Counsel Claims Foreman Thought Dockets Correct

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29330, 8 October 1960, Page 7

Counsel Claims Foreman Thought Dockets Correct

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, October 7. s Edwin Harry Mitchell, aged 60, c a foreman, had filled in time dockets for his “not for I one moment ssupecting he was c doing anything wrong,” said his < counsel, Mr G. I, Joseph, in the 1 Magistrate’s Court at Wellington, 1 today. < Mitchell and four other men t are appearing on charges relat-. 1 ing to alleged misuse of public 1 money during the construction of Wellington airport. 1 Mitchell and John Edward Gil- ‘ more, aged 59, an overseer, were 1 today committed to the Supreme Court for trial on 10 joint I charges of false pretences and < nine of forgery. i The other men 'charged are i Charles McDonald Waterson, I aged 47, a contractor, Howard I Thomas Bennitt, aged 28, machine t operator, and Claude Lanham, aged 56, grader operator. r Mr J. S. Hanna, S.M., pre- t sided. Today was the fifth day of f the hearing which is expected to ' last another two weeks. Gilmore faces 52 charges of I false pretences and 29 of for- ■ gery, Waterson 32 of false pretences, Bennitt 15 charges of false pretences and two of forgery, Mitchell 10 charges of false pretences and nine of forgery, and Lanham 10 charges of false pretences. _ The charges allege that daily time sheets were forged in some cases, and that all -five men falsely represented that machinery owned by F. and J. Bognuda, Ltd., was engaged working for ( the Ministry of Works for certain periods. Detective-Sergeant R. P. Silk 4 said Mitchell, in a statement to * the police on June 28, said he c had been senior foreman for• F. s and J. Bognuda, Ltd., and while £ at Rongotai was in charge of the work on the Wellington City Council access roads. j The statement said plant had been allocated each morning at Rongotai at the request of Gilmore or one of the other over- , seers. Bognuda had given mstructions that the Ministry of “ Works was to be given prefer- . ence over the Wellington City Council when plant was required. Time dockets had been taken to the office by Gilmore or one J of the other overseers, said the statement. There had been no way of checking the dockets and J Mitchell had “simply signed i them.” He had not read the s dockets as there was no reason for him to do so. . J Mitchell had stated that, as the t forms had been certified by a r Ministry of Works officer, he thought “everything else was all ’ right” and that the contractors !

signature was all that was required. The statement said Gilmore had brought in a “whole pile of dockets” and informed Mitchell the entries had to be transferred to Ministry of Works' forms. Gilmore had dictated the entries and Mitchell had filled them in on departmental forms. Mitchell said. He had no reason to think they were incorrect. To Mr Joseph, the witness said Mitchell was not a man who had “never side-stepped the law,” but he had no convictions. Mr Joseph submitted there was no evidence that Mitchell knew, or should have known, that the information dictated by Gilmore was false. Mitchell had stated he had filled in the dockets and had made no attempt to forge the signatures. “He thought he was doing the right thing in helping Gilmore and in helping his employer, not for one moment suspectihg he was doing anything wrong?’ The heating will continue on Monday.