SHORTAGE OF CASH

NZ Truth, Issue 1216, 21 March 1929, Page 4

SHORTAGE OF CASH

Posed As Farmer of Means To Dupe Victims TRICKSTER'S EXPLOITS (From "N.Z. Truth's" Gisborne Representative). 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 M 1 1 1 M 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 T 1 1 II 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 J 1 1 1 1 r 1 1 II 1 1 1 E 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 II 1 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i i ■ 1 1 1^ v| Notwithstanding the many financial crashes of re- § | , cent years the people of Poverty Bay still have a feel- | i | ing of* respect for reputedly wealthy farmers, § J Under the. circumstances it is not surprising that a | I man who represents himself as having recently acquired | | . a farm, and inspects others with a view to purchase, | | should be able to obtain a certain degree of credit. | .liiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiniiiiiiiniiiiinniiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiir.

WHEN the man has had the experience betokened by no fewer than „38 previous convictions, for theft and false pretences it is even less sur-pi-lsing that he should be able to convince people to help him over a temporary shortage of ready cash. There was. only a matter of £5 involved m the charges preferred against tiie man m "question, Daniel Patrick O'Connor, with several aliases, but it was sufficient to procure for him a sentence that will keep him ' out of mischief for a year or more to come. O'Connor had plied his ca.lling m many places 'before; seeking pastures new m ■Gisborhei, '.'•■', .:; , y ; He- showed his' gq'pd taste by.^e: curing accommodation with mine host,' Mick Kyne, at the Albion Hotel, and, his, bad manners by neglecting to pay for it. There, was nothing very clever m that piece of. fraud, for O'Connor merely told a tale about buying a farm. Greater ingenuity, but little respect for the cloth, was shown m the method he adopted of relieving Father Murphy of .£2. Certainly, he told the priest about

another farm he had purchased, but the reason for his visit was to make arrangements about getting married. He went with Father Murphy to the church and went through the formalities which preface" the -ceremony and then touched the reverend father for a loan. The most despicable part of his subterfuge, however, was his engagement of a married couple, a pretence which apparently had' been made for the , benefit of the trusting hotelkeeper. This couple had been m destitute circumstances, and did not hesitate to accept 'O'Connor's offer of a position at £3 a week and a furnished house. •On the strength '. of the offer they disposed of their few belongings, only to' find that they had been cruelly hoaxed. ', When Detective McLeod arrested the accused, he was engaged m purchasing another farm. The only' farm O'Connor will have anything to do with for some '. time, however, will -be one of those attached' to His Majesty's prisons, for Mr. Levvey', S.M., sentenced him to three months' hard labor, to be followed by 12 months' reformative detention.