Versalko release in doubt

Stephen Versalko. Photo / Dean Purcell.

Stephen Versalko could once go anywhere he liked, flying high on the ill-gotten proceeds of the country's biggest ever employee fraud.

Now his mother has died and his family does not know whether he will be allowed out of prison to attend the funeral on Tuesday.

Versalko, 52, is serving a six-year prison term for stealing $17.8 million from 30 wealthy clients during a nine-year period while he worked for ASB Bank.

He is understood to be in Rangipo, one of the country's most remote prisons, near Mt Tongariro and the Desert Road.

His mother, Margaret, died at a North Shore retirement village on New Year's Eve.

A requiem mass will be held for her on Tuesday, followed by a private cremation in Glenfield, north Auckland.

Her husband, Ivan Versalko, said he had not yet heard whether his son would be at the funeral.

"I would expect so, but it's not for us to decide."

However, other family members said they did not expect him to attend.

A prisoner can apply to go to a funeral, tangi or commemoration of a family member or close friend. This needs to be approved by the prison's chief executive or delegate, who may impose specific conditions such as a time limit or a police escort.

A Corrections Department spokesman said yesterday that any decision on Versalko's temporary release would be considered under the Corrections Act 2004.