£145 IN FINES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23178, 26 October 1938, Page 14

£145 IN FINES

BOOKMAKING CHABGES SIX MEN BEFORE COURT PALMERSTON NORTH RAIDS [I3Y TELEGRAPH —OWN CORRESPONDENT} PALMERSTON NORTH. Tuesday Six men faced charges of keeping common gaming houses in tho Magistrate's Court this morning following a series of raids conducted by the police yesterday, the concluding day of the Wellington Bacing Club's meeting at Trentham. Five who were convicted were fined amounts totalling £145, while tho sixth was granted a remand until Monday at the request of counsel. A large quantity of betting material was produced in Court by Detective-Ser-geant A. B. Meiklejohn, who prosecuted.

The evidence disclosed that in each case the police had called at the defendants' housos shortly after two o'clock and stayed for periods of up to three hours taking bets over the telephono and searching for betting material. In two cases Mr. Meiklejohn remarked that tho defendants had recently moved into modern bungalows, whilo one owned a good business as a hairdresser.

At one house a letter was found in tho copper from a writer in Sydney, who asked for £2 to be placed on Royal Chief in tho Melbourne Cup, as starting price betting had been interfered with in Sydney. At the same place the wife of the defendant told a police constable that they know there was going to be a raid that day. One of thoso charged said that he had lost money over his transactions, and according to the detective-sergeant had promised to give up bookmaking. All admitted that they were in business as bookmakers und pleaded guilty. Mr. H. P. Lawry, S.M., said he would impose fines in every case. Those in th* biggest way, John Bruce Clark, aged 29, agent, and Harry McDonald Essex, aged 47, commission agent, would be fined £45; Dario Lancheto Giorgi, aged 45, hairdresser, was fined £3O; Patrick Arthur Molloy, aged 28,- hairdresser, £ls, and Kenneth Aiton Holmes, aged 25, cleaner, £lO.