Shop manager stole €57k from employer for gambling debts

A 27-YEAR-OLD toy shop manager stole more than €57,000 from his employer because of an out of control gambling problem, a court heard yesterday.

However, Aidan Topley, took the money in a way he was sure to be caught, prosecuting counsel Tom Rice told the Circuit Criminal Court, in Tralee.

Topley, of 48 Hillcrest Park, Glasnevin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to stealing €57,346 at Smyth’s Toy Shop, Manor West, Tralee, between May 25, 2009, and June 2, 2009.