A drug-dealing dad who had £21,000 in a Poundland carrier bag has been ordered to hand over all the cash found in his house after failing to convince a judge some of it belonged to his daughter.
'Dishonest and manipulative' Malcolm Robinson, 64, claimed some of the bundles of cash belonged to his daughter
The judge told Malcolm Robinson, 64, who is serving a four-year prison sentence for being involved in a Class A and B drugs conspiracy and for money laundering, that he was not only dishonest but manipulative as well.
Robinson was jailed in 2015 but returned to Cardiff Crown Court on Monday for a Proceeds of Crime (POCA) hearing, when his daughter Joanne Robinson, 45, was called to give evidence for him, as prosecutors sought to have the money handed over to police for their fight against drugs crime.
'No regard to his own or any other road users' safety' Watch as this motorist was caught driving at 146mph on a dual carriageway
She told Judge David Wynn Morgan that £15,000 hidden in a shoe box in her parents’ bedroom was cash saved by her from her benefits over several years for her sick son and was used for her wedding.
“It was safer there – to stop me dipping into it,” said the mum-of-three.
“It wasn’t drugs money.
“My father didn’t know it was there and I didn’t know anything about any other money in the house.”
'A flurry of punches' A soldier punched his friend in the face repeatedly after they argued over £20
She said she had no idea that her dad was involved in drug dealing until he was locked up.
“I had been putting that money away a bit at a time for 12 years for my son,” she said.
“I’d been saving for a special holiday for him when he was 18 but the Make A Wish charity paid for that when I was asked for £5,000 just for insurance to take him away.”
Ms Robinson said she was also due to get married last year and another £1,400 cash found on a desk had been taken out of the shoe box by her as part payment for the hotel where the wedding was due to take place.
'There can’t be any excuse for going out, drinking to excess, and attacking a woman' When a woman refused to high-five him on a night out this soldier bottled her
But prosecutor Stuart McLease said the money was in bundles of £1,000, secured with coloured elastic bands – the same as £40,000 cash in a box and £21,000 in a carrier bag also found by police at Robinson’s home in New Road, Rumney, Cardiff.
Robinson himself gave evidence saying £1,650 belonged to his daughter.
He told the court he knew he had the £21,000 hanging from the end of his wife’s clothes rail in the Poundland carrier bag but had been completely unaware that another £15,000 was hanging from the middle of the rail in amongst the clothes.
“The rail is 10-foot long,” he said, after being called from the dock into the witness box.
'You don't know what I'm capable of' Used car dealer who sold written-off vehicles threatened to kill couple when they complained
After hearing from father and daughter, Judge Morgan said: “I find that sadly Joanne Robinson does have a son who is ill and that she is determined to do her best for him and I am satisfied she is a good woman and a loyal daughter.
“But I find it wholly implausible she would have saved in a shoe box in her parents’ bedroom rather than in a bank where it could have earned interest.
“I also find Malcolm Robinson is a dishonest and manipulative individual and have absolutely no doubt he would use his daughter in an attempt to keep some of the money.
“To suggest he did not know about it is utterly unbelievable.”
The judge declared the benefit from Robinson’s criminal offending to be £146,560 and his assets in cash and a pension to be £82,709.
He gave him 28 days for all the cash to be handed over and six months to meet the full amount of £82,709 or serve another 12 months in jail.
see-http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/drug-dealing-dad-caught-21000-11240600
No comments:
Post a Comment