Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1858-04-20

ALLEGED AMBIGUOUS ROBBERY BY City
OFFICIAL OF New YoRK.-The mayor of New
York, Mr.. Tiemann, has sent to the city
council special message, in which he sets
out at great length the official misdemeanors
of the late street commissioner, Mr.. Devlin,
which are certainly of g remarkable charac-
ter. The Tribune sums up from the Mayors
message as follows:
:" 1t appears, also, that Devlin, the Bowery
Bank, and ]. B. Smith the accused clerk in
|, the Controllers ofice-with the aid of Fitz-
patrick and others, pursued a regular system
of bleeding the city treasury, which is more
particularly explained in the testimony
Among the particular acts with which Dew
| lin is charged, was taking $3,742 for setting
curb and gutter in Thirty sixth street in the
name of Henry Bigelow, when no such con-
tract existed and of course nothing whatever
was due. On the 18th of March, Smith
| gave Devhn warrant for $2,2l6, purport.
ing to be for setting curb and gutter in Fifty
| fourth street, when there was no contract up
| on which such money was due, or to become
| due. The monay was drawn without the
! least shadow of right to Devlln's own order,
| and Endorsed by him and deposited in
| the Bowery Bank. The same thing was
done on the eighth day of October, an al
legged balance due for sewer in Thirty
eighth street for 1894, which was also duly
Endorsed by Devlin.
On the next day Smith drew a warrant for
balance purporting to be due for regulating
Forty second street, which was Endorsed by
DevEn. and paid by the City Chamberlain.
At the same time Branigan obtained war
rant for 81 500 payable to the Bowery Bank,
| E. -, bo rs.xt,, 81
| contract was made with other parties, and
had been assigned to the Mechanics aud
! Traders Bank, and that bank had received
| the money, so that neither Devlin nor the
| Bowery Bank legally had anything to do
| with it at all. Again, on the same day (Oet
| eth J warrant was drawn for a balance due
| for work in Seventy eighth street, for about
! $500, in favor of G. C, Ellis, and Endorsed
| by Devlin as Ellis's assignee. At that time,
! no contract existed with Ellis for such work.
| He had done the work, and had been paid in
| full on the 18th day Of February, preceding.
| At the same time an assessment bond was is
sued ostensibly for the same account for
| SIS, 300, but not no receipt can be found eth
| er for the warrant or the bond Ten days af-
terward, Smith drew warrant for $2,l46 in
favor of the Bowery Bank, said to be for a
sewer in Fortieth street. 1t is stated that
! Devlin receipted for and obtained the money,
although there was no sewer in progress, and
no contract in which the Bowery Bank or
| Dsvlin was so interested
On the 18th day of November warrant
was drawn for $5,79l in favor of Fitzpatrick,
said to be for a sewer in Forty-fourth street.
Devlin Endorsed and deposited it to his own
credit in the Broadway Bank, (the Bowery
Bank had failed] The work charged with
this warrant was finished and paid for as ear
| ly as 1856, and neither Devlin nor Fitzpat-
rick had any interest in it, On the 10th day
of October, Branigan appeared at the Con.
troller's Office with note from the President
of the Bowery Bank, authorizing him to re-
ceive certain assessment bonds, and got bonds
drawn to the Bank to the amount of about
1924, 900, all dated Oct. IT, Devlin received
about $l6 900 of this amount, and two bonds
have been presented at the Controllers office
assigned to Devlin, and bearing subsequent
assignment from bin in his own handwriting
of these bonds $12.700 are charged to sewer
in Forty-seventh street. leaving $ll, 200 un.
accounted for consequently unauthorized and
! fraud. These are few of the facte sub
mitted by the Mayor, to which he appends
the forgery for $4,000, for which Smith is
now under examination, the money drawn
by that forgery having gone to Fitzpatrick
and Devn. John Fitzpatrick appears
throughout as Devlin's intimate friend, and
became his alleged assignee at the time of
Devin's appointment, while the Mayor does
not believe that Devhn really assigned at ALL"