Brent Bachop, the man at the centre of the Dunedin City Council's $1.5 million Citifleet fraud, took his own life as pressure mounted on him about irregularities found within his department, a coroner has ruled.
But the Dunedin City Council has been cleared of any wrongdoing that might have contributed to his death, having acted appropriately in offering support to Mr Bachop, coroner David Crerar ruled yesterday.
Mr Bachop, the council's Citifleet manager, died on May 21 last year, nearly a week after he was first approached by other council managers about the irregularities within Citifleet on May 15.
Investigations by Deloitte and Dunedin police subsequently placed him at the centre of a fraud involving the sale of 152 council vehicles and the pocketing of proceeds over more than a decade.
Mr Crerar, in a finding made public yesterday, ruled Mr Bachop committed suicide at his rural property when faced with an ‘‘overwhelming issue which he must have felt that he could not face''.
Exact details of his death were suppressed.
However, the council was found to have acted appropriately in its handling of events surrounding Mr Bachop's death, having offered support, including counselling advice, after he was first approached, Mr Crerar ruled.
‘‘I have no evidence that the actions by DCC to, or for, Brent Bachop were inappropriate.''
Mr Crerar, in his findings, said Mr Bachop's body was discovered at home about 8pm on May 21, hours after then council colleague Kevin Thompson - a friend of Mr Bachop - called police to express concern he was unable to contact Mr Bachop.
Mr Thompson had earlier asked Mr Bachop to attend a meeting at the council's offices on May 15, following a financial audit which revealed discrepancies within the council's vehicle, plant and equipment stocks.
Mr Thompson said Mr Bachop was ‘‘quiet'' and ‘‘not contributing to the conversation'' during the meeting, and there was little contact between the pair in the days after.
That prompted Mr Thompson to contact council chief executive Dr Sue Bidrose on May 21 to say he was ‘‘very concerned'' about Mr Bachop's behaviour.
Mr Thompson and Craig Coburn, another council staff member at the time, then met Mr Bachop later that day to discuss the vehicle disposal process.
‘‘Kevin Thompson recalled Brent Bachop saying at the meeting words to the effect that, ‘I've got nothing to hide and I've done nothing wrong'.''
After the meeting, Mr Coburn gave Mr Bachop information about the council's counselling programme and how he could gain support and guidance with personal or work issues.
Mr Coburn later asked Mr Thompson to contact Mr Bachop and advise him of a formal meeting, to be held later on May 21, to discuss Citifleet issues.
Mr Thompson did so by email, but received nothing back, and Mr Bachop did not respond to cellphone calls. Mr Thompson found this to be ‘‘completely out of character'', so went to Mr Bachop's home and assisted with a search that ended with the discovery of his body by Mr Bachop's widow.
His widow, who Mr Crerar ruled cannot be named, told police she was unaware Mr Bachop was being investigated for fraud until after the discovery of his body.
She later asked Mr Thompson if anything had happened at work, but he was non-committal, and police informed her later that night of the fraud investigation. Toxicology tests later found no trace of alcohol, cannabis or other drugs in Mr Bachop's body.
Police concluded his death was not suspicious, and the Southern District Health Board advised Mr Bachop had never approached any of the board's mental health services.
The council had given Mr Crerar a report into its investigations into Mr Bachop's role in the Citifleet fraud, and a copy of Deloitte's report.
Mr Crerar was required to determine whether the actions of the council or its managers, as Mr Bachop's employers, were appropriate, and whether he should investigate the fraud allegations against Mr Bachop as a circumstance of his death.
Mr Crerar made no ruling on whether Mr Bachop was guilty of criminal offending in relation to the fraud, saying that would be ‘‘inappropriate'', but accepted his involvement in the fraud was a factor in his death.
‘‘It is ... the stress which the allegations and the following investigations have created which is relevant to this inquiry.''
Cases of suicide often involved several contributing factors, but in Mr Bachop's case, ‘‘it is acknowledged that there is one overwhelming issue which he must have felt that he could not face'', Mr Crerar found.
Mr Bachop left no suicide note, but ‘‘circumstantial evidence'' was sufficient to indicate he took his own life, Mr Crerar ruled.
He extended his sympathy to those affected by Mr Bachop's death.
Council chief executive Dr Sue Bidrose declined to comment yesterday, while Mayor Dave Cull would only say he was pleased the city's handling of the affair had been vindicated.
