A councillor who set up a fake heritage society to pocket the cash is facing jail after he was found guilty of fraud and tax evasion today.
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he → set → fraud
Jason Zadrozny, 46, an independent Nottinghamshire county councillor, had named himself chairman of the Ashfield Heritage Society (AHS) before applying for grants for 'good causes'.
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Zadrozny → name → causes
He then withdrew the money in cash – some of which was used to buy a house for more than £70,000 with friends and fellow Ashfield independent councillors Helen-Ann Smith and Thomas Hollis.
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some → withdraw → friends
When it sold for £168,000, Zadrozny was then 'gifted' £68,000.
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Zadrozny → sell → 68,000
Zadrozny -once Britain's youngest council leader - also set up a classic cinema club for Carry On film fans only to 'help himself' when it received a £1,200 tax payer grant.
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it → set → grant
Zadrozny, who was also leader of Ashfield District Council, earned £50,000 a year from his various public roles but was living beyond his means and often in debt, the court heard.
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court → earn → debt
At one point he had just £3 in his account.
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he → have → account
He denied fraud and callously tried to pin the blame on a dead former colleague and friend - claiming to have handed over the cash to him for a war memorial restoration project.
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He → deny → project
Jurors found him guilty of nine counts of fraud and four counts of tax evasion.
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him → find → evasion
He was told by the judge he was 'at risk of an immediate custodial sentence' when he is sentenced in November.
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he → tell → November
Jason Zadrozny, 42, and his husband Jack Bland, 28, who supported him in court every day
Zadrozny pictured campaigning denied 12 counts of fraud and four counts of tax evasion
Zadrozny pictured arriving at Northampton Crown Court for his trial
Following the guilty verdict, it can now be revealed Mr Hollis has a string of previous convictions, including for harassment of his neighbours following a row over a hot tub party during lockdown which he claimed was a council meeting.
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he → support → lockdown
He also has convictions for criminal damage and careless driving and was described by Reform MP Lee Anderson as 'Ashfield's number one public nuisance' and a 'one-man crime wave'.
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He → have → nuisance
Mr Hollis and Ms Smith were not charged in connection with these fraud proceedings.
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Hollis → charge → proceedings
Ms Smith gave evidence in which she described her relationship with Zadrozny as that of a 'brother and sister' but denied lying for him or being a 'front' when buying the property to conceal that Hollis and Zadrozny were the real owners.
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Hollis → give → property
Zadrozny's trial heard he opened a 'scam' bank account for AHS in 2018.
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he → hear → 2018
He applied for grants amounting to thousands of pounds which he withdrew in cash.
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he → apply → cash
He then applied for funding from the Councillors' Divisional Fund, a £5,000 pot made available to every representative by the county council to support local organisations.
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He → apply → organisations
Three days after setting up the account, he applied for £7,500 of funding for the group, including £3,500 from his own allocation, jurors were told.
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jurors → set → allocation
The court heard that the address on the application form was given as 213 Forest Road, which does not exist.
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which → hear → Road
Prosecutors said he set up the society 'which never existed and never did anything' and was given a fake address because he needed 'quite a bit of money, in a hurry'.
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he → say → hurry
The money was taken from the society's account in three withdrawals in March and April 2018 and Zadrozny said it was all handed over to Brewer, who died of covid in 2020.
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who → take → 2020
Financial records show he had previously transferred £12,000 to Mr Hollis for the house.
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he → show → house
The property was later bought for more than £70,000 by Ms Smith.
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property → buy → Smith
When the house was sold in September 2021, for £168,000, Ms Smith paid Hollis £97,000 and more than £68,000 was 'gifted' to Zadrozny.
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68,000 → sell → Zadrozny
In August 2018, Zadrozny asked for a further £1,600 for AHS for 'funding towards the cost of commemorative events, badges, poppies and road decorations'.
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Zadrozny → ask → events
The money was again withdrawn in cash and within four minutes, £1,580 had been deposited in his personal account.
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1,580 → withdraw → account
Giving evidence, Zadrozny, who was supported in court by his husband Jack Bland, 28, claimed the society was set up to fund the cleaning and repairing of memorials for the 100-year anniversary of the end of the First World War.
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society → give → War
He said he had taken the cash out of the bank and handed it immediately over to former Ashfield District council chairman Tony Brewer, who died aged 74 from Covid in 2020 to carry out the work.
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who → say → work
Zadrozny said he never doubted Brewer's integrity and 'goodness shone out of him'.
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integrity → say → him
Zadrozny, who was first elected in 2007, told police officers Mr Brewer was 'one of the nicest people' adding: 'I am quite frankly annoyed about this - he is not here to defend himself.'
The interview ended when officers pointed out the two people he had named to corroborate his story were both dead.
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he → elect → story
He was asked by one of the officers: 'Is there anyone you can name we can go and speak to who might be able to clear up these issues?
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who → ask → issues
To which Zadrozny replied: 'I don't know.'
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I → reply → which
Mr Brewer's partner told the court she was 'upset' with Zadrozny for trying to 'blame' him.
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she → tell → him
The court heard evidence from several people who had known Mr Brewer – including family members – and none said they had ever heard him speak of AHS or any projects connected to it.
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him → hear → it
One of those questioned was Patricia Percival, the partner of Mr Brewer for more than 30 years, who said that to say she was upset with Mr Zadrozny would be an 'understatement'.
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she → question → Zadrozny
Zadrozny handed the cash over to deputy leader Helen-Ann Smith for the purchase of a property
Fellow deputy leader Tom Hollis also has a string of criminal convictions and faces calls to stand down
When the police started making inquiries about Zadrozny's handling of council cash in 2021, it was found the cash in the cinema club's file in his house was not made up of the same notes as originally withdrawn in 2019.
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cash → hand → 2019
Zadrozny rejected the suggestion he had replaced the money after being 'caught with his hands in the cookie jar', instead claiming he had swapped the original paper notes when they were being phased out for new polymer ones.
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they → reject → ones
But the defendant agreed with his defence barrister's suggestion that each of these cases 'looked a mess' and 'looked fishy'.
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each → agree → mess
Zadrozny studied acting at university before becoming a community centre manager.
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Zadrozny → study → manager
He was Britain's youngest council leader when he took charge of Ashfield District Council in 2007 aged 27 and then a Liberal Democrat.
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he → take → 2007
…and 5 more, not listed.
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