South Australian Independent MP Troy Bell has been found guilty of multiple charges of theft and dishonest dealing with documents. The state member for Mt Gambier was found to have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from not-for profit organisations before he was an MP and could now face expulsion from Parliament.
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00:00After two days of waiting, Troy Bell learned his fate.
00:08The jury found the 51-year-old independent MP guilty of 20 counts of theft and 5 counts
00:14of dishonest dealing. Bell was found not guilty of one count of dishonest dealing with documents.
00:20Troy Bell is a very well-known and very well-liked local MP. We've all found it quite surprising
00:28what the verdict has been.
00:30The state member for Mount Gamby was first charged back in 2017 following an investigation
00:35by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
00:38These allegations make me feel sick to my stomach and I'm in a state of shock and disbelief.
00:43But the case only went to trial in June this year. The court hearing the offending occurred
00:47between 2009 and 2013 when Bell was a Department of Education employee before he was elected
00:54as a Liberal Member of Parliament. The jury accepted Bell stole more than $430,000 from
01:00not-for-profit organisations that supported disengaged and vulnerable youths to fund home
01:06renovations and pay credit card debts.
01:09In Mount Gambier, where Bell has twice been re-elected after being charged, there was
01:13anger.
01:13You expect honest people to be there, not crook people.
01:17I think that's terrible. I don't think he should be in that position at all. I don't
01:21think that's someone that should be a leader of our town.
01:24It's unclear at this stage if Bell will appeal the jury decision. His legal team has described
01:29the prosecution case as a mad rabble with more holes in it than a balfour's crumpet.
01:34The political future for Bell, who immediately left the Liberal Party when he was charged
01:38seven years ago, is now tenuous. Given the guilty verdict, he's facing expulsion from
01:43Parliament.
01:44Let's see if there is an avenue of appeal that's open to Mr Bell. That'll be a matter
01:48for the courts. And then of course the judgement of Mr Bell about whether he chooses to take
01:53that up.
01:54Whether he is expelled, resigns or takes the case to appeal remains to be seen.