Frank De Stefano
Template:Australian criminals Frank de Stefano OAM (b. 1948) is a former mayor and councillor from 1983 - 1993 of Geelong, Victoria. In 1988 De Stefano was awarded the Order of Australia medal for his services to migrant communities. In 2003 he was imprisoned for 10 years on 12 theft charges totaling AUD$8,606,101.47.
$8.6 million theft
De Stefano operated an accountancy business in Geelong from 1978 until April 19, 2000, when he was asked to report to the Geelong police station. He cooperated with police and detailed his theft of approximately $8million from clients.
De Stefano was bailed, and on March 13, 2003, later appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria for sentencing where he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with a minimum period of 7 years. Some of those he stole from included Tomislav Papic, a quadriplegic who was awarded a record AUD$6million settlement in a successful law suit against the Geelong Hospital. Justice Kellam referred to the thefts of Papic's compensation payout as "heartless", saying at De Stefano's sentencing hearing,
The theft of $4.98 million from Nexus (Geelong) Pty Ltd is particularly callous and cruel. It was a gross breach of the trust reposed in you. You met with Tomislav Papic on numerous occasions. There can be no doubt that you, at all times, were fully aware of the nature of the grievous injuries from which he suffered and the fact that he required the funds achieved by him as compensation for his horrendous accident to achieve any degree of independence and dignity. The theft by you of his funds took away his independence. Clearly, that must have been known by you. You conduct in relation to this count was in my view heartless. Tomislav Papic died in October 2001. The victim impact statement filed by his father sets out clearly the trauma that he and his family suffered by reason of your theft. I have no difficulty in accepting the statement of his father that the period of time between April 2000 and the time of his death was a "nightmare" for both Tomislav Papic and his parents.
De Stefano gambled approximately AUD$6.6 million during many visits to Crown Casino in Melbourne and spending the remainder on personal expenses [1] [2].
De Stefano was charged with 12 charges of theft. He admitted to all counts, totalling over $8million from clients as follows:
- $4,980,175.07, belonging to company Nexus (Geelong) Pty Ltd, a trust setup to manage the affairs of quadriplegic Tomislav Papic [1]
- $1,450,000, belonging to Global Issues Pty Ltd [1]
- $575,307.77 belonging to Norman Williams [1]
- $400,000, belonging to Javni Homes (Geelong) Pty Ltd [1]
- $309,418.89, belonging to investors, Mr and Mrs Fahey [1]
- $250,000, belonging to Francesco Mazza [1]
- $245,000, belonging to Donna Murdoch [1]
- $150,000, belonging to Basil's Plasterers Pty Ltd [1]
- $100,000, belonging to Bendiwi Pty Ltd [1]
- $92,081.21 belonging to K.L. Consultancy Pty Ltd [1]
- $40,464.06, belonging to Popular Pastimes Pty Ltd [1]
- $13,654.47, belonging to Wingrove Pty Ltd [1]
Geelong Football Club president, Frank Costa described De Stefano as a hero to Geelong's Italian community, saying
"He was a fellow who did an awful lot of very, very good community work in Geelong, that's why it was such as shock to everybody. He was heavily involved in many forms of community support. He was on the council for many years, he was mayor, he did an awful lot for migrants coming into Geelong." [3]
Witness in murder trial
On May 15, 2006, De Stefano appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria as a witness in the trial of law clerk Julian Michael Clarke in the murder of Keith William Allan. Allan disappeared in May, 2000 and has never been found.
De Stefano told the jury he was borrowing large sums of money from Clarke to feed his own gambling addiction, and had met Clarke when frequenting the Crown Casino high rollers room. He said all loans from Clarke were repaid within 24 hours [4].
Notoriety
As of March 2007 there is still a street named after him in North Geelong. This is a rare honour for a living convicted criminal.
References
External links
- Former Geelong mayor jailed for 10 years over $9m theft, The Age, March 14 2003