FALSE PRETENCES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24569, 13 May 1935, Page 9

FALSE PRETENCES

DUKE SENT TO PRISON FAMILY HEIRLOOMS PAWNED LONDON, May 10. The Duke of Manchester, who is 59 years of age, was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment on a charge of obtaining £650 by false pretences in 1936 from Thomas Sutton, a wealthy London pawnbroker and jeweller, and his manager, Walter Lawlor, both deceased. The prosecution alleged that the duke obtained sums of £4OO, £2OO, and £SO by pawning jewellery, falsely representing that it belonged to him. The jewellery consisted of heirlooms left by his mother on trust, by which it could be lent to the duke’s first and second wives. Mr Curtis Bennett, for the defence, declared that Sutton’s executors initiated the prosecution two years after the pawning. The Duke of Manchester gave evidence emphatically denying intention to defraud. He declared that he was prepared now to redeem the jewels and pay the interest. He bowed to the judge when sentenced, betraying no emotion. PROCEDURE AT PRISON LONDON, May 11. (Received May 11, at 5.5 p.m.) Warders took the Duke of Manchester in a taxi cab to the Wormwood Scrubs prison, where the usual routine was observed. His belongings were inventoried and wrapped in a parcel. He underwent a medical examination and had a bath. Afterwards he was handed a mug, a Prayer Book, and a Bible and was locked in a cell.