CONSPIRACY CHARGE

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 102, 11 April 1933, Page 10

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.