MANAGER NICKED £2,000 FROM CITY HOTEL
A HOTEL manager stole thousands of pounds from the Cardiff Bay company where he worked after seeing the body of a murder victim.
Paul Lago fleeced more than £2,000 from the Future Inn Hotel on Hemingway Road, Cardiff, by taking cash from bar and restaurant tills and covering his tracks by posting disputing transactions.
The 66-year-old, who had worked for the company for more than 10 years, was a senior member of staff at the time the offending occurred between 2017 and 2018.
Cardiff Crown Court heard Lago was nearing his retirement and had one previous conviction for an almost identical offence in 1991.
A sentencing hearing on Tuesday also heard the hotel operations manager had been significantly affected after the discovery of a murder victim at the hotel in 2014.
Setting out the facts of the case, prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said Lago had moved to a position of trust at the company after joining more than 10 years before the thefts happened.
“The defendant commenced employment in or around 2004 as a food and beverages manager,” he said.
“At the time of his termination he was an operations manager. At all material times the defendant worked from the Cardiff hotel.
“He had authority in management over the bar and all operations at the Cardiff hotel and was a senior member of staff as part of the hotel chain.”
Mr Gobir said Future Inns became aware that Lago had been stealing after a member of staff raised concerns about his conduct.
He explained that it was discovered that Lago had been taking cash and hiding his thefts by creating disputing transactions through the till system.
Mr Gobir said Lago used his seniority to instruct other staff to assist his thieving.
The amount he took was calculated at £2,060 between August 2017 and February 2018. Mr Gobir added that Lago had just one previous conviction for an almost identical theft in 1991.
Ruth Smith, defending, told the court her client had been suffering from poor mental health at the time the offending took place.
“At the time of committing the thefts Mr Lago was in poor mental health,” she said. “He has suffered severly with depression – that is something that he has had over a significant period of time.”
Ms Smith said Lago had suffered after the body of a woman was discovered at the hotel on New Year’s Eve 2014.
“He saw the body,” she said. “That was something that had an impact on him. He was required to work on.”
She said there was also a deterioration in the relationship between her client and a senior member of staff at Future Inns.
She added that Lago felt the shame of his actions and they have already had a significant effect on him.
The court heard Future Inns was pursuing a High Court claim against Lago, and he has now been declared bankrupt and all his assets are in the hands of an official receiver.
“The defendant has lost his matrimonial home,” Ms Smith said.
“A four-bedroom property his wife and son were living in.
“He has suffered a considerable loss as a result of his actions.”
Lago, of Waunfawr Gardens, Crosskeys, pleaded guilty to a single count of theft on September 3, 2019.
Judge Nicola Jones described Lago’s theft as “sophisticated”, and said it had taken place over “a considerable period of time”.
She added that is had been the “ruination of you and your family.”
Lago received a 14-month prison sentence, suspended for 14 months.
He must also carry out 250 hours of unpaid work, pay £340 prosecution costs and pay a victim surcharge of £140.