Former NI Events Company boss Janice McAleese gets suspended sentence

Janice McAleese, 55, of Elvanfort Biggar in Lanarkshire, Scotland, was handed a two-year sentence suspended for three years.

At Belfast Crown Court last month, McAleese pleaded guilty to the charge that on dates between October 1, 2004 and January 1, 2006, she misconducted herself in public office which amounted to “an abuse of the trust of the public”.

Co-accused Damian Fleming, 55, of Station Road in Maghera, Co Londonderry, pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting McAleese in misconduct in public office. He also received a two-year sentence, suspended for three years.

McAleese became chief executive officer of NIEC in January 2004 but in April 2007 she resigned with NIEC amassing debts of £1.5 million.

As a result, the Department of Trade, Enterprise and Investment (DETI) appointed Price Waterhouse and Cooper (PWC) to investigate the collapse of NIEC.

The court heard that the final PWC report was not handed over to police until 2015 when a criminal investigation was started.

Judge Kevin Finnegan QC heard that NIEC became involved in funding the World Moto Cross Grand Prix event which took place in Northern Ireland in September 2004.

Mr Chambers said McAleese had signed various agreements with promoter KWS who was staging the event and the NIEC board approved in January 2004 £160,000 of funding for the event.

Three months later, Fleming’s company Schism became involved to provide hospitality at the event.

According to the prosecution, KWS went bankrupt after the event owing money to a number of creditors, and NIEC stepped in to pay the creditors.

“The 2004 event cost NIEC £184,490.88p but the overall total cost was in the region of £500,000-£600,000.’’

Mr Chambers said detectives obtained NIEC board minutes which revealed that a discussion was taking place about holding an event in 2005 if a promoter could be found.

In January 2005, Fleming and McAleese attended a meeting with the Motorcyle Union of Ireland (MCUI) to obtain a licence, and minutes of the meeting showed “it did not go well and MCUI demanded that any promoter have a £500,000 guarantee ... this caused Mr Fleming to storm out of the meeting.

“PWC discovered a funding agreement in the names of McAleese and Fleming dated June 1, 2005 which provided his Schism company with £160,000 of NIEC funds towards the 2005 event.’’

Emails revealed that McAleese was lobbying Italy’s Federation Internationale de Motocyclissme on Fleming’s behalf to help him get a licence from MCUI to stage the motocross event.

Unsigned board minutes showed McAleese had informed the NIEC board that a promoter for the 2005 event had been found but no decision had been made about how much funding would be provided. There was nothing in the minutes to show she had told the board she had already signed a deal with Fleming.

From July 1, 2005, NIEC started “making substantial payments’’ to Schism despite the fact there was no board authorisation for it.

Unsigned minutes from a board meeting in August 2005 revealed that McAleese had told members that a promoter had been found and needed £50,000 of funding.

Records examined by police showed that the event, which was staged in Desertmartin, Co Londonderry in September 2005, cost a total of £523,500.99p.

Accounts showed that between July and November 2005, NIEC paid £490,528.52p into Schism’s bank account and a further £64,500 into an account for a bar and restaurant Fleming owned in Londonderry.

“Further analysis of his bank accounts showed that he made four payments totalling £49,800 to Janice McAleese.’’

During police interview, McAleese could not “give a cogent explanation’’ as to why she had signed a funding arrangement with Schism without board approval.

She told detectives that a cheque for £1,800 was lent to her by Fleming to help her pay her mortgage.

Two further cheques, totalling £38,000, were a “loan” from Fleming to help her buy a property. She added that she could not remember getting a fourth cheque for £10,000.

During police questioning, divorcee McAleese denied she was in a “physical relationship’’ with Fleming but later claimed he gave her money “to gain a hold over her ... had placed pressure on her, threatening to withdraw from the event which would have left the NIEC in financial trouble”.

At police interview, married Fleming, a father of three, “admitted that he had a sexual relationship with Janice McAleese ... he admitted that he provided her with cheques as a personal loan that she could buy an apartment”.

Judge Finnegan said neither defendant had acted dishonestly but rather “naively’’ in their transactions over the motocross event.

He said it had been a “complex case’’, adding that the two defendants “had managed to procure money without proper authority”.