Friday's headlines: lavish lifestyle of Ponzi fraudster; Jesse Ryder and Doug Bracewell banned for a game after a drinking session in Napier; empty classrooms at seven scholls still under maintenance.
NZ Herald
The New Zealand Herald leads with the lavish lifestyle which businessman Gavin Bennett funded through a $103 million fraud. Bennett, 54, of Christchurch has made a surprise guilty plea to criminal charges related to a Ponzi-style scheme, similar in to the scams of the US fraudster Bernie Madoff.
Injured Black Caps Jesse Ryder and Doug Bracewell have been given a one game ban, following a drinking session in Napier.
Heavy rain and gale-force winds are expected over the weekend
The Waikato Times
The Waikato Times reports public money is being spent on the upkeep of defunct schools. More than $6 million worth of classrooms are sitting empty in seven school sites in Waikato, costing thousands of dollars per year to maintain.
A question mark said to be hanging over Jesse Ryder's entire career after the incident in Napier.
Dominion Post
The Dominion Post leads with that story, saying neither Jesse Ryder not his team-mate Doug Bracewell will be considered for Sunday's match against South Africa in Auckland.
The father of convicted child rapist Raurangi Marino is reported to be in police custody charged with assaulting his partner.
And the paper says parking charges in central Wellington will go up to to $4.50 per hour.
The Press
The Press leads with the Gavin Bennett story, saying he has gone straight into custody after admitting $23 million in frauds against South Canterbury Finance and living a lavish lifestyle off the proceeds.
Christchurch Cathedral leaders will make an important announcement on the building on Friday, with insiders revealing there is no appetite to rebuild and restore it.
ODT
The Otago Daily Times leads again with the financial problems of the Otago Rugby Football Union. The paper reports All Black captain Richie McCaw is among a rugby delegation in Dunedin to negotiate a North-South fundraising match, as part of a final push to save the union.
And the paper reports a group of Telford students and their tutors have been hailed as heroes after extinguishing a kitchen fire, which had already burned a woman and threatened her two young children, in a South Otago farmhouse.
