"THE MUGS."

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18347, 2 April 1925, Page 7

"THE MUGS."

BOOKMAKERS AND AGENTS.

CARPENTER FINED £lO. Before Mr G. Cruickshank, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court yesterday, Albert Edward Wilson, a carpenter, re-

siding in Sydenham, defended by Mr C. S. Thomas, pleaded not guilty to a charge of having carried on the business of a bookmaker, but after hearing the police evidence his counsel substituted his plea for one of guilty. - The evidence of Harold E. Goggan. a clerk in the employ of the Mc-tropoli-j tan Trotting Club, was to the effect i 1 hat the Xew Brighton Trotting Club had held a meeting on Thursday, March j 19th, and Saturday, the 21st. Sergeant D. T. I. McGregor said that in conseouence of a message received on Saturday, March 21st, he went to the A.l Hotel. The defendant was pointed out to him by Mcintosh, the chief barman, who said: "This is the man, sergeant. Take him away. I don't want him here." The witness said that he then took the defendant aside an'd told him thrtt there had been complaints about him having made bets at the bar. Witness asked Wilson to turn out the contents of his pockets on the table, and among the things that fell on. to the table were two notebooks and some race-cards. He had five slips of paper in his pocket, and he told the sergeant that four of the .slips referred to bets he had taken that day. He had £4 13s 3d in money in his possession and some of it, lie said, was taken that day. Wilson explained that he had taken bets for one Charles Lawrence, but when the witness confronted him with Lawrence, who happened to be on the hotel premises at the time, Lawrence denied that he had had any connexion with him. Wilson was the a taken to the policestation, and in the presence of Ser geant Kelly he made a voluntary statement. .In it lie confessed to having taken money from friends and having slipped it across the bar of the A.l hotel to the chief barman. Once the barman had told him that he was taking it for the man Lawrence, who stayed at the hotel. Pie admitted having taken four bets on the Saturday the New Brighton Club had held a meeting. If the horses won he collected the dividends and gave them to his frenids. He got nothing out of it, but sometimes he was allowed a "free pick" of a double. Cross-examined by Mr Thomas, Sergeant McGregor said that Lawrence, who boarded at the A.l Hotel, was a reputed bookmaker, and possibly Mcintosh, the chief barman, was an agent. . Counsel for the defendant submitted that .there ~was.no case for his client to answer, but the Magistrate held that there was, and Mr Thomas then substituted the plea of not guilty for one of guilty. He said that Wilson was a "mug," and that it was his type that made the police's job difficult. He was not a man of any great capacity, but was friendly with Mcintosh, and ■when he had been given' money bv friends he gave it to him. There was no doubt that Lawrence was a' bookmaker, and, as the sergeant had said,' Mcintosh was possibly too. Had he not pleaded guilty' 'he would have brought evidence to show that Mcintosh was a bookmaker. There was a type of man, continued, counsel, who thought that when •he got amongst the '' horsey men" they were right in with the " sporting fraternity"—they were "mugs" enough to believe that they were "in the swim." Consequently when they were caught they did not think it "sporting" to give away the others, and" were content to suffer themselves. They picked up the money and made the bets while the big men hid themselves. Counsel asked his Worship to deal leniently with the defendant. , •

Sub-Inspector A. Cameron, who prosecuted, said that he quite agreed -with Mr Thomas that Wilson was one of the mugs who went around and .picked up the money while the- big' men hid themselves.

His Worship convicted and fined Wil son £lO.

BOOKMAKER'S CLERK FINED £5

A young man named Harry Nee, represented by Mr E. Twyrieham, pleaded guilty to a charge of having been found on the racecourse at Motukarara when he was prohibited from being there. "He was acting as a bookmaker's clerk," said Sub-Inspector A. Cameron, who prosecuted. "He was recognised by a racecourse detective." "Apart from this offence," said counsel for defendant, "he is a thoroughly respectable young man of a good family.'' "He knew quite well he could not go on the course?" asked his Worship. "There have been so many cases," replied the Sub-Inspector, "that a man could - not live in Christchurch without knowing. But he was receiving good pay for it." Nee was convicted and fined £5 and costs.