Heather Ffrench, 52, of Sparrows Herne, Basildon, and Anthony Olomofe, 46, of Curling Tye, Basildon, both worked for Southend Council between 2009 and 2016, when up to 38 alleged frauds were carried out.
Basildon Crown Court heard Ffrench, who worked in the parking department as a parking notice officer, faces the bulk of the charges. She denies 30 counts of fraud by abuse of position.
Olomofe, who was employed in the council’s IT department, denies four counts of fraud by abuse of position and four counts of fraud by false representation.
Not any more, he doesn't.
Ffrench is accused of fraudulently issuing 13 permits, including at least one to herself and one to Olomufe. The permits had a combined value of £11,880.
She is also alleged to have cancelled a ticket for Olomofe, who had a habit of racking up parking fines.
Mr Gurjoy said: “He had been issued work parking permits so that he could exercise his duties. However, there are certain restrictions on even those permits and he was not allowed to park in certain areas. He used his parking permit to park in areas he should not be parked in and received parking tickets.
“Some he challenged through the formal channels, some he paid, some were cancelled by Miss Ffrench without going through the proper channels.”
Seriously, no-one thought it might not be a good idea to have the guy who racks up parking fines shacked up with the girl who issues them?
Don't you just love it when they do that?
ReplyDelete:o)
'Tanned', with an egotistical 'hand in till' mentality, sloppy and blatantly careless; Ms Ffrench (not solid Anglo Saxon, then) must have been irresistible at her local government interview. Never mind, a sideways move to Plodland beckons.
ReplyDeleteOf course, and slightly off-topic, "Ms Ffrench" should really be written (or typed) "Ms ffrench" as the double-F at the beginning of a name is indicative of a capital F. Something to do with originally misreading the Gothic (or whatever) script used, in times past - hence, "Ffiona Ffoulkes" should really be typed (or written) either "Fiona Foulkes" or "ffiona ffoulkes." Can't have it both ways - unless you really want to demonstrate your ignorance.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure plenty of people knew what was going on, but were afraid to say anything for fear of being accused of racism..................
ReplyDelete@ Radical Rodent. "Ffiona Ffoulkes" should really be typed (or written) either "Fiona Foulkes" or "ffiona ffoulkes." Can't have it both ways.
ReplyDeleteInteresting stuff, RR. I propose that the etiquette of letter writing dictates that the addressee's own preferences for the style in which her name appears, overrides other considerations. In your insistence on a rule confined to historical print protocol, it may be an unintended insult to type (or write) 'Ms ffiona ffoulkes' on a letter to her. Would you parade your sophistication if it meant risking offence?
Please come back to me on this point. Such minor details are of genuine interest.
I can just hear a certain television character from a few (un-PC) years ago!
ReplyDelete"It's them darkies, innit."
And will this comment pass vetting nowadays?
MTG: for the owner of such a name to maintain the double-f at the start of a name while capitalising the initial f is just an affectation, and does display their ignorance as to the origins of it, a point that I would only address if my association with the person was more than just passing acquaintance. Personally, unless otherwise directed by the person (remember, the reported spelling could well be a display of the reporter’s ignorance, much to the chagrin of Ms ffrench), I would use the double-f in lower case.
ReplyDelete"Don't you just love it when they do that?"
ReplyDeleteGive up half-way through? If only their time was all they were wasting...
"Can't have it both ways - unless you really want to demonstrate your ignorance."
Oh, I think that's a given.
"I'm sure plenty of people knew what was going on, but were afraid to say anything for fear of being accused of racism...."
I wouldn't be at all surprised...
"And will this comment pass vetting nowadays?"
Nope!