Charged With Theft From Works Department

Chronicle (Levin), 2 November 1948, Page 3

Charged With Theft From Works Department

Press Association J

(Per

AUCKLAND, Nov. 1. Legal argument after the Crown case had eonclucled, resulted in Mr. Justice FaLr -svithdrawing 13 eounts of forgery against tivo of the aceused in the trial of George Maleolni Smith, aged 35, elerk; Mate Delich, aged 5S, contractor, and Jam.es Fullerton Brown, aged 43, insurance agent, on charges of allegedly defrauding the Pixblic Works Department of about £1000. Twelve eounts against T. Smith and one against Delich were witlidrawn. Opening Smith 's defenee, counsei, Mr. Robinson, said aceused would testify that lie was a junior officer but had the responsibility of doing the work of a senior officer such as managing men and certifying for work done from rough .time shee.ts handed in by foremen and other Held officers. He would say it was a reeognised practice in making up a time book, to debit work on one job to some otlier job in order to meet the various alloeations by senior officers. As, a eonsequence he had no personal knowledge of the men wliose work he eertified but relied on the rough, time slieets while the men eoncerned might have been workiug on anv of, the several jobs. The men were paid by cheque and one man giving the name of Findlay got him to cash a cheque made out to him. Similarily, he had cashed a cheque for a mau named Wilson. Smith, in evidenee, said "that juggling" with the expeuditure authorit'ies for various jobs was done periodically all the time he eertified. He had to trust on what he was told. All the field time books or daily cartage sheets for Mercbanics Bav were signed by him and in all cases he believed they were correct. With regard to Wilson, McMasters, Domas and Simpson, he saw where the work was done and certiiled the book and time sheets. He charged it to Hobsonville because there was not a sufficient grant to Meehanies Bav. That was the onlv thing wrong. There had been a genuiuc mistake al>out Lawless and Tonkin, lie said, but the money for them rould not have come into his posession. Ife had engaged a cartage contractor, T. 0. Wilson, for work at Mechanics Bay. He was paid on daily cartage slieets whieh witness eertified on inforjaatioii reeeived. The time would be eorrect but the dates of employment would not be. He had borrovved £10 from Brown but that had been rejiaid. He got nothing from Brown's otlier cheques. Witness said he had known Delich abqut nine years. Delieh was on the form of contraet for the cartage of rulibish at Meehanies Bay. He had worked for the times for whieh he obtaiued payment. In cross-examination, witness adm.ittefi that Delieh aione had been paid £500 for work at Meehanies Bay. , All Brown's work was done at Meehanies Bay. He got information about "Lawless" and "Tonkin" on a slip of paper left on his desk but he made no inquiries as to the souree of the message. Aceused was still uuder eross-exami-natiofi?*'WfiBq]f sthe easen^s ^djoumed. ,