ALLEGED CONSPIRACY

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 58, Issue 216, 12 October 1929, Page 5

ALLEGED CONSPIRACY

Per Press Association.

■ TO DEFRAUD NAPIER BOOKMAKER. McKINNON AND EOUNTAIN CHARGED.

GISBORNE, This day. At the Magistrate s Court, William McKinnon, indent agent, and Waliace Fountam, telegraphist, were jointly charged with conspiring to deiraud Arthur Yeo, of Napier, a bookmaker, of £99, hy means of a forged telegram, on August 13, and with similarly conspiring to defraud him of £8U on August 15. McKinnon and Charles Thomas Clifford Hands, telegraphist, were charged with liaving 011 August 24 attempted to defraud Yeo of £150 hy means of a forged teiegram. Evidence was given bv Geoige Stan'ey Symons, owner of the horse Malaliat, that as a result of a conversation with McKinnon he wrote to Yeo and asked him for a "No Reply" code, this heixig grantecl witl^ a limit of £20, also 011 the condition tnat the teiegram had to be lodged before the advertised starting time of the race. McKinnon asked that the code be left at his office and twice asked if he could ,use the code, witness agreeing on the condition that he let him know when he was doing so. On no occasion was he noti-' fied hy McKinnon that he was going to use it. Witness denied that the telegrams produced were written hy him or by his authority and also denied sending several other telegrams, produced, making bets on various horses, 01* receiving inoney either from Yeo or McKinnon. Cross-examined, witness admitted that he had endeavoured to commnnicate with Yeo. At McKinnon' s request he had addressed envelopes to him and left them witli IMcIvinnon and liad used McKinnon' s iiox for receiving racing letters. McKinnon was continually telling him about the betting after it was done. Elsie Katli4een Morrel, telephone operator, deposed to connections hetween McKinnon' s telephone luraiber and the telegraph counter where Fountain was working, but she was too busy to hear any conversation. Tlie hearing was adjonrned till Monday.