"KITE FLYER."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 249, 21 October 1935, Page 8

"KITE FLYER."

SWINDLE EXPOSED. SPURIOUS NUMBER PLATES. VALUELESS CHEQUES ISSUED. A "kite flyer"—the name by which a man who leaves a trail of valueless cheques behind him is referred to by the police—appeared at the Police Court this morning. He was Albert William Burton, aged 37, who pleaded guilty to 35 charges of false pretences. Burton mostly "worked" the country, putting off bad cheques at Frankton Junction, Wanganui, Marton, Palmerston North, Waverley and in Auckland and suburbs, between July 16 and October 12. His favourite cheque in payment for a few shillings' worth of benzine and oil, or groceries, was £5 10/. He usually "dropped" them on Fridays or Saturdays. As a decoy he had fitted to hie motor car, spurious registration plates, while in many cases he used rubber stamps on the cheques issued, purporting to have been signed by the manager or an employee of the two well known firms mentioned on the rubber stamp.

People who cashed his valueless cheques usually noted the number of the car he was driving, and when they later applied to the registration office for the owner of the car, they found that he was in some outlandish country place and that he was not Burton. The spurious registration plates made a cunning decoy. His scheme worked well until a Papatoetoe- garage proprietor became suspicious. Paying Those He Robbed. Mr. A. Hall Skelton appeared for Burton and asked that the matter be adjourned for a few days. "I am selling up his assets so tnat lie can repay some of the people he has "robbed," said Mr. Skelton. "I have already sold his car." Mr. F. Tt Hunt, S.M.: Well, we can hear the facts now; at ,any: rate. Senior Detective Hall said that Burton, on July 16, called at the Bank of New Zealand at Auckland and got. a cheque book containing 24 cheques, asking the clerk to debit the amount of the book to his account. He gave the name of "McPherson." After he left with the cheque book, it was found that there was no account in the name given. "Burton owns a motor car and he left for the country to put off theee bad cheques," said Mr. Hall. "He affixed to lis ear spurious registration plates. These -"had been repainted and he changed the familiar dot or star in the old plates to a comma, which made them appear as current number • plates* He called at garages, service stations and bought a few shillings' worth of oil or benzine, or in the case of. grocers' shops, goods worth 5/ or so, and presented the cheques upon which he had stamped the name of two Auckland firms. Later on," Burton obtained other old number plates, repainted them and made .them look lik'o this year's plates, and started off again."

How He Was Caught. ; "On October 12 he got new plates from the Government registration office after representing his car was a new one." He gave a wrong name on this occasion. ' The same day he called at the garage of Mr. Cairns, at Papatoetoe, and bought some benzine and oil, tendering a valueless cheque. Mr. Cairns was suspicious and telephoned Constable Maloney. In the meantime, unknown to Burton, Mr. Cairns removed portion of the distributor from Burton's car, so that it could not be started. When the constable appeared Burton disappeared and the same night he was caught in East Tamaki by Detective T. A. Allsopp, Detective McLean and Constable Maloney.* Senior Detective 'Hall said that as a result of the valueless cheques, Burton obtained a total sum of £167 in cash and benzine, oil and other goods worth £19 7/.. Since his arrest he had given Detective Allsopp every assistance in the matter. "Burton has a record and only came out of prison in May," added Mr. Hall. Remanded for Sentence. "H'm,". said the magistrate, look'ing at Burton's list of previous convictions. "Hβ got a year for forgery in June, 1934, and lie has a conviction for being a rogue and vagabond. He started off in 1910 when he was a mere boy. I may as well sentence him now. I don't see the good in further remanding him." Mr. Skelton: I am hopeful of raising about £80 from the sale of his assets. That will pay those he robbed about 10/ in the £. It shows a good intention on Burton's part, and if he pays some restitution it might be taken into account when lie is sentenced." Burton was remanded until Wednesday for sentence.