"Stole to fund gambling addiction"

"Stole to fund gambling addiction"


A BAR STEWARD who stole more than £18,000 from two clubs to fund his gambling addiction has been jailed for two-and-a-half-years.

Cavan Simpson, aged 63, admitted theft from the United Services Club, Tetbury. He also admitted a £4,600 fraud at a Liberal Club in Bath.

Gloucester Crown court heard he had had gambled away all the stolen money. He had tried to cover up the theft from the United Services club by claiming the money had been taken in a burglary.

Jailing him, Recorder Michael de Navarro QC said he had committed 'two serious breaches of trust.'

The court heard that Simpson, from Bussage, Stroud, and his partner were appointed stewards of the Tetbury club in June 2007. Simpson did not reveal to the club committee that he had two previous convictions for stealing from employers.

When his thefts were discovered in March 2009, police gave him bail while they carried out their investigations. Within months, Simpson's partner got the job of steward at the Bath club and Simpson went to work as her assistant.

He abused his position there, said prosecutor Robert Duvall.

Kannan Siva, defending, said gambling was at the root of Simpson's offending. He kept stealing in the belief that sooner or later he would have a big win to pay everything back.

"He accepts candidly that gambling has ruined his life," Mr Siva said.

Simpson was jailed for 2 years for the theft from the United Services Club, 6 months concurrently for the false burglary report, and six months consecutively for the Bath club fraud.

After the hearing David Robins, secretary of the United Services Club, welcomed the sentence.

He said the theft had affected the club so badly that it had only just managed to survive financially.

"It was a real kick in the teeth to discover what this man had done to us," he said.

"We all trusted him completely and thought he was an honest and capable worker.

"It was shocking that he pulled the wool over our eyes about his criminal past. We understand that the Bath club did a check on his record and were told there was nothing known against him.

"But by that time he was already on bail on suspicion of stealing from us and they weren't told.

"Apart from losing the money, the worst thing for us was that all of us on the committee were under suspicion as well because he was denying it and making it seem there had been an 'inside job'."