A trusted parts manager who bought bottles of prosecco with cash he stole from his Carlisle truck dealership employer has been spared immediate prison.
Andrew Robert Dickinson, 38, was initially caught using a computerised production machine at Kingstown-based Solway DAF to make number plates he then supplied to second-hand car dealers without the company’s knowledge.
After Dickinson was sacked for gross misconduct, more crimes came to light.
He had bought tyres, parts and tools with company money, doctored invoices and created a PayPal account using a Solway DAF credit card before splashing out on an iPhone, water feature, pebble pool, computer games, a lawn sprinkler and Bluetooth speaker.
“The defendant also purchased 48 mini bottles of Bottega Gold Prosecco which were gifts for female guests at his wedding in October, 2018,” prosecutor Gerard Rogerson told Carlisle Crown Court today. “The managing director, among other staff members, recalls seeing them when he attended.”
Dickinson, of the city’s Springfield Road, admitted six fraud charges having stolen £8,296.09.
Solway DAF managing director Peter Fullelove described a “betrayal of trust” by Dickinson, who‘d expressed personal gratitude to him for a 2017 promotion at the wedding.
“Ironically we hadn’t realised at the time that the company had paid for the Prosecco we were drinking and thanking them for,” stated Mr Fullelove.
Kim Whittlestone, defending, said of Dickinson, a man of previous good character: “He is utterly ashamed. He has learned an extremely valuable lesson.”
Recorder Katherine Pierpoint suspended a 12-month sentence for 18 months. Dickinson must complete unpaid work, rehabilitation, a three-month night-time curfew and pay compensation.
“You have let down not only your employer at the time and your colleagues but also your family and your friends, and not least you have let down yourself,” said Recorder Pierpoint.
“You were trusted. You stole. You clearly thought you could get away with it, and you kept going.”
