GAMING HOUSE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22628, 16 January 1937, Page 15

GAMING HOUSE

23 MEN BEFORE COURT arrested in police raid FINES FROM £IOO TO £2 COMMENTS BY MAGISTRATE "The circumstances show that these men attempted to defeat justice, and because they have deliberately flouted the law they must be lined heavily, as the best penalty in cases of this kind is to make the offenders disgorge some of their ill-gotten gains," said Jlr. G. 11- Orr Walker, S.M., in the Police Court yesterday, when 23 men, arrested in a police raid at the Albert Club, 24 Wyndham Street, on Wednesday, faced gaming charges. Fines ranging from £IOO down to t2, and totalling £350, were imposed. Pleas of guilty were entered by Frank Picker Russell, traveller, aged 42, charged with using his premises as a common gaming house. and Albert James Thomas, barman, aged 46, Frederick William Batchelor. labourer, aged 58, David Henry Simons, painter, aged 48, and Laehlan McDonald, labourer, aged .'*2, charged with assisting in the management of a common gaining house They were represented by Mr. .). Terry. Club Fitted for Gambling Detective-Sergeant McHugh said that as the result of complaints inquiries were made and a search warrant was executed: on the premises, where the doors, barred with steel fasteners, had to be broken in. There was a buzzer to announce arrivals, and the whole place was fitted up as a gaming house. A billiard table was surrounded by seats, but there was nothing to indicate that billiards were played there. Two-up and faro were the types of games played. The club had a reasonable membership and, like most places of its kind,, had a well-furnished lounge, gymnasium and Turkish baths, said Mr. Terry. It was not conducted solely as a gambliug resort. Men of the lower strata of society were inclined to indulge their propensity to gamble, and they had met at the club, preferring what they considered a fair gamble in "the great Australian game of two-up." There was no suggestion of impropriety of the management, although the club was to be closed within a few days. Previous Convictions Nothing was known against any of the accused, except gaming breaches. Russell had been unable to follow his occupation as a clothing traveller after a serious accident, and the other men were engaged in menial capacities, "Their lists indicate that these men have been engaged in the work for some time," said the magistrate, who pointed out that Russell and Simons had previously been fined up to £75 and Simons' and Thomas' convictions dated back to 1917 and 1916 respectively.

Russell was fined £IOO, Batehelor and Simons each £75, and McDonald and Thomas each £SO. Each was also ordered to pay costs, 10s. Default was not fixed, the magistrate remarking that if the fines did no good, future offences ivould be followed by imprisonment. Visitors to Premises Admitting charges of being found on the premises, Roy McGregor, Alexander John Watson, Mack Matkat, Patrick Boyne, Andrew Botica, George Henry Brown, William Henry George Cooper and Edwin Sherwood Thompson were each, fined £2 and costs, 10s; Eric Capner, John Thomas Brown and Ivan Bilich were each fined £3 and costs, 10s; Walter Carrick was fined £4 and costs, 10s; and Joseph Resetar and Robert Ferris were each fined £5 and costs, 10s.

Four men denied charges of being found on the premises and, after giving evidence, were fined as follows: Edgar Roberts, £5 and costs, 10s; and Hugh Glover, David Bookman and Herbert Pearce, £2 and costs, 10s. "So lonjr as men visit such premises thev will encourage the management to continue," said the magistrate. "It is obvious they spend their money, which , goes into the pockets of those managing these gambling places, otherwise the premises would be closed down. Therefore, the" visitors to the premises are as morally guilty as the managers themselves."