PREMISES RAIDED

Northern Advocate, 2 May 1933, Page 2

PREMISES RAIDED

FRUITERER FINED £IOO

PINAL WARNING GIVEN,

ASSISTANT TO PAY £lO

(Special to “Northern Advocate.”) AUCKLAND, Monday

“This will be your last chance, Curran, as you have been here twice this year. If you come up again, you will probably go up above," said Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M., in the Police Court this morning, when he fined Thomas Curran £IOO, or three months’ imprisonment, on a charge of using premises at 115 Hobson Street as a common gaminghouse. Curran, described as a fruiterer, aged 55, and two young men, Joseph -Dempster Cox, electrician, and a youth were arrested by DetectiveSergeant McHugh, who with Detective Miller, raided Curran's house on Saturday morning and executed a search warrant.

Curran pleaded guilty. Cox also pleaded guilty to a charge of assisting in the management of a common gaminghouse. The youth did nof plead. Mr Mahoney, appeared for all three men.

Detective-Sergeant McHugh said the police had received complaints, and as a result a constable had been detailed to take bets with Curran. .The constable had no difficulty in making bets. When the raid was carried out, Curran was found in a room behind the shop. There was a telephone installed and another in an of* fice upstairs. The sum of £93 3/ in notes and silver, as well as three cheques for £49, £7 and £4 were found. Up until .11.30 a.m., 234 bets of the total value of £134 19/ had been taken. In addition to other betting material found on the premises, there were about 30 accounts all ready to be forwarded to unsuccessful punters.

“There is no suggestion that Curran has been welshing,” said Mr Me'Hugh. “He is an honourable man, who always pays out. Curran says the young man had only been assisting him for a couple of hours. He has never been up before.” “He was hardly there long enough to know what it was all about,” said (the magistrate, in dismissing the charge against the youth. Concerning Cox, Mr McHugh said Jie had been fined for being found in the same gaminghouse early in January last. Mr Mahoney said that, apart from doing a. little bookmaking, Curran was an eminently respectable citizen. “This is purely a technical type of offence in this country,” said counsel. “It seems a paradox, while art union tickets can be purchased all over the town and the wheels of the totalisator on racecourses arc revolving as fast as they can. I would ask your Worship to take into consideration the good character of Curran.”

“lie knows lie is breaking, the law,” said Hie magistrate. Be lined Curran £IOO and Cox £lO.