INCA finally finished. Result: ZERO.

[Chief Stipe]

Match fixing charges dropped after too many court delays

www.thepost.co.nz

The Crown has been denied a chance to prosecute two men accused of match fixing after a court found lengthy delays breached the defendants’ right to be tried without undue delay.

 

Brent Wall and another man were among several people arrested in 2018 as part of Operation Inca, a 17-month police sting looking at corruption in the harness racing industry.

 

Both men were each charged with obtaining or causing loss by deception after allegedly fixing a race at a Manawatū Harness Racing Club meet on May 22, 2018.

 

The Crown said they ensured the horse Sportscaster, partly owned by Wall, won that race and each claimed $4560.

The initial charges against those netted in the police operation included drug offences and match fixing, and additional betting charges were laid in 2020.

Over time most of those charges were dismissed, apart from those laid against Wall, an unnamed man who had name suppression, and a third person.

The betting charges were later withdrawn by the Crown who said it was no longer in the public interest to pursue them.

That left just the match fixing charges against Wall and the second man, but these were eventually dropped in November 2023 by Judge Michael Crosbie citing the five-year delay.

A Court of Appeal decision released in November said the Crown had argued against this ruling and felt, despite the delays, the men still had a chance at a fair trial.

The prosecution had intercepted conversations between the pair and had testimony from a steward, footage of the race and expert evidence, but a previous judge ruled even with this evidence the likelihood of conviction was low.

The decision said Crosbie carefully considered the case before making his ruling and found the delays had been unacceptable.

They started with the additional charges being laid two years after the first, and included “a series of unfortunate institutional errors and resource failures, interspersed with systemic delay”, he said.

The judge also found the Crown’s “delayed decisions” to file, continue, then withdraw the betting charges helped make the process “exceptionally long”.

There were also ongoing challenges to warrants used by police for surveillance devices and the judge noted this would further delay any trial dates that were still to be determined.

Both men had the right to be tried without undue delay under the Bill of Rights Act, and the judge ruled the time it had taken in court “caused undue interference” with this.

The Crown, however, said the judge made an error and argued that continuing with the prosecution would not be an abuse of process.

They submitted that the offending was serious, their case was strong and there would be no prejudice to the defendants.

The Crown argued the judge failed to take into account that the men had colluded to determine the race’s outcome, and said “given the significance of corruption” in the industry, the modest amount they were accused of claiming did not reflect the seriousness of the offending.

The prosecution asserted that match fixing was more serious than the betting charges because it was a deliberate act to change the race’s result.

The Court of Appeal judges disagreed, however, and dismissed the Crown’s application.

“The delay has been very long, is not of the respondents’ making and would be extended by an appeal, the prospects of success for which are limited.

“To allow a prosecution to proceed after so long, on a single charge against each respondent for which the penalty is likely to be modest, is not, in our view, a reasonable response or adequate recognition of their right to be tried without undue delay.”

The Crown has been denied a chance to prosecute two men accused of match fixing after a court found lengthy delays breached the defendants’ right to be tried without undue delay.

Brent Wall and another man were among several people arrested in 2018 as part of Operation Inca, a 17-month police sting looking at corruption in the harness racing industry.

Both men were each charged with obtaining or causing loss by deception after allegedly fixing a race at a Manawatū Harness Racing Club meet on May 22, 2018.

 

 

[Brodie]

Keystone cops!

What about the costs to the defendants?

What about the stress and stigma put on the defendants?

Just a very sad time for Harness in NZ and HRNZ Integrity should be hanging their heads in shame for allowing this to occur to the ones paying their salaries, based on nothing!

 

[Gammalite]

2 hours ago, Brodie said:

based on nothing!

well it must of been based on something ? otherwise they wouldn't of had it . 

 

2 hours ago, Brodie said:

What about the stress and stigma put on the defendants?

Name suppressed I believe. I don't know who they are ? Do you ? what damage has been done to them ? Can they not race anymore or something.

 

2 hours ago, Brodie said:

Keystone cops!

The real problem with Match Fixing is It's a Police Criminal charge . and the police are slow to uncover /prove anything as are dealing in an area that requires Specialist knowledge . (i.e How a Race Is Run) 

If handled correctly a matter like this is Clear Cut . 2 (or more ) drivers work in collusion to obtain a winning result in a race , from the Investment Betting On it > 

You could find out in Minutes from Betting agencies what bets are on a race . ????? And you can watch the race Video and decide on the driving tactics in Minutes ????  A race Fix is So damn obvious it should Slap you in the face .

NOT to Be confused with 'Team' driving that happens ALL the Time. (there's no betting on them) 

A Race fix has a large/ some sort of betting outcome.  We have small time race fixes that aren't traced somewhere in Aus every month. Shane Graham (and trainer Vicki Rassmussen ) had a famous one in Brissy 2017 when a disqualified former trainer wanted to put $3000 on a runner. Very easy to trace. Shane (one of our leading trainer drivers got a 2 year stretch. It's as clear as day . Vicki was DQ for a term as a trainer too.  That punter is a MORON doing that to them for personal gain. 

It's that SIMPLE . A race Fix should take about 1/2 hour to prove ? not major 6 year investigations lol. 🤣 

Keystone Cops you say ?? . Seems the case alright .  they  just after extra pay or something ? tell em' to have a bet instead ??😅🤣 (but don't talk to the trainer beforehand via text or anything 😂) unbelievable.

 

[Rangatira]

30 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

The real problem with Match Fixing is It's a Police Criminal charge . and the police are slow to uncover /prove anything as are dealing in an area that requires Specialist knowledge . (i.e How a Race Is Run) 

Police have so little knowledge of the industry and seemingly even less knowledge when it comes to grasping banter.

 

[Trojan]

43 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

well it must of been based on something ? otherwise they wouldn't of had it . 

Ever heard a a wrongful conviction?

They had nothing and stalled and stalled trying to find something.

The only thing they got was the drug convictions which was peripheral.

Hell given all the wire taps and secret surveillance you'd expect they'd had something.  But that's why it got chucked out they had  nothing.

45 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

Name suppressed I believe. I don't know who they are ? Do you ? what damage has been done to them ? Can they not race anymore or something.

Financial damage was huge and only one had name suppression because they could afford to get it.

[Brodie]

Gamma, everyone knew who the socalled defendants were.

It had a hell of an effect on all of them from their mental health to the financial costs plus the stigma that surrounded them.

HRNZ displayed very poor form throughout and get away with it.

 

[Rangatira]

21 minutes ago, Brodie said:

Gamma, everyone knew who the socalled defendants were.

Gamma excused due to living under Uluru?

Edited 4 hours ago by Rangatira

[Trojan]

3 hours ago, Gammalite said:

It's that SIMPLE . A race Fix should take about 1/2 hour to prove ? not major 6 year investigations lol. 🤣 

Keystone Cops you say ?? . Seems the case alright .  they  just after extra pay or something ? tell em' to have a bet instead ??😅🤣 (but don't talk to the trainer beforehand via text or anything 😂) unbelievable.

Plus $20m in expenses for all concerned.  Police, RIB, Defendents.

[Gammalite]

2 hours ago, Trojan said:

Ever heard a a wrongful conviction?

They had nothing and stalled and stalled trying to find something.

Who was convicted ? 

Can't be wrongfully convicted if they weren't convicted in the first place ? Thought you said they found nothing.

Amanda Turnbull was arrested here by the police . Then the charges were dropped later . think other very prominent Horsemen Nathan Jack and Mark Pitt were convicted instead. Jack faced 39 charges. 

At least they did their time and back winning Group 1's .  just get on with it even after conviction. No one cares about Stigma and mental and shit like that. It's whether they can train and drive winners. And they are Big-time. 

57 minutes ago, Brodie said:

Gamma, everyone knew who the socalled defendants were.

It had a hell of an effect on all of them from their mental health to the financial costs plus the stigma that surrounded them.

Just have to toughen up and get on with it. Plenty of people have mental health issues. In fact everybody does. Some just play on it more than others. esp these days where ''payouts; are available. like army and police these days.  

Grimson goes around every week accused of things. Just get's on winning the Group 1 's anyway. That's the way to do it mate. Take no notice of the Nay-sayers. 

NZer'sit around crying cause you nearly got caught by Inca . poor Buggers. I don't care who they were/are. They're not that precious. just get on with it.

I do feel sorry for McGrath  getting 7 years, as the usual milkshake penalty was 1 -2 years ? . NZ RIU couldn't even get that right really. ' Manifestly excessive ' is the phrase. Hope he comes back and kills it. (on the track that is 😉) 

[Gammalite]

3 hours ago, Rangatira said:

Police have so little knowledge of the industry and seemingly even less knowledge when it comes to grasping banter.

 

That in a sentence is the crux of the problem.

Unfortunately they changed ye old race fixing to 'Match fixing' instead a few years ago so the Harness (or racing) people could no longer deal with it themselves. It's a criminal charge and those accused are 'Arrested' initially.  

My Personal opinion is it happens all the time (every week) in a small way.

EXAMPLE Why isn't it match fixing if an owner is told his horse will be taken back and then try and follow the stable-mate up the last half around the field and come around it late on for victory. So the owner puts $100 win on. The plan works . stable-mate used as the bunny ? 🙄 . Match fixing ?? to a degree.  the bunny was used to help another horse with an investment on it win ? .

Is it how much money is invested on a runner that leads to charges being laid then ?  probably. (and from what source) jockeys and football players just use their mum's names for the investments lol 🤣

 

 

 

 

[the galah]

actually i find it interesting that they have finally named the race involved at palmerston north.

I don't know how to,but someone should just put up the video and people can make up their own minds.

the article says the police intercepted conversations between the pair. Well unless we know the exact wording of the conversations the police had recorded,its hard to make a judgment call either way,in my opinion.So,sitting here without that specific knowledge,the benefit of the doubt should apply.

even the article the chief has posted seems to infer that money was made from a race being fixed,but how accurate is that article as race fixing would involve betting and it has always been reported betting was involved.But the $ amount quoted in the article, is the winning stake. 

i have to admit,having just watched the race replay and knowing one defendant was wall,its easy enough to guess who the unnamed party is.Its almost certain it would not be the winning driver.

the thing i would say,having watched that race again,was something questionable which warranted the question on the night being asked by the stipes.

to me,if i was a stipe,yes i would have asked questions around a certain drive,but moreso to remind a driver that your watching ,knowing that particular race video was insufficient to prove anything on its own.

but therein,lies what i have always said,was why there was ever an operation inca. That is,the stipes weren't doing their jobs properly.

Over the years,i've probably started half a dozen topics on examples of manawatu officiating stipes,seemingly watching races with the caps still on their binoculars.

was the race in the article one of them,no.

47 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

 

Just have to toughen up and get on with it. Plenty of people have mental health issues. In fact everybody does. 

I get where you are coming from and agree in that the scale of the reaction by anyone who gets caught up in these things,whether of their own doing or not,seems overblown.

But there can be no denying,people in harness racing live in an insular world that results in seemingly irrational magnification of some issues.

Like,its not just a small % that seem to react like the world is caving in and thier future has forever changed,its a large %.

How many times has the chief said hes closing a topic around matters mentioned in this thread because of that very reason.

Its like people can't discuss reality without some sort of irrational response. 

But there is definetly a mental health phenomenon related specifically to racing around these matters..

Edited 2 hours ago by the galah

[Rangatira]

49 minutes ago, the galah said:

i have to admit,having just watched the race replay and knowing one defendant was wall,its easy enough to guess who the unnamed party is.Its almost certain it would not be the winning driver.

Maybe the driver who took about a lap to release the crick in his neck, did he sleep on the plane on the way up?

Safe to say neither the winning driver or Cerberus had any idea.

Edited 2 hours ago by Rangatira

[Chief Stipe]

 

[Chief Stipe]

59 minutes ago, the galah said:

Like,its not just a small % that seem to react like the world is caving in and thier future has forever changed,its a large %.

How many times has the chief said hes closing a topic around matters mentioned in this thread because of that very reason.

It cost many many defendants 100's of thousands of dollars.  Let alone casting doubt on the integrity of the RIB and Harness Racing.  Largely drive by one stipe who it didn't cost anything to pursue totally irrational charges.  Not the first time.

So don't diminish what harm INCA has caused.  

[Rangatira]

2 hours ago, Brodie said:

HRNZ displayed very poor form throughout and get away with it.

I think the Racing Integrity (or not) Unit kept HRNZ out of the loop prior to the raids.

[Brodie]

1 minute ago, Rangatira said:

I think the Racing Integrity (or not) Unit kept HRNZ out of the loop prior to the raids.

Even if that was so, where was HRNZ after that?

The thing is the credibility of the Racing Integrity Unit has suffered greatly.

The cost to the industry financially is huge and the credibility has also suffered and for what??

The cost of the legal representation for most was huge and most know that harness participants generally are not overly wealthy so has hit them very hard!

[Rangatira]

7 minutes ago, Brodie said:

Even if that was so, where was HRNZ after that?

Waiting for the Judicial Process to be completed rings a bell.

[Chief Stipe]

8 minutes ago, Brodie said:

Even if that was so, where was HRNZ after that?

The thing is the credibility of the Racing Integrity Unit has suffered greatly.

The cost to the industry financially is huge and the credibility has also suffered and for what??

The cost of the legal representation for most was huge and most know that harness participants generally are not overly wealthy so has hit them very hard!

Well the question now is will those affected sue for compensation?  Or even costs?

[Spatchcock]

If the RIU were able to use the recordings to file charges under the Rules of Racing, there would have been many charges laid.

But a Judge ruled they could not use them and without that evidence, there was not much they could do.

 

[Gammalite]

1 hour ago, the galah said:

Its like people can't discuss reality without some sort of irrational response. 

But there is definetly a mental health phenomenon related specifically to racing around these matters..

Fair enough. i shouldn't comment on how people handle it mentally (being accused of something)

especially since the examples I quoted did have some quilt attached , whereas Brodie  and Trojan are mentioning there is a lot of innocent parties involved , and they spent big dollars.

The case here with Shane Graham and Vicki Rassmuseen was quite sad as just a DQ trainer wanting a few bucks. I know the owner well of the horse that won the race. (he has a share in Magacian there at Dalgety's too) and he knew Zip Zero about that race day.  Leonard Cain was charged initially too ,  a young driver and terrific bloke , as was driving a noted front runner , but handed the lead up to the stable-mate driven by Graham. That one move could of destroyed his career. But thankfully they dropped the charges against him as was just following driving instructions in the end. 

Leonard ran 2nd on the stable-mate in photo. Shane got 2 years, and trainer Vicki a term out. as well . No mucking around here with funny games lol. The GOOD News is in recent years Vicki races Nzer TURN IT UP year to year on lease from NZ and he's earned 100k per year for her , with Shane Training !! bless the old horse. and them too. 

The horse winning this mid week race was only average . Sold off to Ben Yole Satable in Tasmania in the end. They tried several angles of pinning 'Race Fixing ' on Ben Yole rather Ironically. He had the whole field of runners many Tassie races 😅😂 incredibly stupid idea. Needed INCA to sort that mess out.???? 😂 He got banned in the end anyway.  wonder how his mental health is these days ?? lol.

[Gammalite]

53 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

 

The only thing you could say is that Blair Orange was looking for that runner to come up and take the lead , even from early in the race , but that didn't really effect his horses chances of winning at all. 

The winner had to do 'the work' around the field mid-race , after drawing wide at the start. A good win .

Blair had the sit on it last lap . No problem . could of beat it if his horse was good enough.

VERDICT = Not Guilty Your Honour. 

[Chief Stipe]

15 minutes ago, Spatchcock said:

If the RIU were able to use the recordings to file charges under the Rules of Racing, there would have been many charges laid.

That's not entirely correct and at best is speculation.

However those recordings could have been used in a criminal court but the Judge ruled that the evidence wasn't sufficient to prove guilt.

So the question is why should an Agency such as the RIU(RIB) have a lesser threshold?  The RIB can't have it both ways where they remove someone's license because of a conviction in a higher court.

"We didn't get you in the High Court but we'll get you in our lesser court using the evidence that won't get a conviction in the higher court!"

Remember Teina Pora?

[Rangatira]

9 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

VERDICT = Not Guilty Your Honour. 

This verdict doesn't seem to take into account the tapped conversations prior to the race.

[Rangatira]

8 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Remember Teina Pora?

Neil Grimstone the common denominator.

[Gammalite]

4 minutes ago, Rangatira said:

This verdict doesn't seem to take into account the tapped conversations prior to the race.

Both the runners were well in the market there in that Manawatu race. Any idea on the amount BET that was placed on the winner to get everyone's Hackles Up ??

as far as the drive goes, any pre race discussion about who is leading is fine by me, even if recorded. Is good to know who is gunna press on and who isn't rather than guessing . If Blair had decided pre-race he was gunna hand up to that other horse is perfectly normal . people get driving instructions ALL the TIME from trainers too. (Allstars are absolute marvels at it over the years. 100% impressive ) 

Blair didn't seem to reduce his horses chances at all, (and neither did old mate Leonard Cain in that Queensland example up above) Plenty of Horses win getting a mid-race breather behind the leader. 

Blair tried it with DON'T STop Dreaming in the NZ Cup recently. Should of just left the Aussie parked Out in my opinion as he (DSD)  could of won it then?  . Did my 50 bucks on DSD cold lol. 🤣