A defence lawyer for one of the alleged ringleaders in a million-dollar gold stealing case says his client had permission from his long-time employer to profit off mineralised waste as a "reward".
Patrick Ryhan Keogh, 42, who was manager of operations at FMR Investments from 2009 to 2020 and promoted to general manager in 2018, is one of five people on trial over the alleged theft of gold-bearing ore from the Greenfields Mill near Coolgardie.
Mr Keogh's co-accused include two of his former subordinates and two directors of a privately-owned earthmoving and haulage company.
The group is accused of stealing 8,465 tonnes of gold ore from the Greenfields Mill — owned by FMR Investments — between December 2018 and January 2019.
The gold ore had an estimated value of $1.17 million, based on gold prices at the time.
It is alleged the group then transferred money from processing the ore, referred to by the prosecution as the "clean-up pile", into bank accounts which they could access.
Mr Keogh and former mill manager Christopher Robert Burns, 75, of Geographe, have pleaded not guilty to stealing as a servant, and charges that they engaged directly or indirectly in a transaction that involved money that is the proceeds of an offence.
The court has heard Mr Keogh and Mr Burns were each paid $587,291 — equivalent to a 25 per cent cut — of a milling campaign which used the gold-bearing ore the prosecutor said was owned by FMR Investments.
Mr Keogh's lawyer Seamus Rafferty told the court his client was a "smart young bloke" who was "business savvy" and had recognised mineral waste deposited near the mill's tailings dam could be retreated to extract low-grade gold.
Mr Rafferty said a conversation between Mr Keogh and his employer, well-known WA mining entrepreneur Peter Bartlett, happened a decade ago regarding the mineral waste.
Mr Bartlett, who founded FMR Investments in 1989 and remains a director, is listed among eight prosecution witnesses due to testify during the trial.
"He [Mr Keogh] asked Mr Bartlett 'can I have that pile'," Mr Rafferty told the court.
"He [Mr Bartlett] responded with something along the lines of, 'that's a bit cheeky but it's yours'."
Mr Rafferty said the case boiled down to a conversation in late 2012 or early 2013.
"He [Mr Keogh] was told you can have it.
"It was that stockpile that Mr Bartlett said that Mr Keogh could have, as a reward for something he had done."
Mr Rafferty told the court the pair had a "unique relationship" akin to a "mentor and protégé relationship".
"These two worked hand in glove," he said.
"Mr Bartlett was effectively closer with this man than his own children … and he was very generous.
"They would go fishing together, he bought him $5,000 worth of fishing rods … they would drink together, and they were always talking about work.
"He was very, very generous … he gave him a car as a gift … and a significant bonus."
Mr Rafferty told the court Mr Keogh said he tried to get his employer to change his statement.
"There were conversations in early 2021 in Busselton," he said.
"He wanted him to tell the truth about what had actually happened on trips to the Greenfields Mill in late 2012, early 2013."
Terminal illness
Mr Burns' lawyer Tom Percy KC told the court his client was battling terminal cancer which had affected his memory.
"He was diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2019, from which he will ultimately die," he said.
"He has suffered from what he has called 'chemotherapy brain', where he has had trouble with recall."
Mr Percy told the court there was no fraud or "dodgy dealings" from his client, describing the processing deal as "mutually beneficial" and a "win-win for everyone".
"This is a case where there is no subterfuge, no false names, no Swiss bank accounts," he said.
"With Chris Burns, what you see is what you get.
"He had nothing to fear, because he wasn't doing anything wrong … he genuinely believed he was entitled to do what he did."
Mr Percy said Mr Burns was paid for his expertise, and said he arranged for Ms Dombroski to be paid $90,000.
"They made a good deal of money … so be it, they're not on trial for that," he said.
He said "business was light on" for FMR Investments when the processing deal was done, saying there was "nothing untoward" and it was "in everyone's interests".
Offer to pay
It came after prosecutor Paul Usher told the court Mr Keogh had visited the Busselton home of his employer, Mr Bartlett, on multiple occasions.
The court heard Mr Keogh made multiple attempts to get the charges dropped.
"Mr Bartlett will tell you [the jury] that on a number of occasions Mr Keogh came to his house," Mr Usher said.
"He [Mr Keogh] asked Mr Bartlett to drop the charges against him.
"He [Mr Keogh] told him the job was too big for him … he apologised for the theft and said he would pay Mr Bartlett back."
Mr Usher also told the court that Mr Bartlett's wife Julie would testify that Mr Keogh had tried to get her to convince her husband to drop the charges.
"He [Mr Keogh] wanted Julie Bartlett to get him [Mr Bartlett] to change his statement, saying he [Mr Bartlett] knew what he [Mr Keogh] was doing," Mr Usher told the court.
The court also heard that Mr Burns had fabricated "fake invoices" to make the payment "appear legitimate".
Alleged $90k payment
Former mill foreman Morgan Whitney Dombroski, 33, of Boulder, is fighting charges of stolen or unlawfully obtained property, and engaging in a transaction involving money that is the proceeds of an offence.
The court has heard Mr Burns gave Ms Dombroski $90,000 out of his $587,291 payment.
Mr Usher said Ms Dombroski was a willing participant with full knowledge and was motivated by "financial gain".
"She knew she was not entitled to any of the proceeds," he said.
Ms Dombroski's lawyer Carmel McKenzie asked the jury to keep an "open mind".
Her client was employed by FMR Investments from July 2014 to January 2019.
"Do not make any decisions until you've heard all of the evidence," Ms McKenzie said.
Business partners
Russell Wilson Holden, 51, and Simon Leslie Gash, 57, who are both listed as directors of KBD Haulage Pty Ltd and also operate private company Aqua Alluvial Pty Ltd together, are also fighting various money laundering and fraud charges.
Mr Usher said the business partners had wanted to process some of their own gold-bearing ore from a Coolgardie mine but did not have enough, so the decision was made to use the clean-up pile to supplement it.
"If it's a small amount of ore, they [Greenfields Mill] generally won't do it, or if they do, they will charge a higher rate for it," he said.
Mr Usher said "they knew" part of the proceeds of the milling campaign belonged to FMR Investments.
The trial, which is expected to last four weeks, continues.
