KEY POINTS:
A grieving family say the man who stole $14,000 from their dying father robbed him of a peaceful end to his life.
The Whakatane family say they don't want anyone else falling victim to the 66-year-old man they describe as "a con man and a thief".
John Good's relatives say William (Bill) John Hague stole money and possessions from him during the last year of his life. They suspect he has more victims who have yet to come forward.
Hague was this week sentenced in the Whakatane District Court to eight months' home detention and was ordered to pay full reparation to his victims.
He had previously pleaded guilty to 30 charges of fraud and two of obtaining money by deception.
Mr Good died in September 2006 from cancer, and according to his daughter Sharelle Lincoln, he had only an inkling of what the man he believed to be a friend and business partner had done.
Reading her victim impact statement in court, a tearful Mrs Lincoln said she did not know how anyone could knowingly steal from a so-called friend who was terminally ill. "It's beyond me - Bill is a despicable man."
She told the court her family were "somewhat" comforted by the fact their father did not realise the full extent of Hague's offending.
Her father would have wanted to spend his last few weeks alive happy and surrounded by the people he loved but he was unable to because of the stress Hague had caused, she said.
The court was told one deception charge arose when Hague went to check a heat pump he had installed for a 78-year-old woman. He told her he needed $210.40 for parts to repair the pump despite it still being under warranty.
Another charge stemmed from Hague taking $950 cash from a close friend for the purchase and installation of a heat pump. It was never installed.
Hague and Mr Good had been business partners but in the 12 months before Mr Good's death, Hague gained access to his friend's bank accounts and wrote 30 cheques he used for his own advantage.
Outside the court after sentencing, Mrs Lincoln said her father had treated Hague well and "he should feel disgusted by what he has done".
The family hoped that by speaking out they could prevent others being fooled by Hague or perhaps give any other victims of his offending the strength to come forward.
Mr Good's widow, Maureen Good, said the day after her husband's funeral the family should have been able to come together and reflect on the life of a man they loved.
"Instead we were running around trying to uncover the extent of Bill's offending."
Mr Good's son David described Hague in court as a conman who preyed on the elderly, had lied about his own mother's impending death for financial gain and had just said goodbye to his fifth wife.
In sentencing Hague, Judge Peter Rollo said the offending was a betrayal of a friendship and that he should be ashamed of his actions.
- ROTORUA DAILY POST
