The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Tulliallan theft remains mystery after acquittal
Case collapses amid details of how cafe was operated
The theft of almost £17,000 from a cafe at the Police Scotland headquarters remains an unsolved crime after a bookkeeper was cleared of embezzlement.
The money disappeared over a four-month period at the Starbucks coffee shop at Tulliallan Castle, home of the Scottish Police College, base for the force’s top brass and training centre for detectives.
The thefts, apparently from a safe, took place under the noses of Scotland’s top police but the identity of the culprit remains a mystery, more than two years on.
The case against Mari Louise Leggat collapsed after flaws in the way the cafe was run were highlighted by her solicitor at a trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court. The Starbucks franchise was run by Sodexo along with other catering services at Tulliallan.
At the trial, part-time book-keeper Ms Leggat was cleared of stealing the money when the Crown case collapsed at the start of the second day of evidence.
Ms Leggat, 28, of Donaldson Court, Kincardine, had denied that between August 29 2013 and January 16 2014 at Starbucks, Scottish Police College, Tulliallan, while an employee of Sodexo there, she embezzled £16,967.75.
Defence solicitor Alexander Flett had said at a previous hearing it was not disputed that the money went missing but the issue would be who was responsible for that.
The trial came to an abrupt end following the evidence of a Sodexo senior manager.
Margaret Clark, 48, Sodexo accounts manager for the region, had worked with Ms Leggat at Tulliallan for three weeks to cover during the site manager’s holidays in October 2013.
She noticed no discrepancies during her time there and only heard about the missing cash long afterwards.
“It seemed to be running efficiently. I had no concerns,” she told the court.
She said there were two safes used. A wall safe and another in the floor where the takings were kept and could be opened with a key or by using a code.
Mr Flett asked whether anomalies over the amounts of cash being banked “should have rung alarm bells”.
“Yes it’s something I would have probably looked into,” said Ms Clark.
“You’d be at the till receipts and if they didn’t match what was being banked all hell would let loose in terms of finding out what was going on?” said Mr Flett. “Yes,” replied Ms Clark. Mr Flett asked whether a manager would have had to be inept or incompetent not to have reported the discrepancies. Ms Clark agreed.