off because of who he is. I'm still of the opinion that he is gulity. The text messages and phone calls speak volumes in my opinion.

I seriously can't imagine Scotney saying that. The fact that he denies the claim is pretty big. If he is found to be lieing, he will be out of a job and will struggle to get another job in any industry. I don't believe Scotney would risk his livelyhood by lieing in a court room.

[brockguy]

though saying that, and I dont want to say he is lying, but Ive said numerous things with a few (!!!) drinks on me that i couldnt recall at all..

over here, most believe that he is innocent and that they are out to get him.. It could go back to the "one of us" things and the ireland v england malarchy..

[NoChanceToDance]

Originally Posted by brockguy

though saying that, and I dont want to say he is lying, but Ive said numerous things with a few (!!!) drinks on me that i couldnt recall at all..

over here, most believe that he is innocent and that they are out to get him.. It could go back to the "one of us" things and the ireland v england malarchy..

As far as i am aware, Scotney isn't much of a drinker. That i just what i believe though. Behind closed doors he could be a heavy drinker, ofcourse.

Coming from a police background, he knows what it means to lie in court and i very much doubt he would. On the other hand, Alan Jarvis doesn't have a very clean background.

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by brockguy

over here, most believe that he is innocent and that they are out to get him..

It's the opposite here.

That said,

Free Kieren

[my miss storm cat]

RP...

Head of security accused of being out to get Fallon

by Paul Eacott


RACING'S security chief Paul Scotney was on Monday accused at the Old Bailey of making a drunken claim that he was out to get Kieren Fallon.

The BHA head of security was said to have made the pledge at a public function last November, which resulted in a complaint to police. Hedenied the claim in court.

Scotney, who spent 27 years as a police officer before joining the Jockey Club in November 2003, became the latest prosecution witness to receive a rough ride during cross-examination in the race-fixing trial in an explosivesession in Court 12 on Monday.

The man charged with “protecting the integrity of British racing” was forced into an embarrassing cul-de-sac after repeatedly saying he could not recall having conversations with either investigating officers or high-profile witnesses, including Australian steward Ray Murrihy, and he also admitted that evidence central to the case against Fallon and five others had been destroyed.

Fallon, weighing-room colleagues Fergal Lynch and Darren Williams, professional gambler Miles Rodgers and two other men, Shaun Lynch and Philip Sherkle, all face charges of conspiracy to defraud Betfair customers.

Rodgers is also charged with an offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act. All six deny the charges.

Christopher Sallon QC, representing Shaun Lynch, said that police received a complaint in November last year from Buckinghamshire trainer Alan Jarvis about a remark made by an allegedly drunk Scotney that he was out to “get Fallon”.

Sallon put it to Scotney that, as the individual charged with keeping racing “pure”, it was important that he was seen to be independent.

Sallon told the court that Jarvis claimed Scotney had said that night that he “would get Kieren Fallon” if it was the last thing he could do.

“I would not have said that, and I would not have been drunk at a function like that,” Scotney said.

The court heard that the following afternoon, November 22, Detective Inspector Mark Manning, one of the officers at City of London police involved in the investigation into the 27 races, made a telephone call to Scotney informing him a complaint had been made.

Scotney was also questioned at length about his relationship with Manning, who last month was interviewed for a position in the BHA's security department.
Although Scotney was insistent that neither Manning's retirement from the force nor any vacant situations in the security department were discussed until March this year, Peter Kelson QC, representing Rodgers, put it to Scotney that talk of Manning joining the BHA after his retirement from the police force had in fact taken place much earlier.

Scotney said that he “only specifically recalls it being discussed in March”.

However, Kelson suggested to Scotney that in a meetingbetween Rodgers and his solicitor on June 6 last year, his client had said that he understood that Manning had met with, and been offered a job by, the BHA's precursor, the Horseracing Regulatory Authority.

“I am sorry sir, I really don't know where that came from,” Scotney responded.

It was also put to Scotney that the BHA had been “dangling a carrot” of funding towards the investigation to ensure that the City of London police took it on as it “was costing quite a lot of taxpayers' money”, and that City of London police were offered £250,000.

Scotney responded: “They were keen to take this on. There was a lot of thought as to where we would go. I do not recall us going to any other force.”

George Carter-Stephenson QC, representing Fergal Lynch, was also keen to establish why someone with former detective chief superintendent Scotney's extensive experience in criminal investigation and intelligence work did not take steps to preserve the material relating to stewards' inquiries involving Cd Europe and Ballinger Ridge – the only two races of the 27 under investigation that sparked inquiries on the day.

Only the summary of the stewards' inquiry published in the Racing Calendar remains and Scotney said: “I hadno reason to know that evidence would be destroyed.”

Admitting that there had been an “element of presumption” and that “in hindsight it was not good”, Scotney added that he had no reason to believe that it was routine for records to be destroyed twoyears after stewards' inquiries had taken place.

He added: “We responded to requests from the police. Maybe we weren't asked for those at the time. I don't remember a conversation about the Cd Europe race – I do the others.”

Carter-Stephenson alsotried to establish why Scotney appeared to be unable to produce any notes from meetings he had with investigating officers, or with Murrihy in meetings that took place in both Australia and the UK.

Scotney informed him that his briefcase was stolen during a burglary at the Jockey Club headquarters on Shaftesbury Avenue in 2005 and that, although he did not know for sure, it was “possible” there were notes relating to those meetings among the belongings taken.

The trial continues.