Tuesday, April 21, 2009

UKIP MEP - Fraud

Tom Wise

A British Euro MP was last night charged with fiddling thousands of pounds of taxpayer-funded expenses.

Former UKIP politician Tom Wise is accused of false accounting and money laundering following accusations that he fiddled his generous Brussels staff allowances.

He is thought to be the first MEP to face criminal charges over the use of Parliamentary perks.

Wise, 60, a former policeman, was arrested in June last year after it was revealed that he had allegedly siphoned off nearly £40,000 of public money by claiming it was for a researcher’s salary.

Detectives investigated after it was claimed Wise only passed on some of the cash and banked the rest. He allegedly spent £6,500 on a Peugeot 406.

He was alleged to have pretended that his own bank account was that of his then researcher Lindsay Jenkins which is against EU rules.

He is alleged to have channelled £39,100 into it, from which he paid Jenkins £13,555.

Jenkins, 62, was also charged with one count of false accounting and one count of money laundering.

Wise and Jenkins were jointly charged following a nine-month police probe. They pair were released on bail and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court next Monday.

The £62,000-a-year MEP faces a maximum 14 years in jail if found guilty of money laundering. The maximum term for false accounting is seven years.

Wise now sits as an independent MEP for East Anglia after being dismissed from the Rightwing party.

News of the criminal charges will once again turn the spotlight on the Brussels gravy train.

Wise’s lawyer, Stephen Welfare, said: ‘Mr Wise denies any intent to deceive or any unlawful wrongdoing whatsoever and he will be fighting the allegations in court.’

He said neither Wise nor his family had profited and said there had been no loss to the European Parliament.

He added: ‘It is frankly scandalous that Mr Wise has been charged with criminal offences.’

Source

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Conservative Councillor charged with rape

Huw Elystan Davies

A TEACHER appears before magistrates charged with rape and drugs offences.

Huw Elystan Davies, of Ewenny Road, Bridgend, also a town councillor in the area, had his case committed to Crown Court for trial.

The 37-year-old faces charges of rape, possessing cocaine and supplying cocaine at his home between November 16 and 17 last year.

He was released on conditional bail until his appearance at Cardiff Crown Court tomorrow.

Davies is head of Welsh at Brynteg Comprehensive School, Bridgend.

Source

Friday, April 17, 2009

Labour - Councillor - Jailed Child Pornography

COMPUTER : Joe Shaw was arrested at Wigan Town Hall
COMPUTER : Joe Shaw was arrested at Wigan Town Hall

A former Wigan councillor has been re-bailed by police investigating alleged computer child porn.
Joe Shaw, 40, the former member for Beech Hill who lives in Standish, was arrested at Wigan Town Hall last summer by detectives on suspicion of having child pornography on his home computer.
He has been ordered to return to Wigan Police Station on Monday, April 14, pending further inquiries.

Mr Shaw stood down from the council, resigning his position on the Metro's licensing and regulation committees as well as Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority.
Elected to Wigan Council in 2005, Mr Shaw, who is unemployed, represented Wigan West ward.

Source

UPDATE Jan 07 2009

A former Wigan Labour councillor is facing amended charges in relation to alleged child porn offences.
Joe Shaw, of Avondale Street, Standish, will face 16 charges of making indecent images of a child and one of possessing an indecent image of child when he appears before Liverpool Crown Court on March 10.

The 42-year-old was originally charged with 16 charges of possessing an indecent image of a child, but these charges were withdrawn by the Crown Prosecution Service with the agreement of the defendant.

Mr Shaw made his second appearance before Wigan Magistrates' Court yesterday and was remanded on conditional bail until his first Crown Court date.
He will face two alleged firearms offences on the same date.

Mr Shaw, who joined Wigan Metro in 2004 and represented Wigan West ward for one term (three years), is alleged to have had a prohibited weapon and ammunition without a certificate.

He was arrested at the Town Hall in Hewlett Street in July 2007 .

Source

UPDATE April 17

A former Wigan councillor who downloaded child porn and had a gun and ammunition in his safe was today (Thur) jailed for six years.

A court heard that Joseph Shaw's offending came to light after his daughter found the indecent images on his computer.

She was so shocked she did not initially tell anyone but after she found he had continued visiting child porn sites and also discovered texts on his phone apparently making obscene references to her she told a counsellor who alerted police.

JaIling 42-year-old Shaw, Judge David Swift said, "At the time you were in a possession of public responsibility, a man to whom others might look for an example."

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Shaw had been a Labour councillor for Wigan West for three years and also a member of the Greater Manchester Transport Authority,

Judge Swift told Shaw that the indecent images, totalling almost 2,000, involved the exploitation of children, "some very young indeed." The children had been subjected to "degrading and sickening experiences", he said.

When police raided his home in Avondale Street, Standish, they found a World War 11 .38 Smith & Wesson revolver and 15 cartridges for it in a safe.

Shawk, who had a shotgun certificate, used to be a member of a gun club and must have been aware that the gun was capable of firing live ammunition and must have known it was prohibited, said Michael Scholes, prosecuting.

He said that the indecent images found on Shaw's computer covered all five categories of abuse and had been discovered by his daughter in April 2007.

He told her not to use his computer but she did while he was out and it was when visiting the 'history box' to delete any trace of her usage that she saw he had been visiting child porn sites.

The next month she again checked his computer and found he had visited similar sites.

Her father was arrested in July that year at Wigan Town Hall and when his home was searched it was found to be "chaotic and disordered."

A total of 1,967 indecent images, including still and movie files, were found, including 17 in the most serious category involving sadism.

When interviewed Shaw, who has no previous convictions, described the pornographic images as "disgusting. I wouldn't hurt a kid." He admitted he had developed a fascination for viewing the images out of curiousity and visited illicit websites 2 - 3 times a week.

Shaw pleaded guilty to 17 offences of making indecent images and one charge of possessing indecent images of children. He also admitted having a prohibited weapon, the handgun and ammunition.


He was ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years and Judge Swift also made a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for life banning him from being alone in the company of children.

Source

Conservative Councillor Jailed - Fraud

Not so smug now

A FORMER Tory councillor has been jailed after spending £35,864 on “fine dining and expensive living” and claiming it back on expenses.

Daniel Smy visited London hotels and shops including the Savoy, Royal Horseguards and Selfridges, and claimed for a chauffeur-driven journey from Dorset to the Carlton Club, a court was told.

The former deputy chairman of South Dorset Conservative Association was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Bournemouth Crown Court yesterday. He pleaded guilty to 10 charges of theft and forgery as chairman of the Portman Building Society’s group staff association.

Smy, 35, of Mount Skippet Way, Crossways, was a West Dorset District Councillor when the 10 offences took place between 2003 and 2006.

Smy – who asked the court to take 86 further offences into consideration – is also ex-chairman of Crossways Parish Council.

Prosecuting, Alison England said he was in a position of trust at the Portman Building Society as he oversaw contributions to the staff association. She said treasurer Diana Stevenson realised Smy’s expenses were inappropriate and challenged him about an invoice for a visit to a Dorchester pub.

When previous claims were looked at, cheques with forged signatures were found. Miss England said Smy spent the money leading a life of fine dining and living in top hotels.

The court was told Smy admitted using his employer’s funds for his own use and saw it as a perk of the job as his £18,000-a-year salary was not enough.

In mitigation Robert Grey said Smy was a man of good character with a history of helping people but had felt “a build-up of stress and isolation” and “got carried away”.

He said Smy was on anti-depressants and was “beside himself with shame”.

The Rev Jaqueline Birdseye from the Moreton Parishes told Judge John Beashel of Smy’s involvement with community projects. But he was sentenced to 12 months for each of the 10 offences with the sentences to run concurrently.

Source