CONSPIRACY CHARGE
ALLEGED CONFIDENCE TRICK SALESMAN BEFORE COURT. COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. AUCKLAND, April 10. Jack Walter, aged 32, a salesman, was charged in the Police Court to-day’ with conspiring with James Taylor and a third person whose name was unknown to defraud Francis Atkinson of £5BO. Lengthy evidence was given by the complainant, Atkinson, of making tho acquaintance in the street of a man with whom he subsequently’ had a meal in a restaurant. While there his acquaintance found a wallet which they traced to its owner in a city hotel. The owner of the wallet said that ho was representing an Australian turf commission agency, and Atkinson and his companion embarked in a com- | plicated series of transactions in which j he allege! that he lost £5BO. Detective-Sergeant Doyle said that the accused booked a passage from Wellington to Sydney under the name of George Andrews. Asked at Wellington about the alleged confidence trick, the accused replied: “It’s fine and dandy, boy. Carrying on with business.” While witness was escorting the accused in a train to Auckland accused, pointing to Atkinson, made the following remarks: “Ain’t ho a sucker? Look at him. How could a man pass him by? Guys like him are born every day; in fact, they never die. I don’t like that guy. You know, he lies to me. He told me he had £lOOO in the bank. I felt like cracking him w’hcn I found out that he had only about! £650. He offered to raise a mortgage of £4OO on that farm of his at Kaitaia, and for once in my life I felt sympathetic and I stopped him from getting on the train to go up and raise that £409. “You know, if I had five minutes with that guy now he would run away from you ‘Dicks’ and you would never see him again. If I had waited another day he would never have squealed to the ‘Dicks’. He had not heard the finish of the story’. You know, this is a good story, and I don’t think it’s been put over here before. It’s what we call the ‘pay-off’. I suppose he told you I trod on his toe when I picked up the wallet. I got only £lB2 out of this. The other two guys got the same, and the ‘mug’ got £l5 of his own money back. “This is a great little country. I like Rotorua. There is a lot of money there. I could make a lot of money in a season there with a couple of good men, but I would want a little protection. We would give you a 5 per cent, guarantee that we would only take on visitors and never touch New Zealanders. I have made a lot of money in my time, but I spend it as fast as I get it. Tho ‘Dicks’ in the States got me twice, and the last time I did 90 days.” The accused pleaded not guilty and was committed for trial.
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Bibliographic details
Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 102, 11 April 1933, Page 10
Word Count
505CONSPIRACY CHARGE Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 102, 11 April 1933, Page 10
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