DARING CROOK

NZ Truth, Issue 1063, 8 April 1926, Page 7

DARING CROOK

Smith Goes to Gaol MOYNL "THE MUG" (From "Truth's" Rotorua Rep.) The recent tragedy m the Par-' nell tunnel, when a constable was killed, by ,a tra,in. during, the search for an escaped . prisoner, was recalled last week by the appearance of Thomas Smith and James Moyne before the Rotorua Magistrate charged with the theft- of benzine at Taupo. The third accused, Reginald Phillips, had been allowed bail and disappeared, leaving £250, and a motor-car m the hands of the police. Smith and Moyne were also charged with consorting with thieves. Evidence was given by Constable McMullen, of Taupo, to the effect that he had known Phillips for 12 or 13 years. He was known to the police as "a racecourse spieler, a guesser and a reputed thief." For the last four years he had been m possession of a diminutive pony with which he had travelled the Dominion and Australia. He was m Npartnership with a man named A. Copley, who was a convicted thief and a well-known "silent worker" of bedrooms. . Copley had been arrested and senr tenced to two months' imprisonment for consorting with thieves. The detective;exhibited the medical forceps found amongst accuseds' gear and demonstrated how — with their " aid—a locked door could be. opened from the outside. He also showed the Bench the dummy keys. There .were also a number of double dice and a quantity oC quicksilver for use m loading the dice, to be used unfairly against opponents. . '-' Phillips, the detective considered had acted as pilot for Smith and other Australian crooks. Moyne he believed to have been "the mug." Smith was sentenced to three months' hard labor and Moyne to a month. I !