Storrie: Now everyone can know I’m innocent
120374-543_PETER_STORRIE_SR_1/2/12 Former Pompey chief executive Peter Storrie talks to Neil Allen of The News about his four year legal ordeal and subsequent aquittal , at his home on Hayling Island. Picture: Steve Reid (120374-543)
When Peter Storrie walked into a room, the whispering started.
Nothing to do with rampant paranoia or grand delusions of self-importance, you understand. He could hear them.
They were the polite ones.
One person waved £10 notes in front of his face, while some would indiscreetly turn their backs.
Others opted to take to the internet to assassinate his character, spitting words which proved to be most piercing of all.
Even walking his two dogs and watching his stepson play parks football attracted unwelcome attention for Pompey’s former chief executive.
After all, for more than four years this was a man whose name had been inextricably linked with tax evasion.
But even after Storrie was cleared of all charges on October 20 last year, the world remained ignorant of the established truth.
Fears such an announcement may prejudice the trials of his former Fratton Park colleagues Harry Redknapp and Milan Mandaric, meant the 59-year-old was ordered to prolong his suffering.
That was until Redknapp and Mandaric themselves were found not guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday.
Now the whispering has ceased.
Storrie may still be a controversial figure in the eyes of some Pompey fans, who feel he contributed to the club’s financial demise.
But as far as the criminal accusations which were thrown at him go, it’s time for Storrie to shout out his innocence loud and clear.
He said: ‘I now have the opportunity to go back to those people and say “I told you so from day one”.
‘All the time you know you can hear people. You go to a function and can hear them talking about you. You know you are being mentioned, they’re saying “he’s the guy on trial”.
‘I remember going to the Queen’s Club for the tennis and bumping into someone I hadn’t seen for many years from my West Ham days.
‘I went into the toilet and when I came out, I heard him talking to another guy.
‘He was saying “I was talking to this chap, what’s his name, used to be chief executive of West Ham? The one that has done all that tax evasion”.
‘I remember it clearly. Those sort of comments stick in your mind and you think “Do people think there is no smoke without fire?”.
‘Another time I was at Southampton after watching Pompey win there.
‘As I was leaving, a Southampton fan waved money in my face saying “You can’t even pay your own taxes”.
‘My family were with me, including my stepson with his girlfriend who would later become his wife.
‘Then I have read stuff on these internet sites which would be something like “Well, we can’t hear anything from Peter Storrie because he has been found guilty and is in prison”.
‘The worst one said: “He’s got off because he has turned in Queen’s evidence against Harry and Milan”.
‘It was my daughter who rang up and told me about that one. That is the sort of thing myself and my family had to read.
‘You have to tell yourself that these are people you don’t know, they are ignorant, they don’t know the facts, they don’t know the information.
‘I was unanimously found innocent of all charges. As I always said, I am innocent.’
It was back on November 28, 2007, when a 6am raid on his Hayling Island home by the City of London Police served as a life-changing moment for Storrie.
Simultaneously, the houses of Redknapp, Mandaric and agent Willie McKay were also set upon.
The swoops were part of the high-profile investigation into alleged corruption in football.
Storrie was charged for tax evasion in October 2009, relating to the 2003 transfer of Amdy Faye to Pompey when it was alleged a £250,000 payment was made to Faye’s agent McKay.
A second charge was added in May 2010 relating to a payment to former Pompey midfielder Eyal Berkovic into an offshore account.
Mandaric was charged with the same offence. Ultimately, McKay and Berkovic were never charged, while Redknapp, Mandaric and Storrie were found not guilty by the courts.
For Storrie, though, that police raid would precede more than four years of hell.
He added: ‘I was put into a police cell for 10 hours. They had taken away my shoes and belt.
‘All I had to do was read OK magazine.
‘Since April 2007 we had been nothing but helpful, giving all the information they wanted and insisting we would be very happy to meet them and go through any more questions. It came as a bit of a shock. Why were they using this heavy-handed method?
‘In the seriousness of all of this, what made me laugh was the reason for being in that cell so long was because they were waiting for Harry Redknapp to “give himself up”.
‘It made me think of Wild West movies when they said that!
‘Harry had been away to watch a football game in Germany.
‘He was eventually put into the cell next to me. I could hear him.
‘Never did I dream in 100 years it would end up in the crown court.’
It took the jury at Southwark Crown Court just three hours to unanimously clear Storrie.
That included a set one-hour lunch break. The moment the verdict was delivered has left an indelible mark on the former Blues chief executive.
And he is convinced the saga has also scarred his name for life.
He said: ‘The verdict will never, ever make up for the four years my name has been rubbished.
‘When it was delivered, my wife, Frances, gave a hysterical cry.
‘That moment you will always, always remember. I will never forget that. When we were charged, from that moment onwards you can’t help but feel you might go to prison. It’s on your mind. Although you are confident within yourself, it is down to how other people see it.
‘Through it all, though, my wife and family got me through – and self-belief. You know you are innocent, so you are very determined.
‘Publicly, though, my name and reputation were damaged over four years. That was terrible.
‘And it has changed me. It really has.’
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Comments
There are 51 comments to this article
Page 1 of 4
alfonso
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 10:24 AMI'm glad that Mr Storrie can now get on with his life. He's only 59 - a comparatively young man - so what can he do to fill his time whilst awaiting for another job? I would suggest he writes a book detailing his time as an employee of PFC. A significant number of fans of other clubs insist that Pompey "bought" the FA Cup spending money it didn't have but it could not have all been like that. If you buy somebody for a reported 6 million and sell him on for an estimated 17 or 18 million. If you buy someone for a couple of million and he then ends up at Real Madrid for around 20 million.....but where did it all go? Who took what? How did they get away with it? I'm sure that Mr Storrie could set the record straight and prove to us fans that he is a great guy -despite being paid astronomical sums of money and win bonuses, etc!
Trueblue78
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 09:57 AMHe may be cleared of tax evasion, but he'll never be cleared by the fans, for ripping our club to pieces to line his own back pocket. Where was all the money going? £80m or so in player sales. £0.5b through the club in 7 years. £1.2m a year salary. How about he dips in his pockets and chips in for the tax bill!!! Dodgy lying c11nt
coscliffy
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 07:49 PMYes alot has been said in this column about Peter Storrie, what I would like now is for him to come clean and tell us exactly what went on at Pompey during his time there. He has no ties there now and I am sure we all would like to know the truth. So, come on Peter tell us.
hateleys head
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 05:32 PMblueshirt @43. Totally agree and well said. Look at his poor little sad innocent face, wouldnt trust him with a kids piggy bank.
CharlestonPompey
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:33 PMOK now - I'm sure I'm being very gullible and uninformed here, but Cllr Dave Smith - please tell me that's just a username and not an indication of a public office you holdheld at some point. Because if it is - I must say that I would expect a far better grasp of basic punctuation and grammar by a person elected to a position of such authority than that displayed in your post. As for your views, you are entitled to them. I'm sure Peter Storrie, whatever his deeds may suggest, is a very personable and engaging man. He would have to be to have mugged so many people, or likewise - if truly ethically innocent - to have been mugged and conned by so many to have willingly acted as their pawn in the orchestration of this unholy mess.
piers657
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:12 PMPS your missing the point. You may not have been involved with Harry and Milans problems. You are guilty of mismanaging portsmouths finances in your position of CEO
blueshirt
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 04:08 PMI do not normally criticise the News or this forum board, but I must say that I find the decision to devote the huge column space above to this particular former PFC employee and his self-pitying whingeing disagreeable to say the least, especially when the News seems unable to find space to mention anywhere the three community awards Portsmouth FC is in line for............. Right about now the football club and its fans could use just a little bit of positive news, and the inclusion of the above rubbish to the exclusion of the community awards seems rather unfair, to say the least, to me.........surely the community awards are more deserving of reporting than the gripes of this bloke??? Surely the fact of PFC clearly getting something RIGHT for a change deserves better coverage??
LI 125
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 03:57 PMCllr Dave Smith @36 - I am happy to see you have a good opinion of Peter Storrie but part of your post needs some clarification. Your mention of Peter Storrie flying all over the world to save his beloved Pompey. Yes he did fly to Australia at that time .... for an interview as the CEO of the Australian FA !! He loved us that much that we was trying to get out before the you know what hit the fan.
blueshirt
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 03:06 PMinnocent in law is one thing. but he's guilty of greed and mismanagement on a monumental scale...........this is the CEO who made himself the highest paid CEO in the country, who employed a member of his family as an executive and paid him a nice fat salary, when he was nothing more than a driver, and who paid himself a win bonus just like the players every time they won a game..nice work if you can get it, eh?? Storrie feathered his own nest to the detriment of PFC, and carried on getting obscenely high wages all the while they were going into meltdown financially..........nothing at all illegal, but certainly unacceptable to the people who lost their jobs and their money while the club Storrie was running, crashed in flames, and while money collected for charity went.........well, who knows where?? Peter Storrie played a major role in the financial shipwreck that PFC became, and THAT is why his name is reviled and he is universally disliked and "persona non grata" with most Pompey fans.......you can whine all you like, Peter Storrie, but your complaints and moans cut no ice at all with the fans of PFC who have seen what you did to our club, while lining your own pockets......
PompeyBlue1962
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 02:07 PMAs some on this forum have already alluded, there is a huge difference between being declared innocent of a crime and being found not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Storrie can't even tell the truth about this. Quit telling us you were found innocent.
sparticus
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 01:51 PM@35.... Now that would be a first. PS posting the TRUTH of what has happened to "His beloved Pompey". If you really want to get your points across, what better place to discuss it straight with the Pompey fans...... or are you waiting for your book to be published. Did i read somewhere on this website that PS could be behind one of the "BIDS" sat on AA's desk?
bluelagoon
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 01:49 PM36 - Cllr - Bring on the violins!
thependragon81
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 01:42 PMCllr Dave Smith - I have also met Peter and you and he may believe he is an honourable man, but that does not stop him from being a naive and useless CEO.
BARRY DOBLE
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 01:40 PMFlying all over the world to save his beloved POMPEY,give me a break!!!!!!!!!!!! funny how all of you have had your collar felt?What your complaint has to do with this subject who cares
EastMidsBlue
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 01:37 PMI do hope that the News will continue this column on Saint Peter, it would be very interesting to find out his views on a lot of what's gone pear-shaped and his views on the "Others". PS Steven Lawrences Murderers were also found not guilty - twice, didn't mean they didn't do it, simply insufficient evidence to convince a jury and gain a conviction. Case Closed.....For Now!
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