Funeral director who stole £5,000 from business given unpaid work

A funeral director who stole £5,000 from the firm where he was employed has been given unpaid work.

Steven Milne was found guilty of stealing from McLean’s Funeral Directors in Glasgow’s Dennistoun on June 26, 2022.

The 43-year-old was caught after the money bag used to keep the cash was found inside his car.

The company’s CCTV in the office was also found to be tampered with when Milne was in the building.

Milne was convicted last month at Glasgow Sheriff Court of a single charge of theft of a quantity of money.

Sheriff Bonnar told sentencing that he received “correspondence” from Milne’s father in the interim period, which mentioned “reconsidering” the conviction.

Graham Bryson, defending, asked the sheriff to take the letter as a positive “reference” in regard to the sentencing process.

The sheriff told Milne: “We are dealing with a matter after conviction, and it’s not for me to look at that again.

“I am a professional sheriff who assesses the evidence and reaches a conclusion.

“There was corroborated evidence, in particular the CCTV presented to me and the bag recovered from the vehicle at the time.

“I was convinced of the compelling Crown case.

“You gave into temptation and took this money which is most unfortunate and is a serious crime which does meet the threshold for custody but I will look to the most appropriate alternative.”

Milne was ordered to do 180 hours of unpaid work.

The court previously heard that the money in question had been put in a bag on a desk by one of the firm’s workers.

Milne later attended the office, which was picked up on CCTV.

Prosecutor Redmond Harris said in his closing submissions: “The camera is covered.

“I ask you to see that Milne carried on with the crime and that you can conclude this was done in a clandestine manner. He then left.”

Milne also left a letter behind, which stated that he was “unhappy” about not being paid.

The money was never found, and the matter was reported to the police.

Mr Harris went on: “The bank bag was found in Milne’s car.”

Milne told the court in his evidence that the bag was in his car, but that there was no money found.

It was revealed that Milne has previous road traffic convictions.

Mr Bryson told the sentencing that his client, of the city’s Summerston, continues to profess his innocence.

He added: “This firm had a history of stealing, which was not related to Mr Milne, as he was not working for them at the time.”