GAMBLED AND ABSCONDED.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 63, 14 March 1924, Page 9

GAMBLED AND ABSCONDED.

LAW CLERK SENTENCED. FOUR YEARS' -REFORMATIVE. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) HAMILTON, Thursday. Cutting a pitiable figure, with twitching face, downcast eyes, and lingers toying Nervously with bis coat, Peter John I Olsen, law clerk, who absconded to I Sydney after having misappropriated '£2288 of the money of his employers, Messrs. MacDiarmid, Mears and Gray, 'solicitors of Hamilton, appeared in the i dock at the Supreme Court this morning | for sentence, having pleaded guilty in 'the Lower Court yesterday to embezzlejment. While only seven charges wero (preferred against accused, his misappropriations included no less than sixty-four ' separate acts. I Pleading for accused, Mr. W. H. King I pointed out when Olsen becama ! employed by the firm he bad been out of ! work for a period and was very hard up. !On arrival in Hamilton, therefore, he I found it necessary to purchase a section, erect a bouse, and, as this was just at the peak period, he found himself considerably embarrassed financially when the house was finished. Ho came to . the town in fact loaded | with debts, burdened with obligai tions, and pressed seriously by creditors. He could almost bo said to I have been forced by circumstances jto misappropriate money. Ho had acted extremely rashly, and in I order to try to recover his position, had J placed sums of £20, £30, and £40, on tho totalisator at different race meetings. I Until the time he joined this firm, he I had borne an exemplary character. Since his arrest he had given every assistance to the police. As to the £600 misappropriated a few days before his dismissal, the prisoner said that he lost £150 of this at the Auckland Races, gave his wife £50, and either lost or had some stolen while in Sydney. Mr. Gillies described the case as an extremely bad one. Olsen had systematically robbed his employers, and had left the country with a woman who was not his wife, whom the police had reason tc believe was in possession of a substantial portion of the stolen money. His Honor said it was extremely sad tc see a comparatively young man, necessarily of good education, occupying such a position. He saw nothing in Mr. King's plea in mitigation of the offence The fact that a lot of this money was lost in gambling, was only an aggrava tion, and be held the greatest doubts as '. to the disposal of the last sum of £600 Accused was sentenced to four yean ■ reformative treatment. SMg . =***