Bill Thomas, Labour leader of Sandwell Council until his arrest in October, has admitted stealing £1,300 from Nat West bank in a cheque fraud:
The court heard how a close friend, Gareth Hall, had cashed three of Thomas’s cheques totalling £1,300 – which was then reimbursed by the bank after Thomas claimed he did not know Hall.
As a result,
Bill Thomas has been ordered to repay £1,300 and given a 12-month conditional discharge after pleading guilty to theft. (Local Government Chronicle)



2 Comments
Somewhat leniently dealt with, in my opinion. Still peanuts compared to Jimmy Brown’s theft of billions for his banker pals.
I’m must admit that I’m surprised “Politician steals money” is still considered newsworthy these days.
But maybe it’s considered newsworthy because the amount is so small? Or because in this case the politician has admitted stealing the money, rather than saying “it was within the rules”, or “everybody was doing it”, or such like?