Hotel couple’s ‘greed’ costs them $4250

Press, 12 April 1979, Page 9

Hotel couple’s ‘greed’ costs them $4250

It was a sad thing to see a hotel couple who had reached middle age without offending standing in the dock about to be sentenced on receiving charges brought about by greed, Mr Justice Roper said in the Supreme Court. Frederick William Sharp, aged 54, former licensee of the Station Hotel, Moorhouse Avenue, was fined $3OOO on a charge of receiving from Robert Charles Purdy 40,000 cigarettes valued at $1270 when he knew they had been stolen. His wife, Agnes Edwards Sharp, aged 53, was fined !$lOOO and was ordered to pay $250 towards the cost of prosecution on a charge of receiving from Robert White men’s and women’s clothing, cosmetics and footwear valued at $3OO when she knew the articles had been stolen. Mrs Sharp pleaded not guilty but a jury, after deliberating for 35 minutes last week, found her guilty. Frederick Sharp, who had also elected trial by. jury, then entered the dock and changed his plea to one of guilty. He was remanded in custody until yesterday and his wife on bail. Evidence was given at Mrs Sharp’s trial that an alcoholic railwayman who systematically stole goods from the parcels office where he worked sold them to Mrs Sharp for a

fraction of their value and then spent the proceeds in the bar.

At the taking of depositions against Frederick Sharp, Detective J. F. Oakley said that the accused had made a statement admitting that he had paid $4BO to a barman for the 40,000 cigarettes. He said that he realised that in buying the cigarettes under half price he had taken a stupid risk. Mr M. J. Glue, for both prisoners, submitted that a fine rather than imprisonment was the appropriate sentence. In a fairly recent case a man named Sheard, licensee of the Cantabrian Hotel at the time, had been fined $lOOO. Sheard had been receiving stolen property on a fairly large scale and his offending had been more serious than either of the Sharps. Both prisoners now realised how extremely foolish they had been to succumb to temptation and it had to be conceded that the quantity of cigarettes, clothing and other articles was large, but in almost every case the articles were iptended. for personal use or as presents. His Honour: It must be gratifying for their grandchildren to know that they were going to get presents which had been stolen. Apart, from these two offences Mr and Mrs Sharp had led unblemished lives, Mr

Glue said. They had received very favourable probation of-, ficer’s reports. Those who knew them had expressed great surprise that they had offended. The Sharps had been married for 35 years and had! three sons, al! of whom had done well. Over a period of 25 years Mr Sharp had held 10 hotel licences in various parts of the country. When he took over the Station Hotel it had been in a rundown condition. He cleaned out the undesirables! from the bars — no easy task and had brought the hotel up to a good standard. Both Mr and Mrs Sharp were well respected in the licensed trade and to their consternation they had lost their good name. A sportsman of some ability, Mr Sharp had represented Otago at soccer for two years after the war, Mr Glue said. Mr and Mrs Sharp had the ability to pay substantial fines/The lease of the Station Hotel had been sold for $76,000 and their house for $46,000. They had a mortgage of $20,000 on the property. They had bought a business in Queensland for $46,000 and they had savings of more than $30,000. The Sharps were repentant for what they had done and had learned their lesson several times over. They were a closely united couple and counsel requested that they

jibe given the opportunity to - start a new life in Australia. 3 For the Crown Mr G. K. 1 Pankhurst said that last year I there had been 191 prosecutions on receiving charges

involving property valued at I more than $25,000. His Honour said that it was to Mr Sharp's credit that he had pleaded guilty to the charge. It had been said many times that if there were no receivers there would be no thieves. “It is very common knowledge that thieves and receivers do a lot of their trade in hotels. Some licensees try to prevent it, some turn a blind eye to it but you two became actively involved in it,” his Honour said. It was not long ago that a warning was sounded in relation to the case of receiving at the Cantabrian Hotel and it was for that reason he had delayed sentence. It seemed that this case might call for a deterrent sentence in the form of imprisonment. “It was as well that I did obtain probation reports on you both. They have probably saved you. They are excellent reports and there is only one comment on Mr Sharp with which I cannot agree and that is that ‘you impress as a responsible and upright citizen’.” “The fact that you are 54 and have no previous convictions must stand you in good stead at this stage, but it is a sad thing to see two people like you brought to this at your time of life through greed. “I accept your counsel’s submission that the matter can be met by a fine but it is going to be a substantial one,” said his Honour.