Sacked man stole from hotel till
A “RASH and angry” employee stole money from a Gwynedd hotel after he was sacked.
Christopher Crosby, 44, who had just been dismissed, went behind the bar of the Royal Hotel in Barmouth and took £280 which he believed he was owed.
But police were called in and he was charged with theft by an employee. Crosby, of High Street, Pwllheli, had denied the offence and was due to stand trial at Caernarfon Magistrates Court but changed his plea to guilty on Monday at the start of the hearing.
Magistrates fined him £120. The court heard Crosby, who had worked at the hotel for about a year, had had a “disagreement” with his employer after his employment was terminated due to his alleged poor behaviour.
Prosecutor Rebecca Ross told the court that soon afterwards at 5.15pm on Friday, June 24 last year Crosby was spotted by another employee going behind the bar and taking cash from a till. He was said to have used a PIN given to staff, taken £280 in cash and walked out.
The prosecutor said the hotel owner Mark Atkinson said that Crosby was due to be paid his wages on Monday, June 27.
The defendant had taken slightly less than he was owed and the hotel owner later gave him the balance.
Andrew Scott, defending, said: “He had heard rumours he had been dismissed. He went in in the afternoon, spoke to the manager and she confirmed he had been dismissed. Rashly and in some anger, he went behind the bar, accessed the till and took £280 because he did not think he would be paid by the establishment the following Monday.”
He took the money “in lieu of wages”. Mr Scott said Crosby was paid his wages minus the £280 on the Monday, so “effectively the pub was out of pocket from Friday to Monday”.
He said his client knew he would be on CCTV. But he accepts Crosby did not have the right to simply take the money. “He has lost his temper and made a rash decision,” he said.