Former NSW RSL boss Don Rowe has been living in Armidale following allegations he spent almost $500,000 on a corporate credit card over several years.
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The OAM recipient’s resignation in 2014 was the start of a number of rorting and embezzlement allegations throughout the state league which has sparked a royal commission-style inquiry.
And now the state branch have been forced to suspend all fundraising activities.
“It came completely out of the blue,” Armidale Sub Branch Secretary Ken Dickins told The Express last week.
Raffles, barbecues and cake sales will be suspended after new leadership discovered that some of its processes are illegal under the state’s charity laws.
But local Sub Branch President Max Tavener said the suspension was unrelated to the current inquiry.
“Head office in Sydney discovered we weren’t operating within the rules of the charitable act,” Mr Tavener said.
“There was no malice there and the head office brought it to the attention of the charity commission.
“It should be sorted out within three weeks but the problem that has resulted to cease fundraising ... it’s been going on for 40 years and it’s only just now that they’ve noticed the problem.”
In May, the state government appointed former NSW Supreme Court Justice Patricia Bergin to lead the inquiry.
She will also investigate the broader NSW RSL, where reports of cover-ups and fraud have preceded the resignation of its entire NSW council.
Ms Bergin is expected to report back with progress of the institutions largest-ever probe by November.
A spokesperson from NSW Police said detectives from the State Crime Command’s Fraud and Cybercrime Squad established Strike Force Whitbread to investigate the “misappropriation” of funds within the NSW RSL.
“Investigators are in possession of a large quantity of financial documents, which will undergo detailed forensic accounting analysis,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, The Express attempted to speak with Mr Rowe on Monday afternoon at his home near Armidale, but he refused to comment.
KordaMentha found his credit card use included $213,000 in cash withdrawals, $20,000 a year of which was used to pay approved car expenses.
He also paid $38,000 in phone bills that covered phones for five family members as well as his own.