Roading rorters released for Christmas

Stephen Borlase (centre) and Murray Noone (right) at Auckland High Court in 2016 where they were found guilty of bribery relating to Auckland Transport roading contracts. Photo / File

The duo convicted in 2016 in New Zealand's largest bribery prosecution - involving more than a million dollars in kickbacks and tens of millions of dollars in roading contracts - have been released from prison.

According to decisions from the Parole Board, Stephen Borlase and Murray Noone were both recently granted early release after serving a third of their sentences.

Borlase, the former managing director of engineering firm Projenz, was found guilty of paying bribes to his co-accused and sentenced to five and a half years in prison.

Noone, a senior manager with Auckland Transport at the time of the offending, was given a five year sentence.

A seven-week trial heard of lavish entertainment spending by Projenz on Auckland Transport staff - including a 10-hour, $5500, long lunch at viaduct restaurant Euro - and a long-running financial relationship between the pair that saw more than $100,000 paid annually to Noone and disguised as "consulting" fees.

The Parole Board heard Noone now accepted "the amounts he received were disproportionate to the work he did with Projenz" and "acknowledges how his roles in both the private sector and public sector conflicted".

Noone was said to have used his time in prison "constructively".

"He has mentored other prisoners and impressed staff who have written letters of support for him."

The Parole Board said Borlase had been a "compliant prisoner" who had been employed in the prison kitchen.

The board said his family had suffered as a result of his offending, but he still enjoyed the support of his wife and immediate family.

Last year Police secured freezing orders as part of criminal recovery proceedings against Borlase's home, bach, commercial property, a number of luxury and classic automobiles, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash

Legal restrictions against Borlase - his dishonesty convictions prevent him from directing a company, and his professional status as an engineer has been stripped as a result of his convictions - would assist in ensuring "he does not place himself in a position where he can engage in serious corruption and bribery ever again in the future."

"One cannot also ignore the fact that his offending attracted significant media attention and his name is certainly in the public area," the parole board said.