PROBATION REFUSED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21480, 2 May 1933, Page 12

PROBATION REFUSED

SERIES OF THEFTS POSTAL OFFICER'S LAPSE SENTENCED TO DETENTION Having admitted six charges of theft as a postal officer at Otorohanga, Alexander John McNamara, aged 33 (Mr. Finlay), appeared for sentence before Mr. Justice Smith in the Supreme Court yesterday. Tho offences occurred between January 31 and March 29, and the total sum involved was £197. Mr. Finlay said there were qualities and degrees even in wrongdoing. Only a small proportion of the total sum had been in a sense misappropriated. None of the money was taken by McNamara for his own ends, but, to cover up a breach of regulations of which ho had been guilty. There, was a regulation that money orders must be paid for by cash and never by cheque, but McNamara unfortunately had accepted cheques for considerable amounts from farmers in payment of money-orders. When these cheques were rejected by the bank, ho was in a very unhappy position. .>

His Honor said, as he understood it, prisoner simply misappropriated money paid in to him as interest and principal on State mortgages.

Mr. Finlay said that was not what happened. He misappropriated money owing to the State Advances Department to satisfy debts owing to the Postal Department. Toward the end, being driven to extremity, he did take some money and try to retrieve his position by betting. When that failed he surrendered to the police.. His ofr fence was founded essentially on his generous treatment of customers. Mr. McCarthy, for the Crown, said there was nothing on his file about prisoner obliging people by Issuing them money-orders for cheques. " The public interest is paramount in a case of this kind," said His Honor. " 1 am unable to give countenance to the idea that civil servants in charge of public funds can do this sort of thing once and then go free on probation." His Honor said it was a most extraordinary thing that prisoner should have obliged people by accepting cheques ynless ho had some motive for doing so, and in the absence of any detailed explanation he could only assume that prisoner was acting_ dishonestly. He must assume that prisoner was guilty of dishonesty throughout in this matter. McNamara had been given quite a good character, except' that latterly he had been addicted to liquor and probably to be surprising if tho betting had something to do with these transactions. Ho would be sentenced to reformative detention for a period not exceeding la months.