A YOUTHFUL SWINDLER.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12292, 20 July 1914, Page 7

A YOUTHFUL SWINDLER.

ROBBED A BLIND MAN. PRECOCIOUS FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD. (Lytiolion Times Correspomlent.)Auckland. July 17. An unkempt and rather under-sized youngster of fifteen years, who came before Mr F. V. Frazer. S.M., this morning, admitted an ofi'ence which showed an abnormal criminal development of the educated kind. He had been aelin.ee as guide to a blind organgrinder called I'ete, aud had evolved a- system ol" fraud by which lie had since February extracted from the old man in .sums ranging from £1 to £5 tlie amount of £ - 2(). When the organsrrinder was in Christchurch. he was robbed of something like £6OO. He came on to Auckland, bringing the lad with him as a. guide, and the boy in February delighted his ears with the story that he had got on the track of the money, which was recoverable, lie said. He stated thai he had got hold of two men who had gone over to Sydney with the thief, and they had informed him that the thief had died there of blood-poisoning, .but that prior to his death had confessed the theft and directed that restitution should be made. The boy said lie was making inquiries with a view to recovering the money, and from time to time he read Ihe blind man letters to .support this story, -and got from him money which he said was necessary for the search. He also told I'ete that ho could obtain compensation from the Coverjiment for the accident that had, caused his blind-, .ness, and he conducted the proceedings to this end too, writing "fake" letters and drawing the money said to be necessary lor the preliminaries. Pete at one stage got suspicious, because someone told him a letter he had got was in the boy's handwriting, vo the boy afterwards got the letters typed. "I have one here," said; ChiefDetective M'Mahon. producing a- document, "'which reads: 'Send me £1 and look out P. —Menzies. detective.' " Detective M'Mahon explained that the '•!"' stood for Pete and "Menzies" was the mythical detective who was making inquiries about the blind man's lost money. The boy had gone to a typist's ofiice and had the letters typed for sixpence. "But it is strange that anyone in a typist's office should type a letter like that for a boy," .exclaimed the Magistrate. '"Wo are inquiring about that," said Chief-Detective M'Mahon. Detective Hammond said he knew the stock from which the boy sprang, and that all the lad's brothers showed similar tendencies. Remarking on the boy's highly developed criminal instinct, his Worship ■ committed him to Burnham Industrial School, and informed him that such an ofi'ence as this by a man would mean a sentence of five years in gaol.