Simon Brophy bought a yacht, helicopter, sports car and even land and properties in the US after awarding his lighting company lucrative contracts at the Greenwich landmark.

While the Government was under pressure over the costs of the £800 million Dome, Brophy gave Pro-Design Ltd, a lighting company he secretly set up, £3.9 million of work.

In total he stole £1.1 million raised by the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC), the organisation responsible for the Thames site. Most of that cash had come from the National Lottery and business donations intended to pay for the lighting for the Millennium celebrations.

Despite being unqualified, Brophy was appointed head of lighting at the Dome on pay of £70,000 in July 1998 after impressing the management with his “youth, confidence and CV”, Anthony Leonard, QC, for the prosecution, told Southwark Crown Court.

Brophy, responsible for cost-cutting in his department, laundered NMEC money paid to him by his company through a complex network of offshore bank accounts. His wife, Margaret, who was cleared of any wrongdoing, was brought in to work as his deputy.

Brophy, 39, who had worked in theatre illumination, ran a team of 40 people, hired staff and helped to organise Dome lighting contracts. He never told his bosses that Pro-Design, the firm he repeatedly backed for the lighting maintenance contract, had been set up by him. He had made his mother, Ruth Barclay, and best friend, David Gordon, directors.

“Mr Brophy had the task of deciding which companies should be invited to tender for lighting at the Dome. His ability to influence this decision was important in terms of ensuring Pro-Design was successful in its eventual bid,” Mr Leonard said. Although none of the NMEC staff responsible for awarding the contract had heard of Pro-Design, it was granted the £1,924,152 deal in February 1999.

Pro-Design, represented by Gordon, 44, an Australian, went on to lodge invoices for £3.9 million. A total of £2.8 million was paid before the fraud and money-laundering scheme was uncovered. In August 2000 police began investigating after NMEC became suspicious of its newly appointed manager.

It emerged that Brophy set up the firm with fake signatures soon after he took the Dome job. In promotional literature he falsely claimed it had been trading for several years, employed scores of staff and had a “highly respected parent company” called Lumenation.

Pro-Design’s bid for the Dome contract included fake references from senior staff at MTV, Alton Towers and London theatres. Pro-Design was hiring lighting gear from one company that NMEC had used and then using it at the Dome but charging vastly higher hire rates to NMEC. Brophy had set up offshore accounts in Switzerland, Latvia, Florida, Guernsey and Jersey. Payments to his company allowed him to buy a helicopter and yacht, a £250,000 home in Docklands and a £160,000 house in Florida.

In only a few months he had spent £9,000 on a Porsche, £24,000 on a Range Rover, £9,728 on a stereo and £5,250 on jewellery for his wife.

Brophy, a former production manager at Sadler’s Wells in London and the Welsh National Opera, admitted conspiracy to defraud the NMEC, four counts of corruption, four of false information and one of removing the proceeds of crime from Britain. Gordon, from the Isle of Wight, also admitted a conspiracy charge.

Judge Christopher Hardy said that Brophy must have considered himself “extremely fortunate” when appointed to oversee “the biggest lighting project in Europe”. He was also barred from taking a company directorship for five years.

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