A dodgy property developer jailed for multi-million-pound fraud was in business with a crooked Merseyside Police Chief Inspector who knew he had been placed under investigation.
Ware of Old Mill Lane in Wavertree, was last week locked up for eight years and Wortley, of Dunbeath Avenue in Rainhill, for six years after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court. The charges followed a six year investigation dubbed Operation Benadir, an investigation that Rice was aware of long before any charges were announced.
Rice's business interests became the focus of a major internal investigation by the force's Anti-Corruption Unit, dubbed Operation Redshift, which although did not result in criminal charges led to disciplinary proceedings being initiated. Initially Rice was treated as a victim of fraud after it emerged a law firm linked to Mr C had "double sold" a £600,000 property on Linnet Lane to the then officer and to a Saudi businessman, leaving Rice with a mortgage on a property he did not legally own.
Rice told the panel he never had any concerns over Ware, describing him a "nice guy" who he believed was a respectable businessman. However the panel heard he had received texts from a woman who worked for Ware, telling him the developer "was running with the Ungis" now, a reference to a "prominent organised crime group."