RUGBY TEST Allegation Of Sales Of Bogus Tickets

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30211, 16 August 1963, Page 16

RUGBY TEST Allegation Of Sales Of Bogus Tickets

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, August 15. Arising out of the sale of allegedly bogus tickets for the first Rugby test, England v. New Zealand, on May 25 last, two men stood trial before Mr Justice Perry in the Supreme Court at Auckland today.

John James Kirrane, aged an unknown man. 48, a manager, has pleaded A detective, Clem Rudolph not guilty to one charge of Simich, said he made instealing 69 Eden Park admis- quiries into the sale of false sion tickets, the property of tickets for the first test. He the New Zealand Rugby said he found that 308 ticUnion, and Desmond kets had been removed from O’Grady, aged 36, a driver, the printing company by the has pleaded not guilty to a Metro Waste Company, charge of receiving the tic- Simich said Kirrane, manakets. ger of Metro Waste, denied

Both men have also pleaded not guilty to three joint charges conspiring to defraud persons unascertained in respect of the tickets, conspiring to defraud the union in respect of the tickets, and obtain £77 10s by falsely representing that the tickets were genuine. Mr P. A. Williams is appearing for O'Grady and Mr B. Sinclair for Kirrane. Mr A. B. Lawson appears for the Crown.

William Albert Graines, a traveller, said O'Grady told him he had some tickets for the test match, and asked witness to sell them for him. O'Grady assured him they were not “hot." Graines said he took the 68 tickets, sold them to friends who were “only too happy to get them," and gave the money he received for them to O'Grady. He said one of the men to whom he had sold tickets rang him later and told him the tickets were no good. O'Grady gave Graines the money back and Graines returned it to the persons who had bought the tickets. A constable, Mangu Elliot Kwan, said O'Grady made a complaint to him on May 22 to the effect that he had bought 68 false tickets from

all knowledge of the illegal sale of these tickets when interviewed. Kirrane said his foreman had handed him five tickets found in the waste from the printing company, but that these were the only ones found. Simich said that on May 23 he interviewed O'Grady, who maintained that his complaint was true. After a long period O’Grady said the statement was false, and

made a statement explaining how he came to be in possession of the tickets. In his statement O'Grady said he often drank with Kirrane. He said that on about May 2 he was talking to Kirrane, who told him he had "dozens" of tickets which must have been misplaced. Smith said O'Grady said he told Kirrane he would sell the tickets for him, and Kirrane then gave him 68 tickets. O'Grady said he later gave them to Gaines to sell. In a later interview Kirrane said he had given the tickets to O'Grady, believing them to be valueless, said Smith. Later Kirrane said that he believed them to be genuine. The trial, will continue tomorrow.