A former chief prosecutor at the Serious Fraud Office has been discharged without conviction for forging and sending emails that appeared to have been written by her employer.
Anita Killeen pleaded guilty at the Auckland District Court on Tuesday to two charges relating to emails purportedly written by her former boss, SFO chief executive Adam Feeley.
Ms Killeen worked at the SFO until 2010, when her position was dropped during restructuring.
The emails sent to the National Business Review and New Zealand Herald suggested that Mr Feeley had predetermined the outcome of a restructuring review.
Judge Mary Beth Sharp told the court on Tuesday that Ms Killeen was suffering from severe side-effects from a fertility drug when the emails were created. She said the side-effects include irrational behaviour and obsession with past events.
Judge Sharp said the offending was serious, but the effects of a conviction would mean Ms Killeen would not be able to carry on with what she called a distinguished career. She discharged Ms Killeen without conviction.
