The secretary-manager of the Hamilton North Bowling Club has admitted to orchestrating a staged armed robbery on the night the club hosted its largest ever poker tournament, his associate tying up another staff member and stealing $220,000.
Phillip Andrew Pereira, 51, had long denied being the mastermind behind the inside job and was expected to face a two-day hearing in Newcastle Local Court this week.
But on Thursday, six months after his first hearing was vacated, Pereira pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing property as a clerk and dealing with the proceeds of crime.
A charge of participating in a criminal group will be taken into account when he is sentenced in October.
Pereira is the third man to admit to being involved in the staged robbery after former club functions manager Jamie Lee and "armed robber" John William Tutt were sentenced last year.
The Newcastle Herald reported last year that what started out as a joke, an "off-the-cuff remark", a few months earlier about the club being robbed of the poker tournament proceeds became a reality for Lee when Tutt buzzed at the roller door about 4am on December 30, 2024.
The club had hosted a major Australian Poker League tournament only hours earlier and there was $220,000 in the safe.
"It's Phil," came the voice over the intercom and Lee opened the door to find Tutt dressed in black and holding a knife.
Tutt quickly put the blade away when he saw it was Lee and explained he was there for the money in the safe.
"I don't want this to happen," Lee, 45, said.
"It's gotta happen. It needs to happen," Tutt replied.
After some discussion, Lee agreed to let Tutt take the money and Tutt then cut the cables to the CCTV hard drives and stuffed them and the cash into a bag before tying Lee up to make it look like a hold-up.
Tutt was then driven away and later photographed some of the bundles of cash in his car, including one picture where his shorts and a bandage on his leg were visible.
Lee was found by another staff member tied up in the office about 5am.
He was untied, said he had been assaulted and robbed and the police were called.
Lee was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to John Hunter Hospital for treatment.
Pereira later conducted a television interview with NBN News, saying "hopefully Jamie is all right".
The State Crime Command's Robbery and Serious Crime Squad launched an investigation into the robbery, but that soon shifted focus to an inside job when police examined phone records.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Pereira and Tutt had discussed stealing from the club as early as November, 2024.
They picked the night of a major Australian Poker League tournament, which had a $75,000 prize pool, and planned for the stealing to look like an armed robbery.
But their plans were thrown into disarray on the night when Tutt injured his leg at Pereira's house.
Tutt took himself to John Hunter Hospital, but left at Pereira's request about 2.45am so he could complete the job.
He was driven to the club about 4.10am, pressed the intercom and said "It's Phil", as discussed with Pereira, to gain entry.
He was let in, spoke to Lee and then stole the cash from the safe and cut the cables to the CCTV hard drives.
He then used rope to tie Lee to an office chair and left.
The inside job unravelled when police examined Pereira's phone and found a number of deleted text messages to Tutt discussing the plan to steal the cash.
When they seized Tutt's phone they found the same messages as well as pictures of the cash.
In February last year, detectives revealed they believed the robbery had been staged and arrested Lee, Tutt and Pereira in a series of raids.
When Pereira was arrested he denied sending the messages to Tutt or being involved in the plot to stage the robbery.
He stuck with that version in the face of overwhelming evidence until pleading guilty on Thursday.
Court documents reveal Tutt had given about $20,000 in cash to Pereira and Pereira gave about $4600 to Lee, but the court has previously heard that police had still not recovered "a large sum" of the missing money.
There were rumours much of the proceeds of the robbery had been buried in the bush on the outskirts of Muswellbrook.
Judge Robert Stone was told on Thursday that Pereira had not paid back any of the money.
He is looking at a jail term when he is sentenced in October due to the position of trust he held at the bowling club and the amount of money stolen.
Tutt was jailed for a maximum of 16 months, with a non-parole period of six months for his role after a judge found he had taken part in a "calculated and professional operation to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars".
Lee avoided a jail term, despite a judge finding he had downplayed his involvement and was in a position of trust, with access to a significant amount of money.
He was placed on a 12-month intensive corrections order with 40 hours of community service.
