SOLICITOR SENTENCED ON FORGERY CHARGE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 389, 25 June 1928, Page 14

SOLICITOR SENTENCED ON FORGERY CHARGE

TERM NOT INCREASED MANIPULATION OF LAND DOCUMENT John Henry Victor Mansil, the young solicitor who is now serving a sentence of four years’ reformative detention for theft of trust moneys, appeared at the Court this morning for sentence on a further charge of forging a memorandum of mortgage for £6OO. Mr. L. P. Leary, who appeared for prisoner, said that he had pleaded guilty to the additional charge, which really arose out of the original charge of embezzlement. While unable to make little of the prisoner's offence he contended that it was not so serious as a case of isolated forgery. Counsel retraced Mansil’s history, and claimed that his faults resulted from too great an optimism and exuberance. He had been a splendid servant, but went to ruin on becoming his own master. Had accused been charged with' this count along with the various indictments, counsel suggested that the Court would then not have singled out the forgery in determining the sentence. He therefore asked that the new charge be treated as one of the original series of live. Mansil had promised his creditors that within 10 years of his release he would pay back his defalcations in full. His estate had paid at present 7s 6d in the £l. For the Crown, Mr. V. R. Meredith said that the subsequent charge had been preferred as the outcome of a civil claim in connection with Mansil’s defalcations. It was really incidental to the earlier charges. His Honour Mr. Justice MacGregor, said the present offence was a very serious one. A person guilty of forgery of a land document was liable to imprisonment for life. Mansil was sentenced to three years’ reformative detention, the term to be concurrent with prisoner’s present sentence.