YEAR’S GAOL

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20738, 23 February 1939, Page 6

YEAR’S GAOL

BOGUS CONTRACTS SALESMAN BEFORE COURT ihw TeleeTtDb. —Press Association) WELLINGTON. Wednesday The commission paid to him for bogus advertising contracts led to charges of false pretences against John Hartland Pierson (29), apent, before the magistrate, Mr J. L. Stout, S.M., to-day. There also was a charge of the theft of six cases of whisky to the value of £3B 8s Gd. It was stated that accused was employed as a salesman for Service Publications, Ltd., on September 4, 1937, on a wages and commission basis. By means of bogus advertisements, which he represented as genuine, he received from his employers £2O in commission on December 3, 1937. About November 9, 1937, lie ordered, in his employers' name, six cases of whisky from a Wellington firm, three bejng forwarded to the Auckland office and three to Wellington. Employers in Liquidation Accused disposed of a quantity of whisky at Auckland and sold some to ids friends. His employers knew nothing of the transaction until the account, was forwarded. At Hie end it was found that his employers had several hundred pounds worth of bad debts, resulting from these bogus contracts and they were forced to go into voluntary liquidation. Mr Rollings, who pleaded guilty on behalf of accused, said he hardly thought it was correct on the part ol Hie company to blame accused lor the disaster which overtook it. It was difficult to believe that a company, with a branch in Auckland and a branch in Wellington could be brought to shipwreck by employing a single man for a period of three or four months. Submissions Ey Counsel Counsel submitted that the company had reimbursed itself, to some extent, by withholding accused's wages. With regard to the whisky counsel said it was a mistake to charge it to the firm. The staff had decided that they would order six cases from dealers, who had been placing advertisements with the firm, and at one time accused had the price of about four and three-quarter cases collected. He asked the magistrate to take into consideration a letter he handed to the Bench.

Accused was sentenced to si months’ imprisonment on each charge the sentences to be cumulative.