Three men – employees of Hamilton North Bowling Club – have been arrested and instructed to enter pleas to multiple charges stemming from the theft of over $200,000 in late 2024.
On 29 December the club hosted the ‘Dealer Dealt Super Roller’ poker tournament, in association with the Australian Poker League. It dictated a $550 buy-in and guaranteed the winner a prize of $75,000.
Around 5am the following morning a staff member summoned emergency services after they had apparently found a co-worker, Jamie Andrew Lee, the club’s 44-year-old functions manager, tied up.
Police were told two men, dressed in black and armed with knives, gained entry to the club about 4am on 30 December, assaulting Lee before restraining him. The men were said to have taken cash from a safe, and computer hardware understood to keep security footage.
Officers established a crime scene and searched the area. Lee was treated by paramedics and taken to John Hunter Hospital.
The following day the secretary manager, 50-year-old Phillip Andrew Pereira, gave a solemn interview to NBN News.
“It is pretty shocking I guess is probably the word, but we are slowly getting through it this morning.”
The State Crime Command’s Robbery and Serious Crime Squad soon took over the investigation, dubbed Strike Force Rummage.
Lee was interviewed in January, making a statement about the incident, as the victim.
In the following weeks Strike Force Rummage investigations found what they believe to be an “inside job” plan to steal cash from the club after the high-stakes poker tournament.
Detectives subsequently executed search warrants at four homes, on 19 February arresting Pereira at a residence in Cooks Hill. He was charged and detained overnight before being granted conditional bail, which prevented him from going to the club.
In Muswellbrook police arrested 47-year-old John William Tutt. He was charged with armed robbery and participating in a criminal group, however these charges were later rescinded, replaced with entering a building to commit an indictable offence and larceny. The less serious charges stemmed from the fact police allege Pereira and Lee staged the armed robbery, with Tutt.
The following day Lee was also arrested, having taken himself to Newcastle police station. He was charged with stealing property as a clerk and participating in a criminal group, as well as making a false or misleading statement to police. He was released on police bail.
Pereira and Lee appeared in Newcastle Local Court last week, where court documents stated a total of $226,126 was taken.
Having failed to enter a plea, Magistrate Robert Stone instructed that they would have to do so when they return to court 20 March. They remain on bail.
Tutt, who is thought to have carried out the staged robbery, remains in custody and will appear in court at a later date.
Strike Force Rummage continues its investigations.
