SONS BESMIRCH HONORED NAME

NZ Truth, Issue 1272, 17 April 1930, Page 8

SONS BESMIRCH HONORED NAME

Criminal Actions of Two Young Men Bow Father's Head In Shame CALLOUS DUPLICITY 7 ENDED IN PRISON

(From "N.Z. Truth V Special Brisbane Representative.)

In Australia to-day there is an aged and pathetic figure, a man bowed beneath a great sorrow, whose honored name and unblemished record m New Zealand and the Commonwealth has been smirched by the shameful criminal acts of his two sons, Leonard Roy Montefiore and his brother Stanley Robert Montefiore. Convicted after a sensational trial m Brisbane of conspiracy to defraud the Ocean and Accident Guarantee Corporation, of which their father was the general manager, as he had been m the Dominion some years ago, one son, Roy Montefiore, m his capacity as branch manager, even falsified documents so as to deceive his parent.

THE four men were charged with obtaining £200 from the Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corporation, Ltd., as insurance on a car burnt, but not covered by policy. This was the second time which the men had been on trial. ,On the first occasion the jury disagreed. This time the jury made its mind up m under three hours, including a lunch hour. Then it was that the Crown Prosecutor, Mr., P. B. Macgregor, explained that m the 11 years of Montefiore's management" m Brisbane the Ocean Accident Company had lost about £45,000. Chief interest during the trial centred m the

speeches of counsel, for most of the evidence had been heard before. "Prien.d ships must not stand between you, gentlemen of the jury, and your duty; rather must you do your duty not because, but In spite of friendships," stated Mr. Macgregor. "Such

was the . experience of the Crown at the last trial, and you must pardon me making reference to it." He went on to remind the jurymen of the engines and ; chassis lying m the court yard, of the concocted burnt car, of the denial of the prisoners to help the police investigations, and how they refused to give statements. "Gentlemen, you will remember that during all the years mentioned m evidence Stanley Montefiore 'was m a chronic state of hard-upness, so that he could not even meet bills for small amounts," went on the Prosecutor. "But the Ocean Accident paid many times (his brother being manager), and you are left to draw a reasonable inference, not denied m evidence, about the guilt of the two brothers." Mr. Real went straight to the defence of Shaw and Baker. There lay the weaker points of the Crown case, and counsel's eloquence told on his hearers. . Summing Up "The presence of the four prisoners m court is the best proof of their innocence," was his first remark. "Perhaps if Roy Montefiore had left Brisbane when he resigned from the Ocean Accident Company instead of starting m opposition against it this prosecution would never have been entered." Mr. Real, submitted that even if Roy Montefiore, with his judicial discretion as manager, paid out before receiving a full report from Shaw as the assessor, then it was not evidence against Shaw. Then came the summing-up, occupying two hours. "Gentlemen of the jury," began Mr. Justice Macrossan. "Here you have a man who was m a position of importance and trust, alleged to have conspired with three other men to obtain £200 on the loss of a motor-car — not covered by insurance. "It has been suggested that some of the jurymen may be acquainted with the prisoners. It may be that I know Borne of the prisoners, but just as I would not let that influence me, so must you not let it influence you m doing your duty. "You are entitled to take into consideration the fact that the evidence of the Crown has not been contradicted. "You will remember that when the police were investigating and made accusations, they were not repudiated, but the officers were referred to solicitor Robert MeCowan. "You may draw inferences from such conduct, asking yourselves, if the attitude of the accused men was that of reasonable persons." •'The judge then addressed himself to the evidence. Deceived Father "As far as the Crown ca-se is concerned, the head of the whole affair was l!i. R. Montefiore, and the keynote is the falsification of documents. Mr. Real has suggested that any one of the company's servants could have done that; and Mr. Macgregor has suggested that it was the manager. "According to. the Crown it was done by L. R. Montefiore, who is alleged to have falsified the documents to deceive his own father, the general manager of the company for Australia, who has just retired after long and honorable service . and "who bears no stain.'' . Mr. Justice Macrossan then traced the history of the two cars then m the court yard, and of the third car, which was burned near Dalby over a year ago. "Now, gentlemen, you will see that I have succeeded m tracing- the whole history of the cars without dragging m the evidence of Ocean Accident officials, even though counsel may drag the red herring of a 'persecution* across the trail," commented his Honor, ending the first half of the summing-up. "You have also to remember, gentlemen, that the story told by documents and independent wit- ■ nesses is not contradicted. The Crown case suggests that the conspiracy started before the fire at Dalby, but I think it must have started after the fire. ; "That evidence is against the two Montefiores only. (The cases of Shaw and Baker are entirely different). On the evidence offered by the Crown there seems 'little doubt of the brothers' knowledge. "When Mr. Morey came to Brisbane he called L. R. Montefiore into his room, and asked for explanations. After thought the prisoner gave him a written statement which the Crown, puts forward as a tissue of lies. , "The whole thing can. be substantiated by outside witnesses," says the statement — 'but what witnesses have we heard to substantiate it, gentlemen?" Dealing with Baker, the judge commented upon the quantity of evidence and asked the Jury whether it thought there was sufficient upon which to convict him.< ' i . . "According to the Crown, m the case of Shaw, it was necessary ' to get a false report about the fire m order to $\ ■■_■■«.■•

obtain the insurance for Stanley Montefiore on the burnt car. "It is then alleged that L. R. Montefiore engaged Shaw to give this false report, and that Shaw, knowing what he was doing, gave one. It is a matter for you, gentlemen," added the ■judge, reading extracts from Shaw's report, /which were said to be untrue. "An insurance assessor should be there to assist the police^ but when Shaw was questioned he referred them to his solicitor. You may say that an honest assessor would at once have told the police all he knew, and not adopted Shaw's attitude. "In order to assist a fraudulent claim, did he draw up a fraudulent report? It is a matter for you, gentlemen." ■ With that the jury retired, and Mr. Real again asked that Baker's case be taken from the jury.. The Judge: It would be better for them to acquit him than me. Mr. Real: But if they don't. The Judge, I don't think they will convict him from that summing-up. Within three, hours the. jury had returned, acquitting two and convicting two. - The "dock door opened, and Baker, looking /worried, and Shaw, smiling, stepped forth once again free men. The two Montefiores, exchanging just a glance, remained. At that stage, however, the case was remanded so that investigations might be made concerning the possibility of, the prisoners repaying the £200 got on the burnt car and the £800 cost of the prosecution. "Lucky Man" Later when sentencing the brothers Judge Macrossan said, addressing their counsel, Mr. Real: "Get it out of your head that I am going to punish Roy Montefiore for stealing £45,000; lam going to punish him for conspiring with his brother to steal £200, but m the sentence I must take into consideration the general course of his conduct. "I am not convinced," continued the bench. , "I can't get it out of my head that your client could give explanations if questioned, but no doubt you can give, them bettor than he." Further discussion led the judge to remark that Runcorn (a former employee of the Ocean Accident Company under Montefiore), 'Hvas a very lucky man." "If I err I would prefer to err on the side of leniency," said the judge.

"There is not a bit of evidence to prove that Roy Monteflore got a penny out of this fraud," added Mr. Real, as he massed his forces for a final flourish. "In the Montefiore family there is a strong affection . among its members and the bond between Roy and his brother Stanley was strong. Stanley is, though a soldier with a fine record, the baby of the family, and what Roy did was for no motive of personal gain but for his brother, who was needing money. "That does not make a wrong right, but it takes away suggestions of sordid reasons." "Yes," commented Ohis Honor. "That should have been for the jury. You could not have conducted the case better, Mr. Real, but since you didn't convince'the jury, you can hardly expect to sway me. . "People do, not realise the cost s to the country of law and order. Take this case. The prosecution cost close on £1000, which I cannot order the prisoners to repay, and the maximum fine is only £500. "You will see that the cost of witnesses was £290, and the cost of jurors came to £668. Perhaps Roy Montefiore can pay m that sum. . "I am prepared, . too, to give Stanley a chance if he can make restitution of £290 to the Ocean Accident Company. >. '

"I am sorry. to tell your Honor that the father's resoure.es are exhausted at present," said counesl. "He is not m a position to do anything, and the cost of defending^ -three court appearances has drained his finances. "Much as we would like to do something at present, we cannot. Perhaps m the near future some friends may assist," was all Mr. Real could add. "That sum of £1000 does not include the cost of the special counsel (Mr. Macgregor). That is a luxury the Crown does not usually indulge m," said the judge. "And there is something I would like to add before this case leaves my hands," he added.

"I wish to express my admira-

tion for the industry and efficiency and ability of Police Officer Glynn m the preliminary preparation of this case. "I am satisfied that he v is fitted for much higher work than generally falls to a constable of police, and I hope that his work will be recognised m a more substantial way than I can recognise it." In a final effort, after one complete hour's pleading, Mr. Real urged leniency. "When Stanley volunteered for war service he ■ was only 16 years of age, an<3 he was severely gassed," he mentioned. The Sentence "Roy is even more unfortunate. Of worldly goods he has none. Already he has been punished enough, for if he , cleared this charge another insurance company was to have appointed him at £ 1200 a year. He has a wife and three children, and an invalid mother." Mr. Justice Macrossan: Yes, but can I take that into consideration? If I had my own Avay I might say "Go, and sin no more." But I cannot do that. There was a second's dramatic pause, then came the sentence. "Leonard Roy Montefiore, your affection for your brother did not justify you m betraying a trust, though it may add to the mental anguish of your brother to know that he was responsible for your downfall," said the judge. Leonard Roy Montefiore was then sentenced to imprisonment with hard labor for two years, but if, by any means, he could pay the costs of the Crown case, amounting to £1000, his Honor would make a recommendation that he be released at the "end of six months. Stanley Robert Montefiore was to be imprisoned with hard labor for a year, but if he made restitution of £290, and entered into a bond of £100 to be of good behavior for 12 months, the judge said he would recommend that he be .released. So ended the court proceedings, but the actors lingered. Old Mr. Montefiore was the first to go, with just a glance at the dock, and no recognition, he went ahead of Mr. Real. Men and women, some of them very fashionably dressed, stood up m the public gallery, and waved to the men m the dock, who responded to the greetings as they talked with their solicitor.