Major doubts were this afternoon cast on the reliability of a photocopy of an employment agreement at the heart of the Auckland Pride Centre fraud case currently before a District Court jury. Pride Centre employee Martin van der Reit faces seventeen charges of fraud to the extent of $35,000, and one charge of perverting the course of justice. The fraud charges relate to the issuing by van der Reit of cheques in late 2003 and early 2004 which had been pre-signed by Pride Centre trust board members. It is alleged that van der Reit attempted to later pervert the course of justice by falsifying a copy of his employment contract to imply the total amount in contention was due to him as part of his salary package. Shown a photocopy of the employment agreement which appeared to show $55,000 as the agreed annual full time salary for van der Reit, rather than the $19,000 part time salary the Pride Centre trustees say they authorised, then-trust chair Joel Stutter told the court this afternoon it was obvious that before the photocopy was made a piece of paper had been stuck over the original amount altering the salary figure. "The original was $19,000," he said. "You can see where a piece of paper has been stuck to the original document... it's in a different font." Stutter, previously known as Angus Stutter, also pointed out what he claimed was further evidence against the document's reliability. He said an email address quoted in the document was a personal one he had stopped using well before 2003. "If I had seen that document I would have picked that up," he said. "It would have stood out like a sore thumb then, just like it does now." Like his co-trustee Edward Bennett yesterday, Stutter confirmed that he had been in the habit of sighting invoices at board meetings, then, "when I was in a hurry," pre-signing cheques to be filled out later. He said he trusted van der Reit and Bennett to fill out the cheques appropriately. Stutter queried whether the board would have approved the issue of several cheques for amounts between $1,000 and $2,000. Shown a cheque for $1,995.24 he said "I can think of no natural reason for that amount, a cheque of that scale would be extraordinary." Asked by the defence lawyer to characterise Edward Bennett, Stutter agreed that Bennett was "passionate, dedicated, meticulous and thorough." He said Bennett "takes things personally." Two other witnesses gave evidence this afternoon. Mark Landale, a printer, confirmed that an invoice for the printing of a Gay Guide booklet was late being paid. The booklet was commissioned by van der Reit. After phone discussions with van der Reit full payment was eventually received from the Pride Centre, not Pride Holdings - van der Reit's publishing company in which Bennett had taken shares. Other witnesses, including the Pride Centre board, say they had declined an offer to invest in the company. Cath Cocker, another Pride Centre employee, gave evidence that when van der Reit was appointed as Centre coordinator she was appointed as events organiser. She says that what had been envisaged as a full time position was split between them. Her claim of a job split arrangement was confirmed by trustee Stutter. She says that during her employment she produced no events other than the appearance of a float in a Karangahape Road carnival. She said she had many event ideas but that they "always met with resistance." The case continues through the week and GayNZ.com News staff will continue to report twice daily from the court.