A former Auckland bar manager who stole nearly $10,000 of pokies money deprived community groups of essential funding, the Department of Internal Affairs says.
John Mark Bradfield, a former manager of the Flo bar and cafe in Newmarket, was found guilty of theft by a person in a special relationship
in relation to almost $10,000 missing from the New Zealand Community Trust account.
A decision from Judge David Wilson, QC, released yesterday, said the 45-year-old knowingly took cash for his own purposes, the Department of Internal Affairs said.
"The gambling model in New Zealand is specifically designed to benefit community groups through the distribution of the proceeds from pokies,'' said Gareth Bostock, manager of regulatory investigations at the department.
"When someone steals some of this money it's the equivalent of stealing from community groups many of which need pokie machine grants to ensure the continued funding of good causes. We're very pleased to have played a part in holding this man to account,'' he said.
