"The Trial" - Further Reporting

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Daily Mirror - 10 May 2006
QPR CHIEF HAD DEBTS
THE QPR director who says a rival forced him to quit at gunpoint is a broke chancer who bluffed his way on to the club board, a court heard yesterday.
Gianni Paladini, 60, says he made a fortune as a football agent. But yesterday he admitted he was so heavily in debt that a bank had tried to have him declared bankrupt.
And defence barrister James Sturman QC told him: "You are far from an honourable businessman. You bulls*****d your way on to the board."
Club director David Morris, 50, and six other men deny conspiracy to blackmail, false imprisonment and having a gun. The Blackfriars crown court trial continues. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17055480&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=qpr-chief-had-debts--name_page.html


A May 5, The Times (Not previously posted here - I believe)

The Times - May 05, 2006
A former player with a flair for businessBy Steve Bird

GIANNI PALADINI moved to Britain in 1968 shoon after his career as a professional footballer in Italy ended when he suffered a serious injury.
In 1980 he worked as an interpreter for football agents who were brokering deals to transfer Italian players to British football clubs. Realising that he was working in a highly lucrative market, he set himself up in business and became a successful agent.
In March 2004 he decided to invest £600,000 in Queens Park Rangers, securing a 21 per cent share of the club; after restructuring this fell to 14.7 per cent. The purchase was made through a company called Morbund Ltd. Mr Paladini was then employed by the club as a consultant to bring in new players.
His “hands on” approach, the court was told, upset others at QPR. But he got on well with the chairman, Bill Power.
Mr Paladini, from Solihull, West Midlands, introduced a number of potential investors to the club, the Brazilian footballer, Dunga, bought £500,000 of shares through a company called Barnabi.
Last year Antonio Caliendo, a close friend of Mr Paladini, gave the club a cash injection to help it to settle an outstanding tax liability.
The court was told that Mr Paladini could be confrontational and that when David Morris became more involved in the day-to-day running of the club the pair clashed. Their disputes were said to include plans to refurbish parts of the stadium.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2165789.html