Manager fined for theft, fraud

Press, 21 November 1981, Page 4

Manager fined for theft, fraud

A former . manager . of P.D.L. Motors, Ltd, who was said by Mr Justice Roper in the High Court yesterday to have “got out of his league” during his management, had fines and costs;, totalling $4250 imposed ■ when he appeared for sentence for 12 offences against the company. The accused. Lyall James Williamson, aged 35, had been found guilty by a jury this month of nine charges of theft as a servant? arid one each of .false pretence, using a document to obtain a pecuniary advantage, and making false entries in a company job card.' Imposing sentence, Mr Justice Roper told Williamson, who had no previous police record, that he now had a substantial list of convictions but in the result the financial reward for his criminal activities was minimal, and, he now faced civil proceedings for a very substantial sum. Williamson, at his trial this month, had faced 17 charges involving defrauding the cornpany of rnore than $30,000. ' •„ •' On the ' 12 ■ .charges on which he was convicted he was fined $lOOO for false pretence involving a Chrysler car valued at $7OOO, $lOOO for theft of a Mercedes car valued at $3500, $5OO for theft of a colour television set valued at $B5O, fined $750 and $250 on two charges of theft of car parts, and convicted and discharged on the remaining counts. He was also ordered to pay $750 towards the cost of prosecution. Mr B. McClelland, who appeared with Mr S. J. Savill for Williamson, submitted in mitigation of penalty that Williamson had had limited

education but was of considerable ability as a mechanic. His mechanical ability led him to the position of mana-ger-of a quite considerable business. He built two highly successful racing cars, but that' then involved his mixing with a certain type of person who apparently led pretty exotic lives during the racing circuit. - His work also involved the car dealing business which appeared to have its own pitfalls and traps. Once Mr I. R. W, Methven’s control had been removed the business, slipped and practices were carried out which, were unacceptable to put it : mildly, said Mr McClelland. 1 ■ ' ■ . j Mr McClelland traversed individual charges and said' that, although there were a number of- offences, the company had got back everything it started out,-with, apart from the cash which was the subject of a writ against Williamson. . Mr McClelland submitted that prison was not war-,, ranted. He said the. probation report favoured sentence involving communityservice. He sought a fine for. the offences, saying that Williamson had sold his house and was in a position to pay a fine. Mr N. W. Williamson, who appeared for the Crown, said his only comment in regard to sentencing was that the

question of uniformity might •arise because of the sentences imposed on Christopher Cliff Morris, a former employee of the company, after his trial in the High 'Court earlier this year. Morris had been sentenced to two years in prison, after • conviction on 20 charges, comprising 15 of fraud and others of theft, false pretence, and making false entries. The frauds related to car hire purchase agreements. Mr McClelland submitted that there was no similarity, apart from their having worked for the same company. His Honour said it was . impossible to relate Williamson’s offending to that of Morris. His Honour told Williamson that he was an excellent mechanic but his moral sense and business ability did not match that. He said he agreed with counsel that Williamson had “got out of his league,” and had, unfortunately,- got in- ■ volved in -a line of business in which opportunities for deceit and criminal activities were all too,common, and he could-not resist it. His Honour said that, to his credit, Williamson had rehabilitated himself in a quite spectacular way, and it was hoped he would have more success with bicycles than he had with cars.