He stole £154,000 from an elderly friend - he'll pay back a fiver

WEST Berkshire Council has vowed to do all that it can to recoup more money after a disgraced former Newbury District Council chairman who stole £154,000 from an elderly Alzheimer’s sufferer was ordered to pay back just £5.
John Morgan, aged 75, of Highclere Gardens, Wantage was jailed for six years in November 2013 for raiding the bank account of his friend of 30 years, 92-year-old Beryl Gittens, after he was given legal control over her affairs when her memory began to fail.
When Mrs Gittens died, she was given a pauper’s burial funded by West Berkshire Council using taxpayers money, as Morgan had not left enough money in her account to pay for a funeral.
At a confiscation hearing at Oxford Crown Court last week, a barrister for the Crown Prosecution Service said that because his wife was awarded their £250,000 home in divorce proceedings the pensioner had no remaining assets.
Alan Blake, prosecuting, said it was with regret that the CPS had decided it could not oppose civil court proceedings which had ruled the house should belong to Morgan’s wife.
Recorder Patrick Hamlin said that in light of the prosecution’s decision the former Wantage and Vale of White Horse councillor would have 28 days to pay a nominal sum of £5.
West Berkshire Council’s executive member for public protection, Dominic Boeck, said: “We are most disappointed by this judgment and are now working closely with Thames Valley Police to consider options to recover this money.
“We will do all that we can to recoup the proceeds of crime money owed to both the relatives of this vulnerable and elderly lady and the council.”
Morgan stole the money in thousands of bank transfers and cash withdrawals when Mrs Gittens was in care homes. He even funded trips to Las Vegas casinos with her money.
He also tried to abuse his position as a West Berkshire councillor to deflect investigations.
When sentenced in January, Judge Mary-Jane Mowat labelled Morgan’s actions “shambolic and devious.”
The father-of-three served as a councillor on Newbury District Council from 1984, becoming chairman in 1996.
He was later elected to West Berkshire Council, where he sat on the Downlands area planning committee and represented Leckhampstead, Brightwalton, Chaddleworth and West Ilsley.
Morgan resigned from the Conservative party following his conviction in November 2013.