By PAUL YANDALL
An undercover sting operation against a group of former servicemen has come unstuck in the courts after a three-year battle.
The saga began in 1995 when the Matamata District Services Club bought a minivan to take members home after they had had a few drinks.
Over time, the service was extended to include non-club members, such as elderly people making shopping trips. It was free, but donations were accepted.
In November 1996, van driver John Moore accepted a $5 donation for picking up a woman who had just finished her shopping. She turned out to be an undercover agent for the Land Transport Safety Authority and Mr Moore found himself charged with being an unlicensed taxi driver and not maintaining a logbook.
The authority also charged his then employer, the club, with conducting an unlicensed taxi business, aiding an unlicensed driver to drive and allowing that driver to drive without a logbook.
Collectively, Mr Moore and the club faced fines of up to $23,000.
In the Tokoroa District Court yesterday, Judge Philip Cooper threw out the case against Mr Moore because the donation, which was volunteered, was never asked for.
"It's a big relief," Mr Moore said afterwards. "I can honestly say it's been a bloody trial to have this over my head for three years."
Club president Brian Price said the decision was a landmark and paved the way for a favourable outcome when the club appeared in court this month.
"It's been a real battle. We're not at the end yet but we've had to deal with this for three years and it looks like we're finally getting somewhere."
Authority spokesman Craig Dowling said the case had been pursued because it was important to test whether the law had been breached.
He said the club had been given several warnings and the authority believed there was a case to answer once the donation was accepted.
Judge Cooper said the case hinged on whether there was an invitation or expectation of either a charge for, or a donation towards, the service.
"There was no invitation to solicit donation, there was no expectation of it at the start of the journey, during the journey, or indeed at the end of the journey."
Pat Herbert, chief executive of the Returned Services Association, said the verdict was good news as the RSA had about 130,000 members nationwide, many of whom took advantage of the local association's courtesy transport.
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