A former manager of Bermuda Gas yesterday agreed to reimburse the utilities company monies he pocketed through an undisclosed side business he set up to maintain the company?s used gas cylinders.

The defendant, Raymond Knight, in an order presented to Supreme Court Judge Geoffrey Bell, agreed to reimburse Bermuda Gas any profit he made from the venture he formed, plus interest and legal costs. Bermuda Gas, in the order, said by its calculation the principal amount to be repaid is in the region of $170,000.

Bermuda Gas alleges that Mr. Knight, who was formerly operations manager, hid the fact that he was the principal behind Interface Technology ? a company contracted to do maintenance work on the company?s gas cylinders.

Bermuda Gas also alleges that Mr. Knight, through Interface, overcharged the company for the actual work done.

Mr. Knight could not yesterday be reached for comment. His lawyer, Mark Pettingill, in court said his client had agreed to the order. How much Mr. Knight will end up paying back to Bermuda Gas will be determined after he presents an accounting by affidavit of the profit he made from the venture. He has a fortnight to file with the court, and plaintiff Bermuda Gas is allotted 14 days further to consider and respond to the submission.

In the consent order presented to the court yesterday and obtained by Bermuda Gas said maintaining the gas cylinders in good condition was a job overseen by Mr. Knight. In the late 1990s, a decision was made to outsource the cylinder?s maintenance, and Mr. Knight allegedly suggested that a company he claimed was his uncle?s, be used.

According to the consent order?s account of the matter, it was later discovered that Mr. Knight, not his uncle, was the sole principal of the company. Mr. Knight allegedly set up Interface to do the maintenance work, opened Interface?s bank account, was that account?s signatory, and also personally arranged and signed work release agreements with H.M. Prisons to use prison labour for the maintenance work. It was alleged that Mr. Knight signed off on Bermuda Gas? work orders to Interface, while also sometimes being the second signatory on cheques to pay his own company for its work.

The company was alerted to to Mr. Knight?s questionable ties to Interface by another employee, Ernest Marshall, the order said. Mr. Marshall is alleged to have questioned the matter after discovering what Bermuda Gas was being charged, on average, per week for the maintenance work. He reportedly knew the figure was out of line with the actual tally of how many gas cylinders had been shot-blasted and repainted.

On 8 January, 2001 Bermuda Gas management confronted Mr. Knight with the allegation that he had been dishonest with the company in characterising the maintenance work as that of an independent party, and that he had also been overcharging the company for the work done. He denied the allegations at the time, according to the order.