EARNINGS OF BOOKIES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 20 July 1925, Page 10

EARNINGS OF BOOKIES.

SOME BIG PROFITS. PERJURY SENTENCE. After a two days’ hearing at the Liverpool Assizes, sentence of nine months’ imprisonment was passed upon Thomas Heap, bookmaker, of Blackpool, who was charged on three counts with having committed perjury in a Chancery action, tried at Liveipool last,May’and June. In that ac tion Heap had claimed to recover £10,600 from the estate of his late stepfather, Nathan Mather, of Preston alleging that that amount was ort-inor to him as his share of the profits ol a hookmaking business which ho and his stepfather had carried on in partnership at Preston over a long period of years. The charges of perjury were: That (1) he swore during the hearing of the case that he had no banking account before 1902, uheieas he had had £13.900 in three banks; (2) that when these accounts were disclosed he said this money was not Ins own- and (3) that he had sworn he bad not advanced £SOOO on a mortgage of, a Preston hotel. In support of iiis claim Head produced an 1.0. U. for £10.600, which, he said, was given him some vears previously by his stepfather as acknowledgment that this sum was due to him as his share of the partnership profits. By witnesses called hv the trustees for the estate the authenticity of this T.O.U. was challenged. Heap gave evidence on his own behalf, and stated that he did not know when the case was on last year that be had the banking accounts, or that the mortgage was in existence in 1902 Asked, in cross-examination by Mr AV. Greaves-Dord. K.C., “You had not. so much money that you had forgotten a bagatelle o.f £14,000?” Heap made no reply. He later said he had made verv large profits from 1902 to 1904. Mr T.nstgarten. for the defence, urged that Heap could not. impress the jury as a man so diabolically clever as the prosecution sought to make out. The inrv found him guiltv. and. in addition to the sentence. Heap was ordered to pay the costs of the prosecution.