WOMAN BOOKMAKER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23703, 10 January 1939, Page 12

WOMAN BOOKMAKER

THE “HEN AND CHICKENS" ON LAWN AT ELLERSLIE CONSTABLE PLACES BET A well-dressed woman, who the police said was known as the “Hen and Chickens,” appeared voluntarily before Mr F. H. Levien, S.M.. in the Police Court in Auckland recently to plead guilty to a charge of carrying on the business of a bookmaker on the lawn e .closure at Ellerslie. The defendant was Mary Catherine Martin, aged 52. Detective Sergeant McHugh said that Detective Sergeant F. N. Aplin interviewed Martin, who admitted to him that for the last 12 months she had been attending race meetings at Ellerslie and doing silver betting. In a statement she said she had been taking only small bets, the largest being ss, and that practically all her betting was done with women. She said she left home on Tuesday morning with £6 and had been struck heavily, and that she had taken about £ 1 worth of bets on each race. She operated in the lawn stand. The defendant also said she had a family of 13 children, five being dependent upon her,

On the Main Stand “ This woman has been going to Ellerslie on race days and taking up a position on the main lawn stand," Mr McHugh said. “ The police have been receiving complaints about her much longer than 12 months. Her activities as a bookmaker have been going on much longer than she says, We have had considerable difficulty in bringing her to book. Her method is to stay in the main stand. She has scouts—women of all sorts who keep her advised of the approach of the police, so much so that we have been unable to get within range of her until lately. # , ~ . , “ Her activities are such that she is known as the ‘ Hen and Chickens. She is the * hen ’ and the ‘ chickens are her scouts. During this last meeting at Ellerslie we were successful in getting bets on with her. A blushing young constable managed to get through the cordon of scouts —or chickens —and bet with her.” .X „ “Boldest Better”

“There is really nothing I can say in her favour. One is usually able to say something for women when they appear in this court, but I cannot for her. She is the boldest better who ever appeared on the Ellerslie course, and it has been difficult to catch her because of the scouts she has working for her. We know she does the same thing at the trotting meetings to. Martin has never been in trouble before. She had £5 2s 6d on her when she was caught.” .xx x. Martin told the magistrate she had a delicate husband and a crippled boy. “ I thought that by doing this it would help things along, but really I never made much out of it,” she added. “As for the scouts and that —well, that s all news to me■” , Detective Sergeant McHugh: Good news! . A x Mr Levien: This has got to stop, you know. If any of your scouts are sufficiently educated to carry on you had better tell them that the fine will be much heavier than yours. You will be fined £lO.. _ “I’ll never do it again,” Martin told the magistrate.