Former Manager To Stand Trial On Theft Charges

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29008, 24 September 1959, Page 9

Former Manager To Stand Trial On Theft Charges

Carrying out an audit of the books of Dominion Builders’ Supplies (Christchurch), Ltd., to find out why profit had fallen in the 1957-58 financial year, a public accountant could not find job sheets for transactions carried out during part of the year, the Magistrate's Court was told yesterday.

Appearing before Messrs H. T. Fuller and W. E. Olds, Justices of the Peace, was Eric Black facing five charges of theft as a servant. The hearing of a sixth charge was adjourned to October 21. Black, a former manager of the company, pleaded not guilty to the charges and was committed to the Supreme Court for trial. He reserved his defence.

Black is alleged to have stolen from the company timber worth £443 4s 7d and joinery worth £651 10s between March 1, 1957, and October 31, 1957; to have stolen 220 super feet of white pine, valued at £l4, about April 21, 1958; to have stolen 1510 super feet of rimu flooring timber, worth £95 10s, on December 14, 1957; and to have stolen 1236 super feet of rimu flooring timber, valued at £BB 19s 6d, on September 5, 1958. Mr P. G. S. Penlington appeared for Black. Senior DetectiveSergeant J. B. McLean prosecuted. Lawrence Court Hibbard, an accountant, said he carried out an audit of the company’s books for the year to April 30, 1958, because profit had been substantially lower than the year before. He asked for the job sheets covering the period, but these were missing. He told the chairman of directors about the missing sheets in a letter.

Hibbard said he knew Black had built a new house during that year. Chairman's Evidence

William Smith Mac Gibbon, the company’s chairman of directors, said Black was manager of the company from December 1, 1948. to December 8, 1958. Black had controlled staff and purchasing and had general control of most sales. He had to report monthly to the board of directors. Mac Gibbon said all transactions should have been recorded. Timber stocks and outgoings should have been in Black’s report. Joinery work transactions were prepared on job sheets and later would be costed and debited to individual buyers. He said he knew Black had built a new house, but he did not see the house until after inquiries started.

Mac Gibbon said he got a letter from the company’s auditors “expressing concern” and he had written to Black enclosing a copy of the letter.

Later he tried to see Black to “clarify matters raised by the auditor” and had one interview with him.

He said Black later told him by telephone future discussions would have to be through his solicitor and the company’s solicitor.

Mac Gibbon said Black had no authority to use any timber belonging to the company without having it charged to his account

Jack Eginton Mason, secretary of the company, said he knew Black was building a house in Ham road from about March, 1957. The timber supplied by the company to Black amounted to “only a few pounds.” Leslie Trevor Smart, WaimaA County Council rating clerk, sai? Black’s property at 219 Ham road had an unimproved value of £945, and a capital value of £5745. Timber Sent to House John William Francis Bowden, yard foreman, said timber went from the company’s yard to the house being built for Black in Ham road. Timber consigned from the company’s West Coast mill to Riccarton railway station was taken to Black’s house, he said. “It was carted by our driver to Ham road.” He added that the driver who carried the timber was now dead.

Among timber that went to the house was fencing material, including 3in by 2in heart rimu rails, and 6in by half inch palings, be said. “There were about 600 palings and 42 sixteens of heart rimu. There would be about 900 super feet with about 400 super feet in the rails,” Bowden said. Other timber—for the house framework —had been sent at Black’s direction to the Richardson Construe-, tion Company. “This consisted of 4000 to 5000 super feet of building A timber,” he said. Bowden said he entered tallies of the building timber in the company’s yard order book, charging it to the Richardson Construction Company “for the Ham road job.” Black himself had taken home timber for trellises, fiooring, architraves and mouldings. The timber went from the yard, but was not in the book, he said. * This was some time in 1957 and the total tally was not included in the records, Bowden said.. He said Black had told him about some exchange of timber

and that there was an arrangement with the directors over some matai for which he was to be given a stock of rimu to run flooring, architraves and some joinery. Bowden said he remembered matai flooring being supplied for the Kaikoura Community Centre in January, 1955. This timber came from company stocks.

It would not be correct to say it was reject matai bought by Black from a Mr Sweeney. He said he had no knowledge of Black having 1510 super feet of rimu tongue and groove flooring. He would have known if Black had the timber. Bowden said there was never any exchange of rimu for cedar weatherboards. Job Sheet Missing Arthur Cobden-Cox, the company’s head joiner, said joinery had gone from the works to Black’s house in 1957 on instructions from Black. The joinery was not charged and the order forms had been left in his office, he said. Cobden-Cox said the job sheets were not sent to the office for costing as Black had told him to leave them in his office. He said the job sheets later “went missing.” This was discovered when the auditor asked for the sheets. All the job sheets, among them those for Black’s joinery, were missing for a period of six to nine months in 1957.

Cobden-Cox said he twice inspected Black’s house to value the joinery; the second time to make a detailed report to the company.

Cross-examined by Mr Penlington, Cobden-Cox said he had a house built during 1955-56 and some of the joinery had come from Dominion Builders’ Supplies. He said he paid for the timber at a price sanctioned by Black but did not speak to Mac Gibbon about it.

Lionel Lambert D’Arcy, a driver, said he took flooring on his truck to Riccarton railway station “last year some time.” He took two loads of tongue and groove flooring under instructions from Black. He never saw any consignment notes—which was unusual—and did not know where the timber was being sent to. D’Arcy said he had also taken timber from the Riccarton railway siding to Black’s house. John Alexander Bainbridge, a railway stationmaster, showed waybills for two consignments of timber sent to Dunedin.

One waybill was signed E. Black and the timber was consigned to H. N. Black, at Dunedin; the other was signed A. G. Robertson and the consignment went to E. King at Princes street, Dunedin, he said. Arthur Geoffrey Robertson, a T.A.B. manager, said Black had asked him if he could sign his name on the waybill. “His explanation seemed reasonable. He said that as heart timber was almost unprocurable, he did not want the yardmen at Dominion Builders’ Supplies to see timber was going to his brother. Because of this I agreed to my name being used,” he said. Robertson said he knew nothing about the timber supplied. Timber at Dunedin Harold Newton Black, a Dunedin warehouse manager, accused's brother, said he was the - consignee of one load of timber. His brother sent it to him, but he did not pay for it. Later accused k:ent some timber for flooring to E. King, who was the builder biulding his house, Black said. He said King gave him a cheque for £BB 19s 6d and he sent this on to his brother.

Eric Howard King, a Dunedin builder, said he had met accused once and knew his brother. He had built accused’s brother’s house in 1957. “In 1957 flooring timber was as hard to get as it is now,” he said. On December 18, 1957, he had picked up timber from the Dunedin railway yards. He had credited Harold Black with the cost of 1510 feet of timber, King said. He said he did not know where the timber came from. In August, 1958, he was building another house so he asked Harold Black if he cduld get more timber from Christchurch. Later he got 1236 feet of tongue and groove flooring from Christchurch consigned to A. G. Robertson. He did not know Robertson.

John Lewis Sweeney, a Franz Josef tea-room owner, said Black bought 1200 feet of reject matai pine timber from him in 1954. He accepted Black’s offer of £5 for the timber because he had no place to keep it. The timber was no good for housing.

Derek John Stuart Cook, secretary of the Jarrah Timber Company, Ltd., said in March, 1957, Black approached him about exchanging about 1000 feet of Oregon timber for five different timbers. He did not know where the Oregon came from. The exchange was quite a normal transaction.

Cook said he was not sure if he was dealing with Black or with Dominion Builders* Supplies. There was £l4 difference in the exchange, but he did not know who paid toe difference. His

firm did not supply any weatherboards to Black, but machined some by arrangement with him. Detective’s Evidence Detective S. H. Allom said he interviewed Black at his home on July 9. Black had admitted using joinery worth £6OO in his house. He said Black agreed he had sent 1510 super feet of flooring to his brother and that it had come from Dominion Builders' Supplies yard. “He said it was Dominion Builders property, but that the company had some of his timber. “He said there was no record of it at Dominion Builders and that the company had no knowledge of the timber being sent to Dunedin,” Detective Allom said.

“I told him it was alleged he had got some whisky for the timber. He said he had got some whisky, but the timber was a gift to his brother.” Detective Allom said Black told him he had exchanged some cedar weatherboards for the flooring timber, but there was no record of the exchange on the company’s books. Detective Allom said he interviewed Black again on September 18 and asked him where the cedar weatherboards for his home had come from.

At first Black had said he got the weatherboards from the Jarrah Timber Company, but later said the boards had only been “run’’ by the company “He said he got the cedar from a friend who had imported it, but could not pay for it.” Black would not say who the friend was and said he would discuss the matter with his solicitor. He had also said he had got the Oregon from the same friend, “who was nearly bankrupt.” Mr Penlington said he took exception to the evidence about the interview on September 18 and asked for his objection to be noted.

Mr Penlington reserved his defence. The Justices committed Black for trial at the next session of the Supreme Court. Bail was fixed at £250 with a surety of £250. Black was ordered to report to the police once a week.