SPENT £3500

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11187, 18 April 1922, Page 7

SPENT £3500

AND STRUCK ONEI WINNER. MELBOURNE, April 5. Surprising information concerning a bank clerk’s defalcations, his heavy plunge into racing to win back money lpst, and the frequency with which the luck went against him was given in the Melbourne Insolvency Court. It was during an examination of lan St. Barbe Richardson, formerly accountant in the Commercial Bank at Hawthorn, who was sentenced ip September last to two years’ imprisonment, with hard labour, for having appropriated ,£3550 of the bank’s money, all of which, according bo his confession, ‘was tost at the races in a month.” Richardson said he might have had <6lO left out of <6500 when the first day's racing was over. On the second occasion on which he went to the races he took <6IOOO to square up his defalcations if possible. He did not win a bet that day. On the third day he again had <BIOOO to start with, and finished with <65. He won 45650 on The Tyrant at Williamstown, but lost all bis winnings the same afternoon. His Honour : You backed only one winner in four Saturdays and spent <63550? — "Yes” Did* you owe any money.—" No. You simply made a dash with the money from the bank?—"Yes.” His Honour adjourned the examination till a date to be fixed, to enable further information to be obtained concerning Richardson’s betting transactions.