Lawyers for five people accused of a million-dollar gold theft in Western Australia's Goldfields have used closing arguments to renew their attacks on the credibility of one of the prosecution's key witnesses, well-known mining entrepreneur Peter Bartlett.
The District Court trial has been running for the past three weeks, hearing evidence from eight witnesses relating to the alleged theft of 8,465 tonnes of gold-bearing ore from the Greenfields Mill near Coolgardie.
Based on metal prices at the time, it had an estimated value of $1.17 million.
The case hinges on a decade-old conversation between Mr Bartlett, the founder of FMR Investments, which owns Greenfields Mill, and the company's former general manager, Patrick Rhyan Keogh.
Mr Keogh, 42, has testified that Mr Bartlett gave him permission to profit off a waste stockpile sometime in late 2012 or early 2013, and that he "didn't have to ask him twice", before it was treated at Greenfields Mill five years later.
On day 14 of the trial today, Mr Keogh's lawyer, Seamus Rafferty, spoke for two hours in his closing address, focusing on the "untruths" and "inherently unreliable" evidence from Mr Bartlett.
"Your assessment of his credibility will be the key to this trial," Mr Rafferty told the jury.
"You should not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Peter Bartlett was truthful, accurate and reliable."
'No gotcha moments'
Mr Rafferty walked the jury through the transcript of Mr Bartlett's testimony, noting he said "I can't answer that question yes or no" when asked about the alleged conversation at Greenfields Mill.
He said Mr Bartlett's testimony was a "re-creation of history" and suggested the FMR Investments director was "stressed" about the gold-stealing investigation because previous tax evasion charges over a $50 million case could come back.
"Any answer Peter Bartlett gave you [the jury] will have to be scrutinised with great care," Mr Rafferty said.
In contrast, Mr Rafferty painted his client, Mr Keogh, as someone who had shown good character, a witness who had volunteered information on the stand, that there was "no gotcha moments" from the prosecution and he had given a "detailed recollection" of the events.
"To convict him [Mr Keogh], you have to believe Peter Bartlett, and that's a problem," Mr Rafferty told the jury.
Mr Rafferty said his client had been a "trusted, hardworking, knowledgeable employee" who was being "groomed" as Mr Bartlett's "protégé" to take over the company.
"How likely is it that a person on a wicket like that, with a trajectory like that [points his right arm skyward], would start stealing dirt?" he said.
"It just does not make sense."
In defence of credibility
State prosecutor Paul Usher had spent significant time in his closing address on Wednesday to discuss Mr Bartlett's credibility as a witness.
"You will need to consider Mr Bartlett's credibility but the state says that's not the only evidence to consider when considering that conversation [with Mr Keogh] did not happen," he said.
"The state asks you to reject any evidence from Mr Keogh … this conversation simply did not occur."
The prosecution also said Mr Bartlett had made no secret of the fact he had Mr Keogh transport Doré gold bars from his Perth house to the Greenfields Mill, despite defence attempts to discredit him earlier in the court proceedings.
"He [Mr Bartlett] said the board knew about it. They were unstamped [bars] and FMR had financial troubles. Nothing untoward there," Mr Usher said.
"These are matters you can take into account in assessing his credibility."
An above-board 'paper trail'
Mr Keogh has admitted that $590,411 was sent to his private business account on March 13, 2019 from Aqua Alluvial Pty Ltd.
The private company is controlled by two of the co-accused, Russell Wilson Holden, 51, and his business partner Simon Leslie Gash, 57, who are fighting money laundering and fraud charges.
Mr Rafferty said there had been no attempts at subterfuge, and he seized upon the state prosecutor Paul Usher's description of the group's dealings as "nefarious" and "surreptitious".
"So surreptitious, that in your company name you render an invoice?" Mr Rafferty posed to the jury.
"Then you transfer $590-odd-thousand dollars to a bank account shared by you and your wife?
"I'm not sure what's surreptitious about that … the paper trail leads back to him every time.
"And then you pay tax? You let the tax department know you've had this windfall."
Key witness under fire
Earlier today, lawyer for Mr Gash, David Grace KC, described Mr Bartlett as a man of "little credibility" and "disreputable".
Mr Grace said Mr Bartlett's dealings with the Australian Taxation Office showed he had a "lack of honesty" and a "lack of credibility".
"This is the type of man the state relies upon to prove its case," he told the court.
Trial adjourned to Monday
Tom Percy KC today also took issue with the prosecution's description of the group's dealings, on behalf of his client, former mill manager Christopher Robert Burns, 76.
"Surreptitious … I had to look that word up … it means secret," Mr Percy told the jury.
"But what was hidden? If you've just pinched a million dollars of ore, would you put it in your joint bank account with your wife?
"Nefarious … I had to look that word up, too. It means wicked, evil … but what's wicked about this?
"There's one thing this case isn't and that's surreptitious and nefarious."
Mr Percy also pointed to formal documents that were tabled in court earlier in the trial showing that Mr Burns had signed off on the gold in circuit calculations on behalf of Aqua Alluvial.
In Mr Burns' police interview on January 5, 2021, which was played in court, he responded "I don't know" when the detectives asked if it was normal to sign off on behalf of a client.
But Mr Percy said there was no way Mr Burns would have signed if he knew anything "dishonest" was going on.
"If you knew [Mr] Keogh has just pinched a million dollars of ore, you wouldn't be putting your name to it," he said.
The trial adjourned until Monday, when Judge Christopher Stevenson will issue directions to the jury before they retire to consider a verdict.
