Greg Bennett trial.

[2minuteman]

Harness driver Greg Bennett acted 'for trainers' (https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.theage.com.au/nsw/harness-driver-greg-bennett-acted-for-trainers-20131204-2yqzs.html&ct=ga&cd=MTM3OTA2NTgwODkxOTU4OTU0MDU&cad=CAEYAQ&usg=AFQjCNE9_kYu2ifv-4Jf1xwcldIT6X2AKw)
Had this sent from Adelaide this morning.Haven't seen anything elsewhere so far.

[2minuteman]

SMH and Illawarra Merc as well

[p plater]

Interesting
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/1953188/harness-racing-driver-bennett-acted-through-his-trainers/?cs=12

[Messenger]

Certainly interesting reading. If Mr Bentey claims he did not do it for money or drugs, why did he do it? Mateship?
Does The Age NSW have harness racing news other than corruption trials - never ever seen mention of harness in The Age in Vic (the only thing I miss about the Herald Sun)

[p plater]

With some of the decisions made by Officials re: whip,cot,presentation etc I trust the current group of Officials do not share a similar attitude to Mr Bentley
"Mr Bentley had described harness racing trainers as ''desperate'' and ''scum''"

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/harness-driver-greg-bennett-acted-for-trainers-20131204-2yqzs.html#ixzz2miPRNwEp

[Danno]

With some of the decisions made by Officials re: whip,cot,presentation etc I trust the current group of Officials do not share a similar attitude to Mr Bentley
"Mr Bentley had described harness racing trainers as ''desperate'' and ''scum''"

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/harness-driver-greg-bennett-acted-for-trainers-20131204-2yqzs.html#ixzz2miPRNwEp


All things considered Bailey, I'm not the slighest bit surprised by that.

[Gtrain]

Not guilty. Interesting times ahead..... Some heads surely on chopping blocks now....

[broncobrad]

Not guilty. Interesting times ahead..... Some heads surely on chopping blocks now....

Interesting times indeed Grant...wonder how the Integrity Unit comes to grips with this decision...and how does Bentley become immune from prosecution...must have been some great deals cut here...Bennett might have had good legal representation (and fully entitled to defend his name to the hilt) but for the Crown to rely on an already heavily discredited Bentley makes a mockery of the legal system and their attempts to prove the case in a court of law. A case doomed to failure. The full story when reported will also be interesting reading. HRNSW cannot be expected to wear the brunt of the loss, this is a completely different jurisdiction. Anyhow G Bennett is not guilty, this is now a proven fact.

http://www.harnesslink.com/Australia/Greg-Bennett-found-not-guilty-of-corruption-

[Pena]

It is hard to believe a grub like Bentley was given immunity in this situation. He threw plenty of mud not stopping below the CEO. From his comments, he obviously had very low regard for the industry and I hope he enjoys his $1.8 million inheritance. I still cannot believe that the police deceided to do a deal. Hopefully they will find some other charges to slap on him.

[Gtrain]

It is hard to believe a grub like Bentley was given immunity in this situation. He threw plenty of mud not stopping below the CEO. From his comments, he obviously had very low regard for the industry and I hope he enjoys his $1.8 million inheritance. I still cannot believe that the police deceided to do a deal. Hopefully they will find some other charges to slap on him.

That is the biggest disgrace of all. In my eyes, he is by far and away the worst perpetrator of this corruption and is clearly lower than snake guts. He couldnt even get consistency in his lies. Those in charge have some serious questions to ask themselves now. Some of the people investigating these things spend that much time thinking about and searching for corruption they have become paranoid look for it in places where common sense shows its not there. Who in there right mind would think Bentley would make a credible witness? Even Dennis Denuto would tear apart his testimony! Unfortunately I think some stewards roaming NSW now policing our industry in a similar way, based on heresay of untrustworthy individuals.

[aussiebreno]

that is the biggest disgrace of all. In my eyes, he is by far and away the worst perpetrator of this corruption and is clearly lower than snake guts. He couldnt even get consistency in his lies. Those in charge have some serious questions to ask themselves now. Some of the people investigating these things spend that much time thinking about and searching for corruption they have become paranoid look for it in places where common sense shows its not there. Who in there right mind would think bentley would make a credible witness? even dennis denuto would tear apart his testimony! unfortunately i think some stewards roaming nsw now policing our industry in a similar way, based on heresay of untrustworthy individuals.
lol!

[Danno]

That is the biggest disgrace of all. In my eyes, he is by far and away the worst perpetrator of this corruption and is clearly lower than snake guts. He couldnt even get consistency in his lies. Those in charge have some serious questions to ask themselves now. Some of the people investigating these things spend that much time thinking about and searching for corruption they have become paranoid look for it in places where common sense shows its not there. Who in there right mind would think Bentley would make a credible witness? Even Dennis Denuto would tear apart his testimony! Unfortunately I think some stewards roaming NSW now policing our industry in a similar way, based on heresay of untrustworthy individuals.

Straight to the pool room! that comment! It appears even Bentley could see "they were dreamin":D

[Pena]

Is Dennis Denuto a relation to Peter Vlandys? There is a striking resembelence.
However even more scary is it not the paranoid stewards but the police and DPP that have presided over this debacle.
Makes you wonder about the race fixing case that is going on in the Tamworth area.
We all want crooks out of the game but I wonder how successful the authorities are being.

[Richard prior]

This subject is Sickening but Danno's slant on it is Hilarious. It would have been interesting to see the outcome of this case if V'landys/ Dennis Denuto was still at the helm. Sam's pretty passionate about the game and for this other fool to throw a spitball about him is totally wrong and I reckon Sam should go the him on defamation grounds.

[Thevoiceofreason]

Hello All I have been a little busy but the finding of Greg Bennett not guilty has brought me out of the closet.

It has for many of us answered the question we have been asking since August 2011 why has Bentley not been charged by the coppers ?

Now we all know because he convinced them he would make a credible witness and would be truthful, you may well ask how does a corrupt person pull this off?

Make no bones about it Bentley is smart, when the poo hit the fan he knew how to avoid most of it hitting him, he did lose his job but clearly that meant zero to our Armani Matthew, after all he had 1.8million.

I am told he actually got everybody else to be silent which made it even easier for him to do the deal because the coppers needed him to tie up loose ends, I wonder how the Fat Starter Paul the Toole felt reading how his mate Matty avoided the big house.

The damage Bentley has done to Harness Racing is a disgrace and he did not worry who he hurt in doing it especially his so called mates.

There is one thing I am sure of when he was looking at a Harness Participant that was undoubtedly "desperate and scum" he was actually looking in the mirror.

I am however not so sure he was wrong about Sam Nati's alleged drug use, I often think Sam must be on drugs to put the time and effort he does into administering and growing the game he loves.

Bill

[Danno]

Thanks for the insight VOR and good to see you haven't become some sort of fertiliser. ;)
Do you know what really makes me cranky?? it's that this style of thing happens REPEATEDLY .......not just in our silly game but in all walks of life, the grub(s) who designed the "sting" walk away free and easy while a few pawns pay the price.
Makes you wonder about two things 1) the real intentions of our lawmakers and 2) the ability of same.:mad:

[trish]

Hello All I have been a little busy but the finding of Greg Bennett not guilty has brought me out of the closet.

It has for many of us answered the question we have been asking since August 2011 why has Bentley not been charged by the coppers ?

Now we all know because he convinced them he would make a credible witness and would be truthful, you may well ask how does a corrupt person pull this off?

Make no bones about it Bentley is smart, when the poo hit the fan he knew how to avoid most of it hitting him, he did lose his job but clearly that meant zero to our Armani Matthew, after all he had 1.8million.

I am told he actually got everybody else to be silent which made it even easier for him to do the deal because the coppers needed him to tie up loose ends, I wonder how the Fat Starter Paul the Toole felt reading how his mate Matty avoided the big house.

The damage Bentley has done to Harness Racing is a disgrace and he did not worry who he hurt in doing it especially his so called mates.

There is one thing I am sure of when he was looking at a Harness Participant that was undoubtedly "desperate and scum" he was actually looking in the mirror.

I am however not so sure he was wrong about Sam Nati's alleged drug use, I often think Sam must be on drugs to put the time and effort he does into administering and growing the game he loves.

Bill

Goodness Bill you brought me out of retirement.
In the past you have always been very correct and calculating in your comments. Its easy to see that this subject brings out a lot of emotion in you. We thought you were made of wood....haha.
Its weird that they claim $400K - $500K was found in corrupt money and yet only a handful of races have been proven.
Where did the rest of it come from?
This and the amount of positives, 56 and counting, proves that Bentley was right about a lot of trainers being scum.
There's an ever diminishing number of trainers that are great people.

[Thevoiceofreason]

Not sure about the cash side of things I know positive swabs are close to your heart.

I was not aware it had got up to 56 but I will take your word for it .

I have always said the one good thing to come from this debacle would be the extra budget for swabbing.

I have it on very good advice that as far back as the GHRRA days John Coughlan was always trying to get more funding from HRNSW to do extra swabbing and this was in the day before Bentley was even employed however those requests always fell on deaf ears.

I am not sure how many winners are even swabbed these days but until it is at 100% like the gallops there will always be some who run the gauntlet, even then there are some, as the gallops prove but nothing like the Harness Numbers.

[Thevoiceofreason]

Danno as Charles Dickens wrote "the law is an ass"

[Thevoiceofreason]

Trish

I hate corruption in sport.... I hate it at any level but more so at a sporting level because there are so many that want to play within the rules.

The damage Bentley and the Toole, who as you know was a very popular steward among licences before this all broke will take decades to repair...... it is so unfair on those who are trying to police the sport now..... there is forever the shadow of corruption.

I can only imagine how tuff it must be to be honest in doing your job with a large percentage of licences thinking you are a cheat ... might even be enough to chase you from the job.

[Gtrain]

Not sure about the cash side of things I know positive swabs are close to your heart.

I was not aware it had got up to 56 but I will take your word for it .

I have always said the one good thing to come from this debacle would be the extra budget for swabbing.

I have it on very good advice that as far back as the GHRRA days John Coughlan was always trying to get more funding from HRNSW to do extra swabbing and this was in the day before Bentley was even employed however those requests always fell on deaf ears.

I am not sure how many winners are even swabbed these days but until it is at 100% like the gallops there will always be some who run the gauntlet, even then there are some, as the gallops prove but nothing like the Harness Numbers.

Bill are you certain the gallops are the best example? The way we handle things now is heading in the opposite direction to the gallops. Mandatory sentencing is unheard of there. They recieve numerous warnings along with have every case heard on individual merits. We continue to roll out the "present horse substance free" line and slam honest participants who had zero intention of "doping" a horse. If you want an example of this no case has ever made my skin crawl more than the treatment of David Lang in the Riverina. Slammed for use of a substance that really wouldn't make his horse go one yard faster. More to the point he didn't administer it either. The DMSO saga with Lance was disgusting. The Gallops don't eat their own the way we do. They actually promote trainers as people and amazingly treat them like it also. Not the "scum" that our stewards see our trainers for.

[teecee]

Whilst people have strong views on this issue and I don't want to stifle comment on what I think is an important issue for Harness racing and, dare I say, The legal,,, nay justice system, many views already expressed here will in the fullness of time not be allowed to stand. Please remember that many comments have been made about someone named who has not been convicted of any crime much as it seems grossly unjust. Whist time will be allowed for many here to express their opinion please do so in future in a cautious and thoughtful manner before this thread may be deleted.
Deletion is not a decision taken lightly and is not based on any personal view of the issue but on whether the content of the thread is considered actionable by any named persons against Harnesslink or any of you who contribute here whether justified or not.
By all means have your say but do so in a mature, managed way
thanks.....

[Pena]

Sorry Tony you have got this one way wrong.
No Bentley has not been convicted of a crime, because he did a deal with the DPP.
But he has admitted under oath that he acted corruptly, there is no disputing this fact.

[teecee]

Sorry Tony you have got this one way wrong.
No Bentley has not been convicted of a crime, because he did a deal with the DPP.
But he has admitted under oath that he acted corruptly, there is no disputing this fact.
Jack....
This thread is not about whether I have got it way wrong. I am fully satisfied that I have it way right hence what I have said about what has been posted so far in this thread. There are some statements in this thread that are actionable.
IMO If I delete them now the discussion will be severely disrupted.
IMO The issue being discussed is important enough to allow everyone a chance to contribute. All I ask is that it is done in a more reasoned than emotive way albeit acknowledging seriously strong views.
Let's get on with the discussion in a more mature manner than those being discussed have seen fit to describe their fellow Human beings. Remember 2 wrongs don't make it right and as there is no convictions we may have the moral high ground but not necessarily the rather shifty legal high ground.

[Pena]

Tony......
The comments on this thread re Bentley are at worst complimentry.
I hope all the people he slandered including King Charlie and "Scum" trainers sues him for defamation and his $1.8 million and his Armani suits.

[DRUIDRACING]

all sports involving money there will always be people trying to contrive, alter, influence and beat the rules. It is time we promote our magnificent sport and raise its profile above the rest. Theres nothing like watching your horse win but we dont promote the side that the masses see. Usually the all the bad is filtered into the media overshadowing this great sport. whilst the authorities on a whole do a great job they can only do what the rules allow. We all know who rort the system. I believe there has been a return to normality in recent months as testing has improved the chances of catching these people just look at some of the latest results. Go Go Pacing try it you might like it.

[trish]

How can anyone possibly promote this sport before it is cleaned up.

Their saying that between $400K & $500K was discovered & attributed to the green light scandal. We've been told that $500 was paid per race to not swab horses that
equates to 1000 races. We've been able to account for around 20 races, so where are all the others??????
Why do people in this sport continue to put their heads in the sand, as VOR said its going to take a long time to recover.
Unfortunately we all know who they are & people continue to shake the hands of the biggest offenders.
To remove rot from timber you have to cut the whole lot out or it keeps coming back. Not much timber left in this industry. Unless you get rid of it the rot will come back.
Sam must be pulling his hair out. I wouldn't want his job.

[Richard prior]

Well said Trish, I wonder when the dust settles if the Tax Man might have a say in this matter, they rarely miss out when it comes to getting in for their chop.

[trish]

Well said Trish, I wonder when the dust settles if the Tax Man might have a say in this matter, they rarely miss out when it comes to getting in for their chop.


Or their sausage...haha

[Richard prior]

Lol Trish, but I won't go there.

[strong persuader]

http://www.harnessmediacentre.com.au/uploads/files/appeal%20decisions/hr%20bennett%20decision%20on%20penalty%20090317.pd f

For those not wanting to read the 18/19 pages, summary can be shortened to this, disqualified until 24/11/18. Willing to bet he will never be relicenced though :rolleyes: