An Aberdeen pub owner has told how an employee betrayed his trust by emptying the safe and nearly destroying the business.
John Anderson, who owns the Staging Post in Bucksburn, trusted chef William Baillie to be in charge of the pub over the weekend – then never saw him again.
Baillie locked up the popular bar the Sunday evening after a bumper weekend of takings due to a Scotland match being on the TV.
But the “underhanded” 52-year-old took a taxi back to the pub in the early hours of the Monday morning, emptied the safe of more than £5,000 and disappeared.
Mr Anderson, who had considered Baillie a friend, became concerned when he didn’t show up for work on the Monday and tried to contact him to make sure he was okay.
It was only later when he managed to access the safe that he realised what had happened.
‘We survived the theft and came through the other side’
Now, as Baillie appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court over the theft, Mr Anderson has spoken of being “shocked and hurt”.
He said: “He had the only safe key. I couldn’t even get into the safe to see. I didn’t even know he’d taken the money at that point.
“I had to drive up to Lossiemouth to get another key and drive all the way back to discover the safe was empty.”
Mr Anderson said the loss had a huge impact on him and the pub, with them never able to recover a single penny.
He said: “I think a lot of it was premeditated. It was after an extremely busy weekend.
“There was a huge Scotland game on the Friday night.
“It was all the money that came in.
“I think it was very underhanded and snide.
“He just pretended to be your mate and waltzed in in the middle of the night and took all the money and went off on a jolly.
“The insurance never paid out either.
‘Alcohol played a significant role’
“I had to go to the bank and ask for an overdraft to pay the bills.
“But, we survived the theft and came through the other side.”
In court, Baillie, whose address was given as Oakwood Road, Birmingham, pled guilty to a charge of theft over the incident in October 2016.
There were significant delays in the case due to a warrant being issued for Baillie’s arrest.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Gunn told the court Baillie had been in possession of the keys to the premises, including the safe, over the weekend.
Mr Anderson arrived at the bar at 10am on October 10 2016, expecting Baillie to arrive at noon.
When he didn’t appear, Mr Anderson “became worried about the accused’s welfare” and tried to contact him.
He was unable to reach him and later realised he could not access the safe as Baillie had the main key.
Eventually, he managed to obtain a key and found the safe empty.
‘This was an appalling breach of trust’
On checking CCTV, Baillie could be seen locking up on the Sunday night, but then returning at 1.30am, going inside for three minutes and then leaving again.
Police were informed.
Defence agent Stuart Murray said his client had no recollection of the offence, explaining he “effectively pled guilty on the basis of the evidence against him”.
He went on: “It’s clear that alcohol played a significant role, as it has in relation to past convictions as well.”
Examining Baillie’s list of previous convictions that stretch back to 1992, Sheriff Kevin Duffy described him as “prolific”.
Mr Murray said his client had been out of trouble for a “quite considerable time”.
The sheriff asked: “Is he dry at the moment?”
Mr Murray replied: “He’s not dry at the moment, no. But he is taking steps to deal with that and has greatly reduced his alcohol consumption.”
Addressing Baillie directly, Sheriff Duffy said: “This was an appalling breach of trust.
“You were placed in a position of trust in this licenced premises. The person in charge regarded you as a friend, but you helped yourself to the money.”
As a direct alternative to custody, he ordered Baillie to be supervised for 18 months and to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
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