Labourer laughs as he walks free from court after blowing almost 30K of money he was overpaid on gambling, drugs and a car
Steven Burke blew thousands on drugs, booze and designer clothes with money he received by mistake
A GREEDY construction worker blew almost £30,000 on gambling, drugs, jewellery and a car after his boss accidentally punched in too many digits while paying him.
Labourer Steven Burke, 44, LAUGHED as he walked free from court - after splashing the cash on a life of luxury instead of declaring the mistake.
The 44-year-old pocketed £44,660 - a whopping 100x his weekly wage of £446.60 - when Croft Farm Construction boss Phil Gledall put the decimal point in the wrong place.
But Burke was laughing today - after Judge Thomas Bayliss QC spared him jail and instead suspended a four-month sentence for a year.
He ran out of court smiling, rejoicing and laughing as he spoke on his mobile phone.
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The judge said: "This was blatant dishonesty - it wasn't fraudulent but it was very opportunistic.
"When Mr Goodhall tried to contact you of course he could not find you could he.
"And when the bank tried to get the money back from you - they could only retrieve £15K because you had spent a large amount of it hadn't you."
On January 29, the same night be received the money, Burke rattled through £12,600 on online betting website Coral.
Prosecutor Shyam Soni told York Crown Court: "He also bought Audi A4 car for £2,000 - but it broke down the same day he bought it.
The majority of the money was spent on the first night. It was spent on gambling, a car, drugs, a watch and a gold chain.
Shyam Soni
"It was taken into the garage to be fixed - but the defendant could not afford to pay the bill because he had no money when the car was ready to be picked up."
The prosecutor told the court: "On January 12, 2016 the defendant did some labouring work for Croft Farm Construction.
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"This was a three weeks project and in the second week Mr Burke presented a cash invoice for £446.60.
"This was paid by one of the bosses Phil Gledall at Croft Farm Construction.
"Mr Gledall put the decimal point in the wrong place and paid £44,660.
"On noticing the mistake straight away Mr Gledall tried to contact the defendant but he did not respond or answer any of his calls or emails."
Speaking about what Burke spent the money on, Mr Soni said: "The money was spent on gambling, a car, drugs, a watch and a gold chain.
"The majority of the money was spent on the first night.
"This was approximately £12,600 on the betting site Coral."
Barclays Bank tried to retrieve the money on March 10, 2016, but only could get £15,930.44 - because Burke had spent the rest.
The defendant turned himself in to police on May 5 after cops tried to find him at a previous address he had given to his agency employer.
The court heard Burke had gambling problems in the past.
Defending Burke, Martin Semper said: "This man is of 44 years of age and has no previous convictions for dishonesty and is willing to do unpaid work."
The court's probation officer Patrick Thornber said that Burke would able to undertake unpaid work and was "a fine and fit worker".
Burke, of Scarborough, North Yorks., had previously admitted wrongful credit at Scarborough Magistrates Court.
Burke, who sported a dark jumper over a checked shirt, was also ordered to undergo 100 hours of unpaid work within a year.
He declined to comment on the case as he left York Crown Court in a hurry, smiling.
Croft Farm Construction boss Phil Gledall said he was "disappointed" that Burke didn't receive an immediate custodial sentence.
Speaking about the outcome of Burke's sentencing hearing, Mr Gledall said: "This is not wanted to hear - I thought he would have got an immediate jail sentence.
"I was in court actually until the case got delayed until this afternoon.
"I don't want to say anything else about the matter apart from I'm disappointed."
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