For years, NZ Herald readers have pondered the identity of the ‘prominent businessman’ and his five-year journey through the courts for charges relating to sexual assault and perverting the course of justice.  

While co-conspirators such as entertainer Mika X and PR man Jevan Goulter were named, the businessman’s case dragged on.

Finally, this week the ‘prominent businessman’ has been unmasked as Sir James Wallace, a former rich lister well known for his financial contributions to major arts organisations and the highest-grossing local movie of all time.  

NZ Herald news director and crime reporter Sam Hurley has been following the case since the beginning. He joins Damien to explain who Wallace is, why this case went on for so long, and offer insight into a trial that feels ripped out of a Hollywood screenwriter’s imagination. 

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills