By BRUCE McKAIN,
Law Correspondent
A SOLICITOR accused of embezzling #47,000 from elderly women clients
told a jury yesterday that he had been frightened of his senior partner,
who, he alleges, had a hold over him.
When asked what the hold was, he said that the senior partner knew he
was a homosexual.
Mr Colin Tucker said he knew what was happening was not right but he
did not consider that he had done anything criminal. He told the High
Court in Edinburgh: ''I just wish I could have done something about it
at the time but it was just not possible.'' Mr Tucker, 35, denies two
charges of embezzling money from two women clients aged 79 and 90
between April, 1986 and May last year. He has lodged a special defence
of incrimination blaming Mr Ian Walker, his partner in the Edinburgh law
firm of Burnett Walker.
The court has heard that Mr Walker, 63, hanged himself while the
firm's books were being investigated by the Law Society.
Mr Tucker told the court yesterday that after being suspended from
practising as a solicitor last year he got a job as a footman with the
Lord Mayor of London, earning #9000 a year. He said he had been an elder
of St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh for seven years.
He said he had been invited to become Mr Walker's partner on condition
that he paid #20,000 into the firm, which he did after borrowing from
the bank. The deal was that he would receive 15% of the profits and
although he did not think that was fair, Mr Walker reminded him he would
eventually fall heir to the business.
Mr Tucker told the court that he got on very well with the two elderly
women whose money he is alleged to have embezzled while exercising power
of attorney. He said Mr Walker had told him he wanted to borrow money
from the clients.
''I said I was not happy about that at all, but he just would not
listen or discuss it with me. He just said: 'That is what is going to be
done. They are my clients and it is nothing to do with you.' '' Mr
Tucker explained that the money taken from clients had all gone to Mr
Walker who had promised to repay with interest.
Mr Tucker admitted that he had obtained the money and passed it on to
Mr Walker. His counsel, Mr Robert Henderson, QC, asked whether, as a
lawyer, he did not think there was anything odd about the transactions.
''Well of course I did,'' replied Mr Tucker.
''But at the time I just could not do anything about it. I was just so
caught up in the whole thing.'' He agreed that at the time he was
transferring the clients' money to Mr Walker he had received #3000 but
denied that this was in any way a ''cut'' for him. It was his share of
profits he had been seeking from Mr Walker for many months.
Mr Tucker told the court that because of his involvement with Mr
Walker he had lost the #20,000 he initially put into the firm -- which
he still owed to the bank -- and a #40,000 profit from his house in
Edinburgh which had been retained by the judical factor appointed to
take control of Burnett Walker.
He told Mr David Burns, Advocate-depute, that he knew what he had done
was not right but did not have the ability to do anything about it. ''I
just felt I was being used as a tool by Mr Walker.'' Mr Tucker said he
had been frightened because: ''Mr Walker had some sort of hold over
me.''
The trial continues.
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