SiN Exclusive - Mr Wily and Mrs Morris

Tony Morris's bankruptcy

trustee Andrew Wily. Photo

courtesy Armstrong Wily

IN February 2011 insolvency specialist Andrew Wily travelled to an exclusive street on Sydney's northern beaches.

Wily had been appointed trustee in bankruptcy to the estate of Tony Morris after Morris had earlier failed to pay $50,000 in legal fees owed to HWL Ebsworth. 

But Tony Morris wasn't home when Wily and his senior manager Fleur Evans arrived armed with a detailed home and contents insurance policy. 

Instead he was languishing in Parklea prison, awaiting extradition to London to face charges relating to the disappearance of tens of millions of pounds from multiple British pension funds.

Robinson misses out on the whole $100k

Barrister Ross Goodridge (L) and
Church & Grace partner Gino Pignone
leave the Hospital Road courts
Photo: SiN Images 

Mark Robinson’s hopes of an unencumbered $100,000 were dashed by NSW Supreme Court justice Ashley Black last week.

The PPB Advisory partner and ex- president of the Insolvency Practitioners of Australia (IPA) is the trustee in bankruptcy to Sydney barrister Ross Goodridge, who for many years has been in dispute with his former close friend, solicitor Adrian Barwick.

Goodridge won judgement against Barwick in January, 2008 for the sum of $1.1 million.

Barwick has since repaid the majority of the money.

Strathfield in administration - again

Strathfield Group
chairman Vaz Hovanessian.
Photo: SiN Images.

AFTER two weeks of desperate negotiations, Strathfield Group chairman Vaz Hovanessian has appointed Andrew Wily and Paul Fury from Armstrong Wily as external administrators to the crippled telco. Creditors will see a reconstruction proposal next month.

Hovanessian told SiN yesterday he’d spent much of the past fortnight persuading Optus, the company’s main supplier, to continue trading with the beleaguered group.

“If we go into liquidation Optus is going to pull the plug and the only asset we have is the Optus contract,” Hovanessian said.

“The only way is to stay in business, carry on to preserve the contract and you can see why there was frantic negotiations with Optus,” he said, adding the telco was still paying commissions to Strathfield as per the contract.

Paola Toppi delays bankruptcy notice

THE Toppi family has built an enviable reputation for food, service and marketing savvy on the back of its Clarence Street eatery Machiavelli.

A great many of SiN’s readers have availed themselves of its excellent dishes including the deep fried prawn cutlets.

Perhaps then power-lunch- hubris is what’s led Paola Toppi, daughter of the restaurant’s white smock-wearing institution Giovanna Toppi, into the bankruptcy courts?

Paola recently managed to obtain an extension to a deadline to comply with a bankruptcy notice served on her on September 19 by Cobbity Lodge Stud & Stables Pty Ltd.

It wasn’t much of an extension and SiN expects there will be more to report shortly. Maybe Paola should have stuck to the antipasto misto.

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Terrorism expertise no protection against debt threats

ACCORDING to her LinkedIn profile, Nessa Doyle is a senior account manager at Westpac specialising in anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing.

That expertise has not however saved the Bondi resident from threats to her personal solvency.

That's why she approached O'Brien Palmer's Chris Palmer about a Personal Insolvency Agreement (PIA).

O'Brien told SiN that he didn't anticipate any serious opposition to Doyle's PIA. Thankfully, Doyle's work at Westpac can continue unencumbered.

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Byrnes still augmenting Sydney's streets

THE corner of Castlereagh and Bathurst Streets is a long way from the DoCS office at Wagga Wagga. 

Nevertheless SiN does not believe that former "insolvency expert" Jim Byrnes had detoured on his way to his new job as a public servant in the state's south west to scoff a quick Subway sub when he was spotted around nine o'clock this morning.

The notorious figure was observed near the entrance to the Subway outlet, addressing an unidentified man in an animated manner. 

SiN turned away for no more than 20 seconds but in that time James, who moves quickly for a big man, had vanished as if he’d never been there at all.

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