COURT NEWS

Grey River Argus, 22 March 1935, Page 5

COURT NEWS

THEFT OF £l2ofi

By Bank Clerk

DISCOVERED EV ANOTHER CLERK.

(Per Press Assovialiou ) .. AUCKLAND. 21. John Wesley Dexter, 2fi rears of ■lge. a bank clerk, admitted, in the 1 ( " urt to-ilny. that, while ~m - w.’,'''' w.’,'''' ,’ V Bank of x >'"' South ''ales, he stole, between August, 1*132 , 2(l( f ebr " :irv - 1935 ' sums totalling , Another bank clerk, in evidence sa ; d thai on February 4 ] ast _ he , vas rp|ipv ing at a city branch, and at about 11..'1 at night, he had occasion to go to the cloak room for matches. Tn the dark ness. he put his hand in the pocket of a . oar hanging from the wall, thinking it was his own coat. Tn the pocke” lie found a number of letters and credit slips. He examined the bank I'ooks and found in some cases that the amounts shown on the slips had been entered in the customers' passbooks. but not in Hl,. ledgers He also examined the Idler’s Looks, and found sums shown on the credit slips had not been entered there, lie reported to the manager. A detective produced a statement bv the accused, admitting everything. He said about two years ago. through illness in the family, he was in financial difficulties, ami began stealing the money paid in by customers. ~ Th.* method was to suppress the credit slips, manipulate the ledgers, and. at the weekly balance, deduct shortagefrom the largest accounts to balance the amounts stolen from the smaller ones. He kept a private note of the moneys he took. As time we.nt on. he got deeper in the mire, and gambled in an attempt to retrieve the position. He had since made restitution of £69. Accused was committed for sentence.

SECRETARY ARRESTED. THAMES. March 20. James Morrison Fox, 37 years of age. secretary of the Thames Harbour Board, to-day was arrested on a charge ■of theft of £994 19s 9d. the property of the Board. He was remanded fill Friday. Bail was allowed in the sum of £lOO ami two sureties of £5O each. WELLINGTON. March 21. The following prisoners were sentenced by Mr. Justice Blair in the Supreme Court to-day:— Thomas James Balfour Mason, theft of £B5. reformative detention not exceeding 18 months. John Doyle, stealing £7O. reformative detention not exceeding twelve months. Edward Frederick Brider and Rupert Leslie Walter Pull, cattle stealing at Wanganui, placed on probation and 'ordered to pay costs. George Henry Smith, theft. from dwelling, at Palmerston North. 12 months in gaol, and re-declared an habitual criminal. WELLINGTON. March 21. At the Supreme Court sentences were passed by Mr. Justice Blair as follows: David Laing, assault on a female child at Levin, two years’ gaol. Frederick James Greer, 18. incest at Wairoa, reformative detention in Borstal for not more than four years. John Lindsay, forgery and uttering, re-declared an habitual criminal and sentenced to two years in gaol, concurrent on each of a number of charges