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A former Manukau City Council team leader has appeared in court charged with fraudulently obtaining $350,000 of ratepayer money to feed his gambling addiction.
David Allan Keighley, 52, who worked as a team leader in the council's customer services department, appeared in Manukau District Court on Tuesday. He was bailed to reappear on October 16.
The case involves nearly 70 offences believed to have been committed over a two-year period.
When approached by the Herald on Sunday at his home in Avondale, Keighley declined to comment and referred all questions to his lawyer Ian Tucker. Tucker said he had no authority to speak about the case and Manukau police also declined to comment.
Council chief executive Leigh Auton said that the alleged fraud had been picked up by the council's internal auditing processes.
