The former manager of Blenheim's Armourguard Security has been jailed for 3-1/2 years for stealing $170,000 from his own depot.
Stanley William Tunnicliffe, 47, was sentenced in the Blenheim District Court today, after he earlier admitted the burglary of the depot on January 14, the Marlborough Express reported.
Judge John Walker said Tunnicliffe, who had worked for the company for about three years, cut a hole in the side of the depot, took the money and kept it in a briefcase in his depot office for a week, before burying it at the end of Wairau Bar Rd.
Police found him digging for the money, Judge Walker said.
Only $137,000 was recovered. Up to $25,000 was given to a woman Tunnicliffe began a relationship with after the burglary, the court heard.
Tunnicliffe was ordered to pay $2000 reparation, which was all he could afford after he spent the rest.
The woman has pleaded not guilty to receiving the money.
