month-long trial of a Canadian man accused of stealing from his local employer.

Colin Clive Andrew Cave, 49, has denied 36 charges of theft and false accounting while employed as the financial controller of Davison's of Bermuda.

Earlier in the trial the jury heard Cave worked for the local retail chain for approximately eight months in 1995.

On December 12, he was fired by the company's managing director and president, Norman Davison, for allegedly performing unsatisfactory work.

But Cave used a blank international money transfer to wire himself $25,000 the day after his dismissal.

The unauthorised transfer was discovered on December 15, 1995 and Mr. Davison said a subsequent audit revealed numerous other unauthorised transfers totaling more than $54,000.

Yesterday, defence lawyer, Mark Pettingill, said the prosecution's case asked the jury to perform "mental gymnastics''.

"This case is about honest belief,'' he told the nine-woman, three-man jury, "Mr. Cave's honest belief about what was going on.'' Cave has maintained that a secret verbal agreement between himself and Mr.

Davison promised travel allowances, loans, overseas insurance payments and a three-year contract.

And he claimed the $25,000 transfer was money he was entitled to as severance pay.

But Mr. Davison said he agreed only to provide a basic wage with local insurance coverage.

Mr. Pettingill, however, said there was "a ring of truth'' to Cave's story.

"Colin Cave told you about the deal and why he did what he did,'' he said.

"He believed he had been hoodwinked in a big way and then kicked out.'' Although Mr. Pettingill admitted Cave's withdrawal of $25,000 without telling his former boss "probably wasn't the best thing to do'', he pointed out that Cave had access to numerous signed, blank cheques.

"Why not, if he was a thief, why not fill out all the blank cheques?'' asked Mr. Pettingill.

But Crown counsel Peter Eccles challenged that argument.

"You cannot say `I could have stolen more','' he told the jury.

"The issue is not if he yielded to all the temptations, but did he yield to these temptations?'' And Mr. Eccles told the jury it was not important for them to understand why Cave had committed the alleged crimes.

"Perhaps, before he came here, he was a fine accountant. Perhaps he was an honest man,'' Mr. Eccles said.

"...but perhaps the temptation became a little too much.'' And Mr. Eccles argued that even if Cave had initially misunderstood his employment terms, he should have realised his mistake after arriving in Bermuda.

"He would have you believe that he is some naive Canadian who arrived on foreign shores. He is not naive,'' Mr. Eccles charged. "He is a man who lies for his own convenience.'' The jury is expected to begin deliberations after receiving direction from Puisne Judge Richard Ground this morning.

Colin Cave Graphic file name: CAVVE