SYSTEMATIC THEFT

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12607, 18 November 1926, Page 7

SYSTEMATIC THEFT

MONEY STOLEN FROM SAFE HOTEL PORTER BEFORE COURT COMMITTED FOR SENTENCE Horace Clifford Allen, a hotel porter, aged 25, pleaded guilty in the Police Court yesterday to the theft of £ll2 from Leslie Traill, licensee of the Carlton Hotel. Messrs J. Staples and J. W. Ellison, J.P.’s, were on the bench. Leslie James Traill, licensee of the hotel, said that, in October last, he had the bar-book in which the takings for the bars were entered by a lady clerk, balanced up. In consequence of the examination, be called in a solicitor to inspect his books. On the night of November. 7th he placed £45 in the safe, locking up both the safe and the room in which the safe was kept. Witness also placed a piece of paper In the crack in the door. Next morning he found that £3 was missing from the safe, while the paper had also disappeared. The accused was on duty on the night of November 7th, and had two keys in his possession, either of which would have unlocked the safe-room door. The lock of the safe was defective. £9OO MISSING To Mr R. E. Pope (for the accused): Allen had been employed by the former proprietor, who bad found no fault with him. The bankings were checked with the takings. Mr Pope: How was it that in three months £BOO mysteriously disappeared? —We did not keep a correct tally of change. One da.'T there might be £IOO in change and the next day £OO. Did you make sure that tlio amount

banked and the amount kept for change tallied with the takings?—No. Between May and October, continued witness, he examined his passbook. but did not notice that £BOO was missing. It took him from August to Jate October to find that out. If the accused says that several times you left the safe open and went to the bar, would you deny it?—l would. Are vou interested in racehorses?— No. You would not suddenly want to have a bet and take the money out of the takings?—No. L. J. Maule gave evidence that he investigated Traill’s books, as a result of which he found a shortage of over £BOO. He regarfled the I Kicks as inadequate. STOLEN AT RATE OF £7 PER WEEK Detective Hunt said that tho accused, at the detective office, admitted having stolen sums of money from the hotel safe at the rate of about £7 per week since August Ist. In all £7O had been recovered. The accused had been ordered to pay £2 per week on a maintenance order, and had been receiving a weekly wage of £2 5s at the hotel. The accused pleaded guilty, and was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence. Bail in his own recognisance of £2OO, with a similar surety was renewed.