The Aporia · Former WA deputy council chief accused of fraud, theft bailed on new charges

Former WA deputy council chief accused of fraud, theft bailed on new charges

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗

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Murphy, H. (2026, September 29). Former WA deputy council chief accused of fraud, theft bailed on new charges. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/former-wa-deputy-council-chief-accused-of-fraud-theft-bailed-on-new-charges-20260929-p611fx.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Sam Curulli, 27, former deputy chief executive of the Shire of Coorow in Western Australia, was recently dismissed from his position amid allegations of fraud, theft, and corruption involving thousands of dollars stolen through expense accounts. New charges including drug possession and supply were filed against him last week. Curulli appeared before Perth Magistrates Court via video link on Tuesday and was granted bail under new conditions that restrict his contact with the Shire and its employees, except for his father-in-law who is a councillor. His bail includes a $50,000 personal undertaking paid by his mother.

Written by AI on 2026-09-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Sam Curulli, 27, the former deputy chief executive of the Shire of Coorow, was granted bail on new charges of possessing drugs and supplying methylamphetamine after being fired for alleged theft and fraud. Curulli had already been charged with multiple offenses related to his time as deputy chief executive between May and December 2025, including corruption and stealing thousands of dollars from the council's funds by misusing expense accounts and selling ordered products for personal gain.

In addition to these charges, Curulli was also banned from contacting Mia Maxfield, who had recently been reinstated as CEO after a contentious council vote. He is required to stay away from both the Shire of Coorow and its employees except for his father-in-law, councillor Gene Haddington. The 27-year-old must provide a $50,000 personal undertaking as part of his bail conditions.

Written for “Fraud Charges Against Ex-Leader” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 25% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Former shire deputy continued offending after March arrest, police allege Different event

The Sydney Morning Herald

Hedges 3 of 11 claims Outlet record 61/100

“The articles describe different phases or updates about Sam Curulli's legal troubles; Article A focuses on charges after March arrest while Article B covers his bail for new charges following dismissal.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

25%

3 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

61/100

The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5721 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Hannah Murphy

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Topics

Coorow Perth Magistrates Court WAtoday the Shire of Coorow

Subjects

Curulli PERSON · 3× Maxfield PERSON · 2× Coorow GPE · 1× Gene Haddington PERSON · 1× Mia Maxfield PERSON · 1× Perth Magistrates Court ORG · 1× Sam Curulli PERSON · 1× WAtoday PERSON · 1× the Shire of Coorow GPE · 1×

Narrative

He also has an order not to contact Mia Maxfield, who was recently reinstated as chief executive officer after the council voted to terminate her contract at a council meeting earlier this month.

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-29

🔮 Sam Curulli, 27, has been charged with a raft of offences relating to his time as the Shire of Coorow deputy chief executive, including fraud, corruption, and stealing between May and December 2025.

2026-09-29 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Former WA deputy council chief accused of fraud, theft bailed on new charges · mixed framing

Claims (12 extracted, 3 hedged)

The former deputy chief executive of a Mid West council has been granted bail days after being charged with dozens of new offences following his dismissal from the local government for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from their coffers. uncertain

executive → grant → coffers

Sam Curulli, 27, has been charged with a raft of offences relating to his time as the Shire of Coorow deputy chief executive, including fraud, corruption, and stealing between May and December 2025. uncertain

Curulli → charge → May

At the time, police said Curulli used expense accounts to obtain items for his own personal benefit, and also sold some of the ordered products, pocketing the money for himself. asserted

Curulli → say → himself

New charges were also laid against Curulli late last week, relating to allegedly possessing drugs and supplying methylamphetamine. uncertain

charges → lay → methylamphetamine

He appeared in Perth Magistrates Court via video link on Tuesday, where he applied for bail in the new charges. asserted

he → appear → charges

Curulli was granted bail on the new charges, but police asked new conditions were imposed on him as a result of his release. asserted

conditions → grant → release

He was ordered not to contact the Shire of Coorow or any of its employees aside from his father-in-law, who happens to be councillor Gene Haddington. asserted

who → order → law

The 27-year-old has a $50,000 personal undertaking as part of his bail, and his mother has paid his surety. asserted

mother → have → surety

He also has an order not to contact Mia Maxfield, who was recently reinstated as chief executive officer after the council voted to terminate her contract at a council meeting earlier this month. asserted

council → have → meeting

A number of councillors had previously attempted to resign about the same time as Maxfield’s attempted firing, and the decision was ultimately reversed. asserted

decision → attempt → firing

She has now been suspended with pay. asserted

She → suspend → pay

WAtoday is not accusing Maxfield of any wrongdoing. asserted

WAtoday → accuse → wrongdoing