2 ~ Weanesday, October 29. 1997 - Nerth Shore News Guilt fe By Anna Marie D’Angelo News Reporter dangelo@nsnews.com A co-owner of North Shore Driving School was found guilty on Tuesday of 11 counts of tax evasion involving $120,000 worth of unreported revenue. Josephine Sally Briton sat beside her husband and co-accused Byron Briton in the front row of a North Van provincial court room as Judge Doug Moss quickly read out part of his judgement. Byron Briten was found not guilty of al 13 tay evasion charges against him. He (Byron Briton) does not strike me as being an astute businessman,” said the judge. The driving school was also found guilty of six charges of tax evasion. Judge Moss noted that Josephine Briton was an integral part of the daily operation of the driving school. “I simply do not accept that she, as the efficient business woman she obvi- ously is, would not check the ABC ledger to the North Vancouver one-write sys- tem. “The cash flow of a small business on a monthly basis is perhaps the most important f “factor to its efficient successful operation.” In his written decision, Judge Moss described Josephine Briton as “the con- co-owner of driving school evaded tax, assesses Judge trolling mind in the day-to-day operation of the company.” According te Crown evidence, Josephine Briton instructed long-time emplovee Neil Lockhart to withhold cash payments received trom students, partic: ularly trom the ABC. division of the com pany located in Burnaby. Lockhart, who worked tor 15 vears as an instructor and general manager, test fied that he had an affair with Josephine Briton from 1986 to L99t. “Mrs. Briton savs that she broke off the affair, Neil Lockhart says that he did,” stated Moss. Lockhart left the driving school in 1994 to start 2 competing business called Shawnee Driving School in Surrey. He related the unreported money to Revenue Canada after a disagreement with the Britons over how much vacation money wes owed to him when he quit. Revenue Canada auditor Christina Mao started an audit in December 199+ at the company’s North Vancouver office in the 1800-block of Lonsdale Avenuc. On the second day of audit, Mao tes- Burritt Bros gives you ‘Warm & Wonderful Wool. at the GUARANTEED CORDEX ALWAYS eu . ui } is ee in easy tailored loop wool-biend in tweeds and solids value bund in tax Case tified that Josephine Briton said she did aor tind it necessary to keep the ABC ledger pages trom) previous vears. “Mors. Briton didtell My. Mao thatthe student record cards had all the same information and were stored in the office basement which, at thar time, was intest- ed with rats and cockroaches,” wrote the judge. Mao used ABC ledger pages photo- copied by Lockhart and compared them with the driving school’s one-write leduer. She discovered some ABC cash revenues not included in the main driving school books. A search warrant was obtained for the Britons’ Chartwell home in West Vancouver and the ABC ledger trom July 1988 to December 199} was obtained. Defence lawyer Bob Breivik argued Lockhart took the unreported cash. The judge noted Lockhart: participat- ed in the illegal scheme. The judge stated thar the Britons’ accountant, Dale Goldstone, did not know anything about the ABC Division bookkeeping and only dealt with the one- write system. Eighteen charges of income tax inva- sion from 1988 to 1993 of $56,197 in tax on $263,109 of unreported income were laid against the Britons and North Shore Driving Schooi. Sentencing was adjourned to Dec. 16. yO ; GUARANTEED | Lowest PRICES: i retail 48.95 NOW 39, ‘60 oq yd ane 46.95, Now us. 90. sq yd “We have the North Shore's best selection of wool carpets and fabulous wool area rugs... ‘Carpets ° Area Rugs @ Vinyl Flooring @ Pol ends | Burritt Bros. FLOORCOVERINGS 1907 ee Since S86-6659 MON-FRI SATURDAY SUNDAY 9:30-5:30 8:30-5:00 11:00-4:00 201 BEWICKE AVENUE NORTH VANCOUVER na a The Permanent Solution Towards a Healthier Life CARO is Cornmitted to providing you with the skills you need to lose weight forever and maintain a heatthy lifestyle. Designed by doctors and facilitated by registered nurses, our focus is health promotion (not diets or drugs). CARO’s group program has been proven to work. Lef us show you how... Cail today fer a complimentary consultation. North Shore: 990-4161 * Vancouver. 877-1788 Suey: 597-2276 CARO Health & Weight Management Centres FAMILY BOWL SPEGIAL Oct. 37 7pm-9pm $25°°/Lane (maximum 6 persons) INCLUDED- Bowling between 7pm-9pm - Shoe rental - GST Reservations Recommended 925-0005 ae 1080 S. Park Royal= West Vancouver & 925-0005 ELLIOTT BUY I Save 10% fam BUY2 Save 10% BUY 3 or more Save 30% Cozy cotton fleece and microfibre coordinates by Sandy Ethott. Available in Black Forest & Plum. Perfect for travel, walking the seawall or simply Puna around! WesT VANCOUVER, 1441 BELLEVUE AVENUE > 926-2113