Jury Considers Its Verdict On Turski

Illawarra Mercury

Thursday February 28, 2008

By VERONICA APAP

A WOLLONGONG District Court jury retired to consider its verdict yesterday in the trial of a former Port Kembla Golf Club manager accused of stealing $72,000 in cash from the club's safe.

Franc Turski, 38, charged with stealing cash from the club, has pleaded guilty to falsifying the club's financial records to conceal the missing thousands.

In closing submissions yesterday prosecutor Kate Ratcliffe said Turski allowed up to $83,000 cash to be kept in the club's safe when the previous manager only allowed a maximum of $10,000 to be held.

However, Ms Ratcliffe said staff never knew exactly how much was being held on the premises as Turski had stopped staff counting the cash daily.

When he discovered the money was missing, Ms Ratcliffe said Turski hid the loss from the board.

"He did nothing about taking keys (to the safe) from staff members who had keys," she said.

"He did nothing to question anyone. He did nothing whatsoever.

"That is not the conduct of someone who had nothing to do with missing money, but rather the conduct of someone who was stealing the money himself.

"Maybe he was biding his time, maybe he hoped to have some big win on the pokies and put the money back in."

Ms Ratcliffe said Turski played poker machines at the golf club, Shellharbour Workers Club and other clubs during the time the money was being removed from the safe.

At one stage, she said Turski played 19 different poker machines over a 51/2-hour period.

"That wasn't someone who popped into Shellharbour Workers Club for a quick drink and a game," she said.

Turski's lawyer Stuart Hill said Turski only played poker machines about once a week, spending an average of $75 each time.

"That's hardly a king's ransom," he said.

Mr Hill said Turski stopped the daily cash count at the club because he was relatively new to the job when it became quite busy.

He said the previous manager had taken stress leave and ultimately left the management role because of stress.

"He has failed in his task of keeping those daily cash counts and when he starts to check them there's money missing," Mr Hill said.

"Of course he panics."

Mr Hill likened Turski's conduct to the "rabbit in the headlights syndrome" where he was too shocked to take any action when he discovered the cash was missing.

Instead he lied to the board of directors and concealed the loss in the financial records while he attempted to find where the money went, Mr Hill said.

"It multiplies and gets worse and worse, and every month that goes by it gets more difficult to go to your employer and say 'this is happening' because you have to say 'I didn't come to you when this first happened'," he said.

The trial is due to continue today.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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