CONSPIRACY CASE

Northern Advocate, 3 August 1932, Page 6

CONSPIRACY CASE

TWO MEN INDICTED. WAIOTIRA FARMER’S LOSS. CHEQUE FOR £I2OO INVOLVED. (Special to “Northern Advocate.”) AUCKLAND, Tuesday. Before Mr Justice Smith and a .-jury in the Supremo Court today, Clifford Spencer Dahlin, alias Power, aged 37, and Reginald Clarence Williams, alias Reader, aged 43, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to defraud George Montague Poyner, farmer and bnshman, of Waiotira, of £I2OO, and of stealing that sum from him on August 21, 1031. Accused were separately represented by counsel.

The assistant Crown Prosecutor said there wore four men concerned, and it would be proved that the accused were the two who took the principal part in the transactions. . There were three counts in the indictment, namely, theft, conspiring with two other men to defraud, and false representation. Poyner was a bachelor, living alone in the country, and it was alleged that he was the victim of a scheme by which he was robbed of £I2OO. The men called on him and told him they -wanted his co-operation in the purchase of four blocks of land at Ponsonbyj where a great glassworks was to be built by a Belgian firm. They said the land was owned by a widow, who was now in England, and the purchase money was to be paid to her. They told him it was a good “buy” and the land would immediately be sold to the. Belgian firm at a handsome profit. Eventually he made out a cheque for £I2OO, and one man, Thomas, wrote out one for £2,800. These were- handed over to Power, who made out one for £4,600. He handed this over temporarily. The position was that Poyner held a cheque for'£4,Boo for only a few minutes, whereas he was induced to part with £I2OO. It was suggested that the' whole transaction was fraudulent, and that it was merely a conspiracy to defraud. Belated Message. “It is not possible to follow Poyner’s mental processes, ’’ said counsel, “but he appears to have had some doubt as to the wisdom of what he had done, for, after ‘sleeping on it,’ he decided, next morning, to ring up his bank at Dargaville, and to stop payment of the cheque. He rang up, but it was too late, the cheque having been cashed.” He was not able definitely to identify the men with whom he had had dealings, but there was definite evidence from the chief clerk of the National Bank branch at Dargaville that Dahlin -was the man who presented Poyner’s cheque. He obtained a warrant to remit £BOO to the Bank of New Zealand branch in Symonds Street, Auckland, and took the balance of £4OO in cash. No time was wasted in collecting the £BOO which was remitted, cheques for £2OO, £560, and £39 a/- being cashed, leaving a small balance in the account.

The identification of the accused men, said counsel, would be carried a step forward by the evidence of witnesses that Williams' ear was seen at Whangarei during the time of the alleged fraud. The number was taken, amt , there was no doubt that it was the same car. Williams would be identified as the man who drove-the car, and Dahlin would be identified by several witnesses who had seen him, on several occasions, in the hotel at Whangarei where the early negotiations with Poynor took place. Both .accused left Now Zealand, but they were arrested in Sydney and extradited. Poyner’s Story. Poyner, giving evidence, said he lived by himself, about ten miles from Waiotira. His name was George, but he was commonly known as '‘Mont,” which was short for Montague. Early on the morning of August .19 two men, who gave their names as Thomas and Williams, called at his house and said they wanted his assistance to buy four blocks of land at Ponsonby. Thomas asked him to stand in with them and share the profit. The two men stayed with him that night, and next day Thomas said he would lot him know when they could see him again. . Ho saw them on the Friday following, and they went to an hotel at Whangarei, where he was introduced to a man called Power, and another man, who was said to have come from Belgium. Witness told him that ho and Thomas had agreed to buy the land together, and Power asked him if he would sell the land to him. Witness said he would if he could make a* profit. Power said he would give him £75 profit on each block, and witness said he - wanted £l5O. Counsel: “What did he say to that?" ' Witness: “He said, ‘You are a hard • man to deal with.' ” (Laughter). | Eventually he wrote out a cheque for ■ £I2OO for Power, and handed it over. ■ The cheque for £-1,000 included £6OO which was stated to he witness’ profit.

Identity Queried. Questioned by counsel for Dahlin, witness said ho could identify Dahlin now. When he had seen him in an identity parade at Whangarei police station he thought he was one of the men who called on him, but he was not quite sure. He was sure of him when he saw him in the Police Court. He had identified Williams in the parade. Witness admitted that he had said in the Police Court that he was not able to recall the exact dates, as he had not an excellent memory. He had said to Dahlin, “I would not say you were not present,” but he might have said, “I would not say you were present.” Answering counsel for Williams, witness said when he caine to Auckland to consult a solicitor, a week after signing the cheque, the only man whose name he was certain of was Thomas. Bank Officials Testify. William Grinlinton, clerk at the National Bank of New Zealand, Dargaville, said he recognised a cheque (produced) as one for £I2OO drawn by Poyner and payable to H. Power. The cheque was brought to the bank by Dahlin, who took £4OO in cash and had £BOO remitted to the Bank of New Zealand, Symonds Street, Auckland. He sighed the application for remittance as H. Power, giving an address in Portland Road, Remuera. He -was very well dressed, wore a dark suit, bowler hat, leather coat, and smoked a cigar all the time he was in the bank.

Erie William Bird, another clerk at the National Bank at Dargaville, identified Da hi in as the man who presented the cheque. Evidence given in the Police Court by B. A. Armitage, manager of the bank, was read. This stated that fitness had selected Williams at the identification parade as the man who presented the cheque. Katherine Jessie McKenzie, proprietress of an accommodation hquse at Waipu, said that on August 18, 1931, four men came to her house and gave the names of Power, Thomas, Hammond and Yallancc. She did not know them by their individual names, but Dahlin was one of the men. Three days later they left. While they were there they paid for two telephone toll calls, one to Waiotira and another to Auckland.

Harold G. Grayling, accountant at the Symonds Street branch of the Bank of New Zealand, recounted the transferring of £BOO from the. National Bank at Dargaville and the opening of an account by H. Power. He identified Dahlin as Power. Arrest and Extradition. Detective-Sergeant McHugh .said he went to Sydney on October 31 to bring back Williams, who had been arrested and granted bail, but he absconded from bail. ' ’ ■ Chief Detective Hammond said he saw the two accused at the -Central Police Station, Sydney, on May 12, 1932. On that day they were extradited to New Zealand. He had known them in Auckland, In May, 1931, they were in business in Auckland, and in August of that year were living with their families in the same house at

Grey Lynn. To counsel for Dahlin, witness said he knew Dahlin had been convicted of bookmaking and fined £75, which had not been paid/ To counsel for Williams, witness said he knew the Official Assignee in Welhad been inquiring for Williams.' The hearing was adjourned until this morning. NO EVIDENCE OF THEFT, JUDGE’S INTENTIONS. DAHLIN ADDRESSES COURT. (Special to “Northern Advocate.”) AUCKLAND, This Day. The trial of Clifford Spencer Dahlin, alias Power, and Reginald Clarence Williams, alias Reader, .was continued today. Mr Justice Smith said he would direct the jury that there was no evidence of theft against Williams. When the person who wrote the cheque intended to part with it, there was no substantiation for the theft charge. With respect to the charges. of conspiring and false pretences, he intended to deal with the indictments separately when he summed up. Counsel for Dahlin Submitted that he was the innocent tool of some other party.

Dahlin addressed the court from the dock, and declared that his only connection with the case was that he drove the other men in a car to Whangarei. The jury returned a verdict of guilty against both accused of conspiracy to defraud. ■ '