A Police chief stole more than $35,000 after persuading a neighbour to go into business with him, a court heard yesterday.

Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Lee Crockwell denies taking the cash after setting up Bascro Construction firm with mason Andrew Bascome.

Prosecutor Carrington Mahoney told the first day of the Policeman's Supreme Court trial that Crockwell approached Mr. Bascome in 2004 and told him he would help him set up a "kind of company" but didn't want anything in return.

Mr. Mahoney said Bascro was formed and was contracted to do work at the home of Terry Darrell, in Mount Hill, Pembroke, in November of that year.

He said Ms Darrell paid $125,000 for the first phase of the work and that Crockwell, 44, used $15,000 of that to cover a bounced cheque, $8,338 to clear a Capital G Bank loan he had with his wife and $12,000 to pay off a credit card debt.

"All this was done unknown to Ms Darrell and Bascome," he said.

Mr. Mahoney said the defendant, of Smith's Hill, St. George's, asked for payment from Ms Darrell for the second phase of work in January 2005 but that Mr. Bascome queried why it was needed.

He went to Police headquarters at Prospect where he was eventually given a red book containing Bascro accounts by a uniformed officer, said Mr. Mahoney.

He added that Mr. Bascome later went back to Prospect and spoke with Police Commissioner George Jackson and that was when the fact that the $35,338 had been "spent for the defendant's personal benefits" was discovered.

Mr. Bascome, of Captain Fox's Lane, St. David's, told the jury that Crockwell, who lived close to him, suggested the partnership, saying he wanted him to "get ahead". "He said that he was not interested in any type of money because he was happy with the position he was in."

The 43-year-old, who now runs Drew's Maintenance, said the Policeman dealt with all the paperwork, banking and administration, while he organised the labour.

Mr. Bascome said Crockwell told him he wanted the second payment from Ms Darrell so he could stock up on supplies. He added: "I asked for proof of where the money she had already given him had gone. He said that he would get it together for me."

Mr. Bascome said he tried in vain to reach Crockwell at work and at home between January 19 and 28 before going to Prospect and receiving the red book.

Three days later he said he saw Crockwell in his Police car and walked into the middle of the road so the officer would have to stop.

He got in the vehicle, he said, and asked his partner to clarify two items in the book which "didn't make sense": an entry stating that $10,000 had been put on the company's Gorham's account and another saying $12,000 was already pre-paid to Gorham's.

"I'll never forget what he told me," said Mr. Bascome. "He looked at me and said Andrew, there is nothing in that book that he wrote that's not true."

Mr Mahoney asked him: "Had you given the defendant permission to use any of the money for personal use?" "No," replied Mr. Bascome.

Crockwell's lawyer Charles Richardson, questioning Mr. Bascome, asked whether he was aware that the detective used his personal bank account to pay for Bascro expenses.

"No, I wasn't aware of that," said the complainant. Mr. Richardson suggested that more than $10,000 was charged to his client between December 2004 and February 2005, when the business dissolved.

It emerged during the cross-examination that Crockwell sued Mr. Bascome for $20,000 he claimed he was owed in March this year. The case was settled, said Mr. Bascome, after Crockwell "said he didn't want anything because I was like a son to him".

Later, Mr. Richardson quizzed the complainant about his visit to Prospect to speak to the Police Commissioner. Mr. Bascome said Mr. Jackson called Gorham's and discovered that Crockwell owed $10,000.

Mr. Richardson asked him if it was true that Superintendent Larry Smith tried to persuade him to make an accusation against Crockwell in exchange for a waiver to allow him to travel to the US.

"Nobody can help me with that," said Mr. Bascome, who explained that he had a possession of drugs charge against him in the States. "I even went to Dr. Brown."

The case continues today when Ms Darrell, 42, is due to take the stand.