A date has been set for an auction of Elvis Presley memorabilia which was confiscated from a thief, it was announced today.
Julie Wall's vast collection - numbering thousands of individual items - will go under the hammer next month to repay the £600,000 she siphoned from her employers.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is hoping the sale will attract huge interest in the run-up to the 30th anniversary of The King`s death on August 16.
The rarest item is a South African pressing of a recording by Presley and Janis Martin with a guide price of £500, but which sells for about £2,500 at retail prices.
Among the 600 lots in the sale on June 10 are:
:: A 1964 credit card receipt from Presley`s Texaco Gas account;
:: An autographed copy of the album A Date with Elvis;
:: A limited edition of the first Elvis Presley CD ever released.
CPS confiscation chief Gary Balch said: "Our message to all those who commit any crime for financial gain is that when they are caught they not only run the risk of receiving a prison sentence, but they will be stripped of the full profits of their crimes.
"This case is unusual because of the nature and volume of the property confiscated.
"However, it demonstrates the commitment of the CPS to recover as much compensation as we can."
The sale could generate £200,000 to £300,000.
Mr Balch added: "Whilst we cannot realistically expect the proceeds of the auction to fully recompense the council for its losses, it will be a significant step in the right direction."
In January last year a recorder at Lincoln Crown Court ruled 47-year-old Wall should repay her debts to North Kesteven District Council after she admitted two counts of theft.
She was also handed a three year jail term.
Wall, of Rippon Drive, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, stole a total of £597,964 while working as a cashier for the council.
She pocketed cash collected from council parking meters, taking up to £10,000 every month.
Her role at the council, where she had worked for more than 30 years, was to deposit takings from meters into the council`s bank account.
But for a decade she stole a fortune in small change, using it to feed her compulsion for Elvis memorabilia at collectors` fairs and specialist shops across the country.
The court heard that Wall had declared herself bankrupt following her conviction, meaning her only assets were the Elvis memorabilia and a second-hand Vauxhall Astra.
Proceeds of the sale at Bamfords Ltd in Derby will go to the council which suffered Wall`s thefts over a 10 year period.
Additional information:
Catalogues for the auction are available free by email: elvis@bamfords-auctions.co.uk or for images please view the site below (more images uploaded daily).
Viewing times:
Friday 8th June 1pm - 6pm
Saturday 9th June 10am - 1pm
Sale Day: Sunday 10th 10am - 1pm, sale starts 1pm
Confiscated Elvis Items Up For Auction - Updated
May 30, 2007 | Other Source:GoogleRelated links
SuziB wrote on
May 30, 2007
As someone who lives close to this lady, she isn't scary at all. Just alone. Feel very sorry for her. No one from this part of the world (Sleaford) is very scary - as you know Lex, from your trips here...
Sean Ryan wrote on
May 30, 2007
CPS confiscation chief Gary Balch said: "Our message to all those who commit any crime for financial gain is that when they are caught they not only run the risk of receiving a prison sentence, but they will be stripped of the full profits of their crimes.
Does that inclued the British Government.
davrid wrote on
May 31, 2007
June, you can not justify your previous comments by trying to invent a link between the two. Your second post is not connected from the first - she is not a scary lady end of story. What she did was wrong but it doesn't make her scary in the slightest. I like Suzi live in the Lincoln area, actually within North Kesteven DC area- from whom the funds were stolen. That council steals from me ever single day - £250 a month council tax. Suzi is a solicitor in the area and obviously more familiar with the case than anyone here, if she feels sympathy, who are we to condemn?
Getlow wrote on
May 31, 2007
Quote: She pocketed cash collected from council parking meters, taking up to £10,000 every month. Unquote: - Shame she got caught really, it's not as if she was stealing from OAP's or anything like that and couldn't think of anything better to spend the cash collected from parking meters than on Elvis stuff. So, is she in jail? If so last start demanding her release!!!
Viva wrote on
May 31, 2007
I'm with "Getlow" on this one. She only took money which was robbed from the public in the first place. The fact that she could take 10 grand a month for ten years without being noticed only goes to prove how obcene the parking charges are in the first place. At least she did something worthwhile with the money, the council would have spent it on a bigger pay rise for themselves or some pile-of-crap piece of art to stick in the town centre. I'm not sure who the real crooks are in this one.