Car dealer jailed for stealing $30,000 licensing fee

SIPARIA RESIDENT Michael Saney was yesterday sentenced to three years hard labour, after a nine-member jury found him guilty of larceny of $30,000.

According to the facts presented by State attorney Nadia James, on February 4, 1998, Rio Claro resident Stephenson Phillip gave Saney $30,000 to license his (Phillip’s) car at the Licensing Office at Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain. However, Saney, 45, never licensed the vehicle. In November of that year, Phillip was stopped by police and, at that time, he realised that the licence fee had never been paid. He reported the matter to the police on November 19, 1998, and based on the report and a subsequent investigation, Saney was arrested on December 9, 1998 and charged for the offence.

Saney, who now operates as a car dealer, took the stand in his defence and denied that he had taken any money from Phillip to license a vehicle or that he went to the licensing office on February 4, 1998. He also told the court that he did not know Phillips and had only met him when he was arrested for the offence. The jury retired just after 10 am yesterday to deliberate and returned just under one hour with the guilty verdict. Saney was represented in the matter by attorney Larry Lalla, while Nadia James represented the State. The matter came before Justice Carlton Best in the Port-of-Spain Fifth Criminal Court.