AN IMPUDENT IMPOSTOR.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16777, 5 July 1922, Page 8

AN IMPUDENT IMPOSTOR.

PLEADS CUILTY IN COURT. - “TRADING ON HIS « PRETTY ’.” “He has been going round the country in a most impudent way imposing on people for small sums of money. The man is of fairly good address. He i» what I think is called thelass C person who trades ou py pretty.’ lie has been imposing jsi by his decent appearance s'ytd they -believed him, and lie has taken them down. This kind of thing is far too common nowadays, and there is only one way to check it —to inflict imprisonment.” The Stipendiary Magistrate, Mr Wyvern Wilson, spoke in this fashion at the Court this morning of a spruce young .man, thirty-four years of age, who was faced with five charges of imposition. Acused was Claude Randolph Marmont, and his aliases were Montent, Bird. Smith, -Way, Parker, and Campbell. Marmont was charged that, by false false pretences, he obtained £1 10s front John IVi'Farlane. of Otautau, 15s from Mrs Lilly Duncan, of Christchurch, £1 6s from Thomas Duncan O’Rourke, Otautau, £1 10s front Mary Wyber, of Gore, and £3 from Minnie Purdue, of Nightcap’s Accused obtained the sums by representing that he bought and sold farms, and that his car had broken down. Chief-Detective A. Cameron informed the Court that aecused had been going front place to place victimising people. There were other cases of victimisa tion in all probability attributable to accused. As far as the case of Purdue was concerned, he had represented himself to be one Smith, and a person well known to the Purdue family. Mrs Purdue behoved mm and let him have the sum mentioned. He went on under different names taking people down. When arrested by Detectives Thompson and Newman he made astatem nt. Detective Thompson gave evidence, stating that when arrested accused expressed regret. He then made the statement admitting liis guilt. He said he wanted to make a clean breast of it. accused’s previous record the Chief Detective stated that in 1916 at Auckland he was convicted and fined £5 on a charge of false- pretences ; in April 1919, he was convicted and discharged on two charges of false pretences nt Auckland; and at the same place in March 1919 ho was sentenced to three -months’ hard labour on a charge of false pretences. Running concurrently with this sentence was one of one month’s imprisonment for failing to provide maintenance. Chief Detective Cameron submitted that accused. could be dealt with under section 4 of the amendment to the Crimes Act. The Magistrate : Allowing for reformative treatment? & Chief Detective Cameron: Yes. Times are a bit hard, and it is hard for the people who are “ taken down.” The Magistrate: Yes ; and the tiouble is far too frequent. Accused stated that he would not have committed the offences if he had been able to get work. “ This seems to be an old game of yours,” said the Magistrate to accused. He said he did not altogether agree with a fine in cases of false pretences. He did not think, under the circumstances, that he would put accused under reformative detention. Accused was sentenced to- two months’ imprisonment on each of the five charges, the sentences to he cumulative. “Tn prison it will help you to get into the habit oP work.” said the Magistrate. 11 Nowadays the work is very steady and habits are regular, and, to my way of thinking, the prisoners are very comfortably housed and fed.”