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Strategies & Market Trends : Anthony @ Equity Investigations, Dear Anthony, -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StockDung who wrote (82970)	1/15/2003 12:23:08 AM
From: SEC-ond-chance	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 122087

New Tel's ever bending stories 04Dec02 THE commercial relationships between Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu chief executive Domenic Martino and embattled New Tel chief Peter Malone stretched to more than 40 companies in the past few years, according to company records. But on February 22 this year, Mr Martino resigned from all of them citing his busy new role as chief executive of the accounting giant in Australia. New Tel is under fire for raising more than $100 million during the tech boom - a period through which Mr Martino was a director - but now has less than a few million dollars left. It announced a highly dilutive restructuring yesterday in a deal with the mysterious Broadband & Wireless group, which is still to secure Telstra's signature on a debt buyout. New Tel owes Telstra more than $10 million. Mr Martino was appointed chief executive of Deloitte in April last year, 10 months before he started cutting ties with Mr Malone's New Tel. Sources close to Mr Martino have indicated there was disquiet within Deloitte about the partners having extensive commercial relationships outside the firm. Mr Martino has denied this. While Mr Martino sat on the board of New Tel, Deloitte did extensive consultancy work, earning more than $4 million in the 1999-2000 to 2000-01 financial years alone. The Australian revealed yesterday that investors and creditors have been bemused by the role Mr Martino played on behalf of New Tel boss Mr Malone in the past month, given his resignation as a director in February. Astron Communications director Chris Burke, whose company was interested in buying New Tel assets, said Mr Martino held a meeting on Mr Malone's behalf last month. This contradicts Mr Martino, who said his only efforts for Mr Malone were to tell creditors to deal with insolvency company Sims Lockwood, a task he carried out as a favour to Mr Malone, with whom he has had a business relationship and friendship since the 1980s. Mr Martino resigned from New Tel on February 22 as well as quitting a host of other companies linked to himself and Mr Malone. These included 33 shelf companies: NGVS (No.1) Pty Ltd through to NGVS (No.19) Pty Ltd and Rand (No.1) Pty Ltd through to Rand (No.14) Pty Ltd. It's unclear what these companies do, but Mr Malone resigned from all of them on the same day as Mr Martino. This report appears on news.com.au.

To: StockDung who wrote (82970)	1/15/2003 12:25:05 AM
From: SEC-ond-chance	Read Replies (7) \| Respond to of 122087

DECEMBER 03, 2002 MYSTERY surrounds the role played by Domenic Martino, the head of one of Australia's largest accounting and consulting firms, in trying to save junior telco New Tel from collapse. Australian IT has learned that Mr Martino, chief executive of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in Australia, has been advising his long-time business associate and friend Peter Malone, chief executive of New Tel, to try to stitch-up deals to save the company and avoid the appointment of an independent administrator. His involvement comes despite Mr Martino himself denying such a role and attempts by Deloitte Touche to distance itself from the controversy. Mr Martino was a director of New Tel until February. Shareholders are angry that the company raised more than $100 million in equity - while Mr Martino was a director - but now sits on the brink of collapse. While he was a New Tel director, Deloitte earned more than $4 million in fees from New Tel in consulting work over the 2000 and 2001 financial years. The firm is one of a number of creditors to New Tel and is owed more than $300,000. Deloitte is also involved in accountancy work for New Tel. New Tel's accounts have not been signed off by auditors KPMG since the December half year as the firm tries to help restore the company on the lists of the Australian Stock Exchange. It was suspended from trading in late October. Mr Martino has consistently denied any involvement in negotiations with potential investors in New Tel over the past month, saying it would be a conflict of interest. But Chris Burke, a director of Sydney-based Astron Communications, met with Mr Martino in mid-November and discussed buying parts of the New Tel business. He and others at the meeting were left in no doubt that Mr Martino was playing an active role in New Tel's affairs. "A meeting was arranged with Peter Malone in Deloitte's offices," Mr Burke told The Australian. "(Mr Malone) didn't turn up. I waited for about 20 minutes and I was just about to leave but that's when Dominic took over." Mr Burke's account of Mr Martino's role tallies with creditors who, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have been surprised by the high-profile role Mr Martino has taken in New Tel. "We could not really determine why he contacted us or what his role was," one creditor said. Mr Martino stressed that his role was merely to tell creditors that insolvency firm Sims Lockwood was handling the New Tel issue. A spokeswoman for Deloitte would not comment about the Burke meeting. australianit.news.com.au