A council boss has admitted defrauding the taxpayer of £230,000 through bogus contracts.
David Archer, 56, formerly of Cheviot Drive in Chelmsford, was scheduled to stand trial at Chelmsford Crown Court this week but failed to show, and today (October 24) changed his pleas to guilty.
The once-respected local government officer first pleaded guilty to obtaining a money transfer of £75,985.45 by deception from Chelmsford Borough Council between June 2004 and January 2007 by falsely claiming work had been carried out by Essex Play Council.
He also pleaded guilty to fraud, by falsely claiming £156,470.63 in work had been carried out by Essex Play Council on behalf of Chelmsford Borough Council between June 2007 and December 2010.
But Essex Play Council was an obsolete charity that had remained inactive since 1992.
Investigations by Chelmsford council also found the bank account for Essex Play Council was in fact registered to his own home address.
Divorced Archer was first charged after he was rumbled at the council back in February 2013. But a trial has been put off four times.
On Tuesday, Judge Christopher Ball QC issued a warrant for his arrest and by Wednesday morning he had been located near his home in Nottingham, but was taken to hospital when police found him unwell.
Eventually today he was escorted to Chelmsford in a security van where, appearing unshaven and more overweight than in his days at the council, he admitted wrongdoing.
"This was a trial that would have been yours," said Judge Ball, speaking before a jury before dismissing them entirely.
"The defendant failed to attend although he knew about the trial. Efforts were made to secure his attendance and those efforts were considerable and involved a lot of police activity."
Speaking after the proceedings, prosecutor Linda Strudwick said Archer was spending 100 per cent more than his income during his offending, and spent an average £1,500 per month on credit cards.
She told the Chronicle: "His offending was an abuse of his position of trust involving flagrant taking of the council's money.
"He was living well beyond his means."
Alison Chessell, insurance and risk manager at Chelmsford City Council, formerly a borough councillor before Chelmsford received city status in 2012, would have stood as the prosecution's first witness in the trial.
"It's been a lengthy investigation which we have taken very seriously," said Ms Chessell, who said the guilty plea was unexpected at such a late stage.
"We as witnesses have been deferred multiple times, and it's incredibly difficult, especially considering he is an ex-colleague you are having to give evidence against."
She added: "He was a senior officer of the council so yes, a very serious offence, and we took it very seriously at the time and have worked very hard, conducting a detailed investigation with police and CPS."
In the approximate 30 minutes Archer remained in court, defence lawyer Christopher Paxton asked for his client to be granted bail until sentencing so he could tend to his terminally ill partner in Nottingham.
Judge Ball however refused, and said: "I just don't have that confidence in you because I fear that the emotion of the moment will overcome you between now and next Friday and I fear we will have another pantomime all over again."
Archer was remanded in custody to be sentenced on Friday (October 31).
