THE CRIMINAL SESSIONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18468, 3 August 1923, Page 12

THE CRIMINAL SESSIONS

MONEYS NOT ACCOUNTED FOR

COLLECTOR FOR A UNION.

EMPLOYEE AT FREEZING WORKS.

'•', The, criminal ; sessions of the Auckland Supreme Court were continued \ yesterday ; before; Mr/i Justice Stringer and Mr. Jusj tice Herdman. I On a charge of omitting ■to account for i monies, Hugh vMcDougali j, : Adams (Mr. Moody), pleaded not guilty, before Mr. Justice Stronger.

( Mr. Meredith, for the Crown, stated that ; accused was a'.union delegate at Horbtu.'- Freezing Works, and his duty was to j collect the union ; subscriptions ' and •hand them to the secretary;: Accused collected • £25 and shortly after left the worka without accounting for the money. ': William Edward Sill, secretary of : the Abbatoirs Assistants' r and • Freezing : : Workers' : Union';; said ' he wrote to . the accused "and : told him he would be well advised to pay in ; the money, 'but; received ho reply.:ln February or March, 1922, accused told witness he had sent the,j money to him by post. Witness said that was hardly likely as he had not got it. Accused then replied: "If there is going to be any row about it, I will pay again out of I my own pocket." Mr. Moody did not call any evidence; The Crown, he submitted, had failed.*:to establish that, the '. failure to account for the moneys was fraudulent. In a state-" ment made by accused, lie' said he had' posted the monies with the books:to the secretary of the union in : Auckland. Ac-' cused stated ' that if he- did not post ; the [ money he must have lost it on the way to the post office. This; was consistent with the evidence that accused had been drinking. ■.' - '■'_ The jury found prisoner guilty. His Honor reserved sentence until Saturday. If accused's.; character was g'Kid he would be inclined to admit him to probation, but restitution would have to bo made. -':.■" f

PICTURE THEATRE EPISODE. John Charles Colcord, a simple-looking youth, with an impediment in his speech, pleaded not guilty, before Mr. Justice Stringer, to a charge of indecent assault., ... -~ " '.' }■' "'■ Mr. -Meredith said it was alleged that accused interfered with 'the clothing of a woman sitting. next to him in a picture ■theatre.:--', -W- • ' '■ • The jury found the prisoner guilty of a common assault and", hot [ guilty of indecent assault. Sentence .was deferred until next week. ' :: ; ..- t ; ,■ , ACCUSED. OF THEFT. ; Charged with stealing £9, Louis Neary (Mr. Sullivan) pleaded i not - guilty before Mr. Justice >. Herdman. Mr. Paterson, for the Crown, said that on June 1 accused got into conversation with a' man named George in. ah. hotel bar,, and asked George to pick a double and produced a chart. {George had one £10, and one \£l note and 53 in silver. He picked a double and gave accused the £1 note, accused telling him >he stood to win £50. Accused ; ; persuadedGeorge. to pick another double and the latter handed over the £10 note. Accused said he would band George the £9 ; chango in a few seconds. Accused left the hotel ' George followed and tried to grab him. When accused returned to the hotel he denied he had ever had any money from George. William George stated that accused passed the £10. to a mate. , - Cross-examined, witness denied that lie was drinking all the ;time he was in Auckland. j' • , _ Accused, who denied receiving either the £1 or £10 S note, admitted having; been before the Court on previous occasions. The case was adjourned till to-day. } POSED AS BOOKMAKER. " When Reginald .Benjamin and Trevor Leonard Richard Cunningham, conjointly charged with alleged I; conspiracy to defraud and false pretence; appeared before Mr. Justice Herdman;' Benjamin pleaded guilty, and Cunningham not guilty. Benjamin was remanded j; until Monday for sentence. As Cunningham's counsel was ill, the hearing was adjourned. The charge to which Benjamin pleaded guilty was the representation that he was a bookmaker, whereby he obtained money from a visitor to Auckland. i Cunningham denied complicity.;, i . -

CHARGES OF i RECEIVING.

Charges of receiving stolen property were preferred against George ■ Percival Fuge (Mr. Hadow),,; before Mr. Justice Stringer. These charges, were in respect of a series of burglaries, for which two men, Frederick Linton and Robert F. E. Ellis, are now serving sentences. Joseph Henry Ophir Rees .'said that on the night of May 24 his parents' residency in Brandon Street, Parnell, was broken into, and jewellery to the value :of £129 stolen. Some days later he met accused, who he had known about two years, . and told him of the robbery, and accused said he hoped some of the jewellery would be recovered. ; :; ,' -.•■■. ) John Henry Wells, , ? of - Carlton Gore Road, and William James Golding, of Williamson Avenue, stated that their houses were entered, the fiirst on May 31, and the second on June 3, and jewellery and other articles stolen. ' .' '■'.. Detective Lambert 9 ' said that. acting on information received from Linton and Ellis •■ he, with Constable Moon, visited accused's home on Juno 10; and asked him to hand over the jewellery given ; to him by Linton and Ellis. After denying ;* any j knowledge ;of the articles, accused -pro- J duced a chain purse, containing some of j the stolen jewellery. Frederick / Linton,: who was present in custody, said that Ellis gave him a car- :! digahi:jacket: belonging to accused and asked him -to return it to , Fuge. : ; The stolen jewellery was in the pocket of the jacket, which was rolled up when he'gave it to accused. , • ' I Mr. Meredith, Crown Prosecutor, . objected that these.:"':.; statements were at I variance with - the story which witness had told the police.- '; •'■''•.'; j:; '■-. ■ p; After being i warned by His Honor as to the risks attendant upon perjury the witness said that accused knew beforehand that he and Ellis were going to break into the home of Rees and Wells, and that on the nights of the respective robberies the stolen jewellery was handed, to accused for safe keeping. V Accused, who was waiting nearby, was also given the jewellery taken from Golding s house. These articles were given to Fuge for safe keeping untfi tney could be disposed of. ; He and Ellis got the articles from accused las they were able to sell. them. :.' I Mr. Meredith said that In view of •. the' | attitude of Linton he would not call Ellis. j: The defence was a denial that accused I knew anything of (he: robberies, or that j he saw ljinton or Ellis On the nights when j the robberies jvvere committed. His : evi-dence-'was to the effect that his cardigan jacket was returned to him by Linton and he put it away. Next day discovered something hard in ..; the pocket of the jacket, and this proved to be some, of,the "stolen jewellery. He recognised a_ tie pin as • belonging to Rees, and when Linton and Ellis asked him to'return the articles to them he refused, saying: he was .going to see: that it 'went, tothe rightful owners.: On one occasion Linton said he knew how he could fix him'if he did not give up the jewellery. ';'_■""■ "'f '■>*,£ . :> : : ::: f.-'H'- :.. ; The hearing was adjourned until . today. ■ ■.;:. :'■■,;, : '■■'■■■ -: ' . _ ''. .."■ ■•-•. H'---'