A senior Education Department official was sacked yesterday after he told an anti-corruption hearing he threw documents into a bin at Bunnings in "somewhat of a panic" because he was being investigated.
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The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission's hearing into Education Department corruption was told on Wednesday that Victoria's south-east regional director, John Allman, threw documents that detailed financial transactions involving "his" banker school, Silverton Primary School, into a bin at Bunnings. Banker schools were used to distribute department funding for schools.
"I went into somewhat of a panic after eight IBAC officers went into my home and that's what I immediately did on the day," Mr Allman said.
Recordings played at the County Court revealed that Mr Allman and the hearing's first scalp, Nino Napoli, were in close contact during the IBAC investigation and colluded about what information they would disclose.
Tens of thousands of dollars meant for state schools was given to the son of a former senior Education Department official for "work" he never completed.
The hearing was played a phone recording of Mr Allman telling his colleague Mr Napoli not to mention Silverton Primary School to IBAC investigators.
"Mate, nothing has come up on Silverton, so don't f---ing mention that."
In another recording made at a Brunswick Street cafe, Mr Napoli admitted to Mr Allman that he had "told a few little porkies".
Mr Napoli was sacked by the department earlier this week, and stands accused of diverting money away from state schools to run a $2.5 million fraud ring to benefit his relatives and himself over seven years.
Mr Allman said hundreds of thousands of dollars had been transferred to Silverton Primary School in Noble Park North for discretionary spending.
Mr Allman kept banker school transactions documents at his home, but admitted after questioning that he later destroyed them.
"The banker school arrangement has never been a legitimate practice of the education department so clearly I had something to hide."
The IBAC hearing heard that $75,000 of Education Department funds were moved into Raffaelle Napoli's account in weekly payments from 2007 to 2011 for work that he supposedly undertook at Essendon North Primary School.
Raffaelle's father Nino Napoli, stands accused of diverting money away from state schools to run a $2.5 million fraud ring to benefit his relatives and himself over seven years.
The 30-year-old said his father and the former principal of Essendon North Primary School Michael Giulieri asked him to lie to IBAC and say that he worked at the school.
Raffaele received payments totaling $120,000 over 2004 to 2011 via a recruitment company called On the Ball Personnel, which is owned by his uncle's former wife Sharon Vandermeer.
The 30-year-old said his father was in control of his bank account.
"I had money when I went to the ATM machine and that's it...it's very common in European families that you don't worry about these things, it's taken care of until you leave home."
Nino Napoli acted as accountant for Jeff Rosewarne, the department's former acting secretary, and the pair travelled overseas on a "business" trip funded by the department, but failed to file a report and could not recall who they met. It was revealed yesterday that Mr Rosewarne, who is still employed by the Catholic Education Office, used school funds to buy coffee machines and wine.
