IMAGINATIVE YOUNG MAN

Evening Star, Issue 23351, 22 August 1939, Page 5

IMAGINATIVE YOUNG MAN

FRAUD AND STOWAWAY ADVENTURER LIVING IN BEST HOTELS REVUE GIRL'S BILL GUARANTEED [Per United Press Association.] AUCKLAND, August 21. The story of a young man who claimed that he was an inventor and lived at expensive hotels in different parts of New Zealand was told in the Police Court to-day before Mr F. H. Levien, S.M. The accused was Samuel Guy Pomeroy, aged 27, an engineer. He was charged with obtaining on or about May 12, at Christchurch, credit to the value of £29 19s 6d from Bernard Charles Boulton by fraud, with obtaining on or about June 16, at Auckland, credit to the value of £3B from Percy Wallace Sampson, by fraud; with stowing away at Auckland on Juno 16 on the Rotorua; and with a breach of his probation. The accused pleaded guilty. Detective-sergeant Nalder, who prosecuted, said the accused came to New Zealand from Melbourne, landing at Bluff on March 13. He went to Christchurch, and on April 25 booked in at the United Service Hotel. At the time the accused went to this hotel he had only a few shillings in his possession, and had no immediate prospects of obtaining money. “ While he was at this hotel the accused ran up a bill amounting to £29 19s 6d,” continued Detective-sergeant Nalder. “He charged up cigarettes, tobacco, drinks, ’and toll calls, including one to Australia for £3, knowing that he had no money to pay with. On being asked by the hotel management. the accused gave a number of excuses, deferring payment, but on May 12 he was told to go from there. “ The accused wont to Wellington, some friend paying his boat fare, and he stayed at the Hotel St. George for three days. He then went to the Waterloo Hotel. In Wellington he managed to get a relative to guarantee his hotel bill, with the result that the relative was made to meet heavy expense when the accused left the city. No charge was made in this connection.

GUARANTEED GIRL’S ACCOUNT. “ When the accused arrived in Auckland on June 3 he went to the Grand Hotel, where he booked in,” said Detective-sergeant Nalder. “In company with another man, the accused became friendly with two girls from the Hollywood Hotel Revue, then in Auckland. The accused arranged for the girls to stay at the Grand Hotel, and he personally guaranteed one, of the girl’s accounts.. The accused had no money when ho arrived at the hotel and was not justified in guaranteeing anyone’s account.” The members of the Hollywood Hotel Revue were to leave New Zealand for America on the Niagara on June 13, Mr Nalder said, and the two girls and the other man left the hotel. The other man fully paid his portion of the account. The accused said he was staying, and made no effort, to pay his account. TWICE STOWED AWAY. That night the Niagara sailed from Auckland, and when three miles at sea a stowaway was found on board. The ship was stopped and a launch was sent to collect the stowaway. This stowaway was charged in the Police Uourt next day under the name of Allan Thomas, and was convicted and placed on 12 months’ probation. “ That man was Pomeroy,” said tho Detective-sergeant. 11 On leaving tho court, Pomeroy went back to the Grand Hotel. , He was asked by the manager —no one knew of what had occurred on the previous night—for payment of his account. The accused stated that owing to his father’s death E a tew days previously there was a -up in his remittance, but he would have his account guaranteed. This statement was not true, and the hotel manager was misled.” . Mr Nalder said that on the night of June 16 the accused left the hotel casually, leaving two empty suitcases in his room, and stowed away on the Rotorua. The only work done by the accused from the time he went to the United Service Hotel in Christchurch until he left on the Rotorua was three weeks’ casual work for the Hollywood Revue Company on its tour of New Zealand. He worked as an “ extra ” in a flag number, holding a flag on the stage for about 10 minutes each night and received as wages £1 a week. Tho accused claimed to be the son of the Invercargill-born inventor of a tracer bullet, continued Mr Nalder. While living at expensive hotels he claimed he had invented a new type of bullet that Would ‘‘ startle tho world and would be a setback to the totalitarian Powers.” The police had plans of the accused’s alleged invention. These had been examined by experts, ivho stated that they were worthless. The accused was a professional stowaway, who had stowed away on boats other than the Niagara and Rotorua.

Sub-inspector Pender, who had prosecuted in the stowing away charge, said the accused was put on board another vessel when the Rotorua reached Panama and brought back to New Zealand.

The accused told the court that when he went to the United Service Hotel he thought he was going to get money from, Australia or America. He owned shares which could not be sold because there had been some hitch in the transfer of power of attorney. He had never been m trouble before He wanted to get back to England. The Magistrate said the accused was an able-bodied man -who was not prepared to do a tap of work. The accused was sentenced to one year’s reformative detention on the charge of obtaining credit by fraud in Christchurch, and was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment with hard labour on the stowing away charge. On the remaining charges he was convicted and discharged. George Donaldson, aged 30_, a cook, who was charged with stowing away on the Rotorua on the same date, was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment.