Mum stole to fund gambling

By Paul Carter December 16, 2004 A SYDNEY woman who stole from her employer to fund her gambling addiction was sentenced to 15 months jail today. Michelle Tritton, 43, of Kearns, in Sydney's south-west, defrauded a crane and rigging company of more than $174,000, Campbelltown Local Court was told. She had worked for nine years as a part-time bookkeeper and office assistant for Ron and Kim Stojanovic at their West Hoxton company before it went bust in 2002. Tritton pleaded guilty to three fraud charges, admitting she took her family on two holidays with some of the money. A church-goer, she also would donate amounts of up to $300 into church collection plates. Magistrate Michael Stoddart today sentenced the married mother of two to 15 months jail with a non-parole period of 12 months. The court was told Tritton used company credit cards and cheques over a period of three months between November 2001 and February 2002 to pay personal bills and treat her friends. Tritton also falsified the company's wage schedules, inflating her wages and paying money into her husband's account, the court was told. Defence solicitor Jeff Tunks said Tritton had a gambling addiction. "She had a problem with poker machines," he told the court. Mr Stoddart said the amount of money taken by Tritton was "substantial" and the matter was made worse because she was in a "position of trust". "And what makes it sad is that you were a friend of these people," Mr Stoddart said. "And it wasn't until the business was insolvent that it was learned what had happened. "These people were trying to run a business trusting you and this is how you repaid that trust – betrayal has been mentioned in this courtroom and I think that's an appropriate word." Tritton, who also was ordered to pay $60,000 compensation to the Stojanovics, would appeal against the severity of the sentence, the court was told. Outside the court Mrs Stojanovic, a mother of four children aged between nine and 14, said Tritton had enjoyed her life at the family's expense. "She was living the high life on our money," Mrs Stojanovic said. "I feel for her children, I'm a mother, but what about my children, what have they missed out on?" She said the family would launch civil action against Tritton for further compensation. "We'll be seeking more money in the civil courts," she said.