Comic is guilty of book theft

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Comic face jail for stolen books racket

www.chortle.co.uk

Scottish stand-up Gary Little is facing jail after netting £100,000 from stealing books. The 44-year-old comic stole thousands of bestsellers from publishers HarperCollins, when he worked as a forklift truck driver at their warehouse near Glasgow. He then sold them cheap on eBay, using the identity skech20. Police said at least £60,000 went through his PayPal account alone. His scam was smashed in February 2005, and he has now pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court, Scotland’s Sunday Mail reveals today. He is awaiting sentencing, after which prosecutors will take action to recover the profits of his crime.

Little started out as a stand-up comedian in 2003, when he was a finalist in a talent competition run by the Daily Record and the Stand Comedy Club, which usually frowns on comedy contests. He wrote and performed his first solo show at the 2004 Glasgow comedy festival in 2004 and performed in the Stand’s Best of Scottish showcase at the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe. His official biography boasts of his ‘scary exterior’, ‘imposing physical stage presence’ and 'in-your-face comedy style’.

He has continued to work in comedy since his scam was busted. Only last week he was listed as performing in Leicester Jongleurs, and he is scheduled to appear at the Edinburgh Stand this Wednesday.

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I gave this guy his first ever stage time at a small comedy club I ran in 2003. Gary came along as he was a friend of a friend and he did pretty well and went on from that to be a regular on the Scottish scene. What the story above doesn't say is that he was also found guilty about 15 years ago of being involved in a massive Ecstasy dealing situation, for which he did 5 or 6 years in jail (this story was also a Sunday Mail feature), so I've a feeling he's very likely to go back to jail.

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