Man Pleads Guilty
Windsor Star
Aug 30/2002

WINDSOR, Ont. (CP) -- A man has pleaded guilty to siphoning $4 million from his employer of two decades to feed his addiction to betting on horses.

Robert Taylor's voice broke as he replied "guilty" Thursday to the charge of defrauding auto-part manufacturer Krupp Fabco between January 1985 and September 1998 by creating fake invoices and channeling the payments to himself. The company is now called TKA Fabco.

Once he was caught, Taylor, 55, went to the company with his lawyer and admitted he'd been taking money for 20 years. A forensic audit found Taylor took just over $4 million since January 1985, but couldn't confirm what happened previously, said assistant Crown attorney Randy Semeniuk.

All the money went to pay for Taylor's gambling and maintain a company through which he channelled the funds, said his lawyer, Michael Gordner.

"I don't think there's any doubt about that. He lived a modest lifestyle," Gordner said. After he was caught, Taylor went into bankruptcy because of income tax arrears, his lawyer said.

Taylor is to be sentenced Oct. 4 if a report by a probation officer can be completed by then.

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