A DIRECTOR of a luxury car hire and chauffeur service could be sent to prison for lying to police to stop his company from being prosecuted for using unlicensed cars.
Stretched limo at the Creux Guerin Cross Roads, St Martins.
Malcolm Margo, who runs Guernsey Chauffeur Drive Ltd, denied attempting to pervert the course of justice and using public-service vehicles without a licence.
But he was found guilty in the Magistrate’s Court, where he was described as ‘a wholly unconvincing witness’ who had told ‘a pack of lies’.
Margo, 63, of Flat 3, Llangroyd, Fort Road, St Peter Port, tried to cover up the fact that he had used unlicensed cars for two weddings during the summer of 2006.
In an effort to make it look as though he had charged the couples only for licensed vehicles, he claimed that he had sent them credit notes prior to the weddings.
Those would have meant that the unlicensed Rolls Royce and Daimler cars he used would not have been in operation as public-service vehicles.
But the couples did not receive the credit notes until November after police had interviewed the company’s other local director, Terry Le Maitre, in relation to allegations that the firm had used unlicensed vehicles.
Margo claimed that he had sent them on 27 July, but that they had been lost in the post.
He then telephoned the couples on 22 November asking why they had not used their credit notes and said he would send replacements.
Margo said he had written the ‘original’ ones by hand because he was having ‘computer problems’. Analysis found that the computer was working properly at that time.
Margo told the court that it had been the printer that had not been working.
Both couples paid in full for their cars. One was invoiced for the balance on 31 July, two days after their wedding. The other paid by cheque on the day of their wedding, 5 August.
Margo, who described himself as an entrepreneur, told the court that he was not good with computers or business administration.
He was adamant that he had written credit notes to the couples at 11pm on 27 July because he knew the cars would not be licensed in time for the weddings.
He could not explain why photocopies of the originals had never been found, describing it as ‘an absolute mystery’.
Margo said that he had not told Mr Le Maitre about the existence of the credit notes.
He claimed to be the subject of a witch-hunt and said that to be accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice was ‘farcical’.
‘It was a series of errors, it wasn’t a plot,’ said the defendant, who was represented in court by Advocate Tom Crawford.
The advocate said that the prosecution had provided no direct evidence that the accused had committed acts with a tendency to pervert the course of justice.
He said that his client was running a business in which he wore many hats and should not be penalised for being disorganised.
Advocate Crawford said that Margo felt the prosecution were being over-zealous because the business was not liked in the island.
He added that the defendant could have come up with new copies of the original handwritten credit notes, but had not.
With regard to the licensing offences, Advocate Crawford argued that the cars were not being used for hire or reward because the credit notes had been issued.
But assistant-Magistrate Philip Robey found that the original credit notes had not existed.
He said that Margo had fabricated evidence when he realised that the company was in trouble.
Mr Robey added that when he produced the credit notes on his computer, the defendant had not realised that police would check it and that when they did, ‘his house of cards came tumbling down’.
The company has two previous convictions from March last year for having no public- service licences.
Sentencing was adjourned until 15 May for a probation report.
Article posted on 14th April, 2008 - 12.45pm
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