SYSTEM OF THEFT

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 157, 29 March 1941, Page 7

SYSTEM OF THEFT

Must Be Broken, Says Magistrate SHOP MANAGERS JAILED “I am not at all impressed with counsel’s remarks made in connexion with a supposed slackness of system,” said Mr. Luxford, S.M., in the Magistrates’ Court, Wellington, yesterday, when imposing prison sentences on five managers of retail stores and three other employees who admitted charges of theft or receiving. “The cifuse of the trouble was the dishonesty of the employees. The system is there which works if the employees discharge the elementary duty that they owe to their employers. That is, not to take what belongs to their employers. “Here we have an organization of men,” continued the magistrate, “all of apparently good character and trusted by their employers, conspiring together and combining for the purpose of robbing their employers. Much as the Court hates imposing prison sentences on persons for their first offences this spirit of the age to help yourself if you can as long as you don’t get found out, must be broken and the Qourt’is going to break it.” ' Twenty-one charges of stealing goods, or being’the recipients of stolen goods, the property of National Distributors, Ltd., were brought against 12 persons. Prison sentences ranging from one month with hard labour, to six months also with hard labour, were imposed on eight of the accused, another man was convicted and fined, one was admitted to probation and two cases were adjourned for 12 months. All lihd to make restitution of the goods or money received. Thomas William Cameron, storeman, aged 34, on six charges of stealing goods to the total value of £6l/6/7, was convicted and sentenced on the first charge to six months’ imprisonment with hard labour, and was convicted and discharged Off the others. James Douglas Fearon, lorry driver, aged 29. for stealing goods valued at £36/8/-, received a month’s imprisonment with hard labour, Alexander Lawrence Boon, aged 27, William Alexander O’Neill, aged 24, Norman Edward McLean, aged 27, John Davidson, and Ernest Roy Redding, aged 32, all shop managers, were each sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment with hard labour on charges of receiving stolen goods. James McLuskie, lorry driver, for the theft of goods valued at £46, was sentenced to one month’s hard labour. Alexander Westland, storeman and relieving shop manager, aged 48, was, for stealing goods valued at 5/9, convicted and fined £2. Douglas Ernest Cameron, soldier, for stealing goods valued at £l/9/-, was admitted to probation for 12 months. The cases of Herbert Jackson, aged 19. charged with stealing goods valued at £6/2/8, and of Roy Nicholson ; Willis, aged 19, charged with stealing goods valued'at £l/3/7, were, adjourned for 12 months. “System of Stealing.” “Accused, T. W. Cameron, worked in the bulk store for National Distribu-

tors, Ltd.,” said Detective-Sergeant E. W. Compton, who prosecuted, "and some time ago he started a system of stealing. At the bulk store the storeman stacked at the side of the loading dock the various orders for the different shops, and when this was finished the orders were chocked by a responsible member of the staff. However, it often happened that some time elapsed before the orders were dispatched, and during this period Cameron would place cases of stores beside the checked orders and these would not appear on the invoice. "In accordance with arrangements made with the manager of the particular shop where the goods were sent, T. W. Cameron would then call on the manager and obtain groceries or cash to the value of about half the goods sent.” Detective-Sergeant Compton gave details of the actions of the accused. Mr. D. Parry, for T. W. Cameron, said that the cause of accused’s actions lay

in a certain lack of rigid measures at National Distributors, Ltd., in allow-

ing the goods to remain after being checked for periods 'before being taken away. Five or six orders were taken on the same lorry, said Mr. Parry, with the result-that, more or less inevitably, some store would l>e short-supplied and others bver-sripplied. Sometimes the missing cases would be replaced and sometimes not. Shop managers sometimes found themselves short and asked stock managers to supply goods. The practice became prevalent of storemen supplying goods and splitting the' money. In conclusion Mr. Parry said that when the ease came before the police frank admissions were made. Out of about £75 worth of goods stolen, £23/5/11 worth bad been recovered. T. W. Cameron’s total profit out of the theft did not exceed £l6. Fear of Shortages.

Appearing for O’Neill, McLean and

Boon, Mr. A. J. Mhzengtirb said that opportunity presented itself to these men and they had not realized they were committing actual thefts. Managers were always in fear of a shortage in their stocks, said Mr. Mazengarb. and as the firm had a right to deduct the shortage from ‘’tie employees — though they had never done this—accused had received the stolen goods to be on the safe side. O’Neill denied taking anything from stock for payment, saying the money he paid cinue from his own pocket. McLean took money from the cash register and Boon paid for his goods with grocery orders. No persona! benefit was gained by Redding or Davidson, said Mr. C. M right, appearing for I hem. They had only secured themselves against shortage of stock. Mr. Wright also claimed that the methods in the. system of supply of goods from the bulk store to the shops were loose. Mr. Haldane, for McLuskie, said he had become involved in the scheme and had admitted in participating 111 the benefits of delivering stolen goods to stores by receiving other goods free. In the case of Wiilis, Mr. W. E. Leicester said he had followed the example of his superior, T. W. Cameron, at the bulk store. He had lieeu easily led and was a victim of a bad precept. Mr. G. C. Kent, who appeared for Fearon, said that he had been recently employed at National Distributors, Ltd., as a lorry driver and the illegal system had been in operation long before he arrived. Fearon had not asked for payment but had received £2/10/from the shop manager to where he had delivered the goods. Westland, D. E. Cameron and Jackson were not represented by counsel and had nothing to say in their own defence.