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 Former P.E.I Racing Employee Charged With TheftCharlottetown police have laid charges against a former employee of Harness Racing PEI in connection with a substantial amount of missing money. 'It's not very nice to go through something like this.' — Lee Drake, Harness Racing PEIWade Gordon Crozier, 38, of Cornwall faces charges of theft, forgery and fraud. Crozier was the director of finance for Harness Racing PEI when he resigned in September. Harness Racing PEI officials asked police to investigate after a routine internal review, and then an independent audit, conducted after Crozier's resignation showed money was missing. Lee Drake, director of marketing and promotions for Harness Racing PEI, told CBC News on Wednesday the investigation has been hard on staff. "It's always difficult at a time like this when something happens with an employee," said Drake. "There's a team here that works extremely hard, but I think the overall feeling is that we want to co-operate fully. We need full disclosure for what the authorities need to do their job and at the end of the day we want it dealt with. It's not very nice to go through something like this." Crozier began working for the organization in June 2005. The thefts are alleged to have begun that July, and continued through to the end of September of last year. Drake said there was nothing during that time to indicate there was a problem. Neither police nor Harness Racing PEI would reveal how much money is missing. Harness Racing PEI handles betting on races at the Charlottetown Driving Park and the Summerside Raceway. That comes to between $5 million and $6 million a year, and there is more money flowing through the organization for simulcast racing bets. Drake said Harness Racing PEI will likely review its financial procedures in light of the case. Crozier has been released with conditions until his court appearance on Feb. 19.
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