Former manager goes for trial

Press, 13 December 1986, Page 4

Former manager goes for trial

A former tavern manager was alleged in the District Court yesterday to have stolen at least $37,500 — at a rate of more than $lOO a day during his employment — from the tavern restaurant cash register takings. After a preliminary hearing before Messrs R. C. Holland and A. L. Mclvor, Justices of the Peace, the defendant, Alan Wayne McGregor, aged 31, a proprietor, was committed for trial by jury in the District Court on three charges of theft as a servant. He was remanded on bail pending a date for his trial. He faced charges of theft of $205.55 while employed by Hancock and. Company, Ltd, on or about June 5, 1986, theft of $182.95 from his employer on or about June 30, 1986, and theft of various sums of money amounting to about $37,500 from his employer between April 3, 1985, and June 6 this year. McGregor was represented by Messrs D. J. Boyle and M. J. Callaghan. Sergeant J. E. Dwyer, prosecuting, detailed the use of the restaurant cash registers. The police alleged that McGregor had, at various times during the day, or when he had been in a position to cash up the daily takings, removed various amounts of money from the takings, and fraudulently covered the discrepancies by marking the equivalent amounts on the till tape as over-rings. Sergeant Dwyer said no prosecutidn witnesses saw McGregor steal money. However, it was submitted that the over-all circumstantial evidence showed that only McGregor could have been responsible. Sergeant Dwyer said the evidence would be that a sum exceeding $44,000 could be shown to have been stolen.

However, to allow for any suggestion that there were some genuine over-

rings marked which have been alleged to have been made by McGregor, and also to allow for the two separate and specific charges, the total amount had been reduced to $37,500. Kevin Raymond Amos, senior auditor of Hancock and Company, Ltd, a subsidiary of Lion Corporation, Ltd, said his firm was responsible for running the Oxford Tavern. McGregor had been employed at the tavern from April 3, 1985, until his dismissal on June 6 this year. Before then he was assistant manager of the Russley Hotel. He said that on June 2 this year, after the assistant manager had approached him, he became aware of an excessive amount of over-rings having been recorded. He was led to believe that many of them were false. Investigations showed that from the time of McGregor’s employment in April, 1985, the amount and number of over-rings increased slowly. These then increased about five-fold from about June and July last year. The over-rings were a lot lower when McGregor was on holiday. Mr Amos produced schedules obtained from analysing cash register tapes and over-rings throughout the period ' of McGregor’s employment. He said these showed the average daily overrings, on days when McGregor worked, were $160.08. On days when he was on holiday, or out of town, the average was $43 a day. This was a difference of $117.08 a day. Calculated on the number of days McGregor was at work, 378, this made a total of $44,256.24. Mr Amos said he reduced this figure by several thousand dollars, to a “conservative” figure of between $35,000 to $37,000, to allow for variations in numbers of over-

rings. Mr Amos said the $43 daily average of overrings on the days when McGregor did not work was similar to those before he began employment at the tavern, and since he had left. McGregor was spoken to on June 6. He had no explanation for the increased number of overrings registered. Mr Amos said McGregor had been the only person to enter the office since he (witness) had secured it on June 5. Nobody except McGregor could have added to the number of over-rings. Other staff also . gave evidence, with some telling of occasions in which McGregor was seen to change cash register tapes. Detective Sergeant B. M. Roswell said he interviewed McGregor on September 23 in relation to the disappearance of money from the tavern. McGregor denied any knowledge of the thefts. He said the over-ring problem had been a problem at the tavern before he had begun working there. It was a common problem in a business of that type.

When charged with the thefts, he said he would defend them, and take legal action against the brewery for the accusations. Both defence counsel made submissions that there was insufficient evidence to commit McGregor for trial.

Mr Boyle said the evidence was highly suspect as to the amount taken, or whether any money was removed by any of the staff. The evidence was circumstantial and entirely inconclusive.

Mr Callaghan said any one of the staff could have the finger pointed at them. It was not established that McGregor took any money — if any went missing.