The Portland daily press., 1871-10-04
How the New York Thieves got their
Money.

How the New York Thieves got their
Money.
1t has been a matter of wonder to everybody
how the New York robbers could manage to
obtain the allowance of such immense claims
notwithstanding the safeguards that the law
provides against fraud. The whole routine is
told in the following affidavit of one Copeland,
formerly clerk in the Controllers office:
Deponent personally saw inspected and was
acquainted with the greater part of vouchers
presented by IngersoiI & Co. The vouchers
previous to April &C. 1870, were certified to by
the clerk of the Board of Supervisors. Suisse
queDtly such vouchers were certified as correct
Uy persons named in such act, to wit: Mayor
A. Oakley Hall, Controller Richard B. Con-
molly, and the then President of the Board of
Supervisors, William M. Tweed. Deponent in
examining such vouchers was struck with the
fact that they Were not sworn to as is custom
airy with all h nest claims which are presented
10 the hnance department for pay ment, as re-
CURED by printed rule of the finance depart
ment. There was no affidavit other proof
OF the correctness of the bills. or of the truth
of the statements therein contained as to the
supplies alleged to have been furnished The
said vouchers were fraudulent upon their face,
IN that it Was utterly impossible that the fur
niture, cabinet work and fitting up therein,
temized as having been furnished to the couu
ty court house could have been supplied to or
useu upon any one Ut any uUZ6Q DullulDgS, Dull
were sufficient to have filled to repletIon very
many such buildings as the county court house.
The mode ana manner in which such bills
were presented and paid were as follows: The
vouchers we're audited by tie County Auditor,
James Watson, since deceased; and with his
audit thereon, and with the audit of the board
previously referred to, were by Watson dev-
cred to the bookkeeper with instructions to
| prepare warrants. Certificate OF previous audit
| by the Board OF Supervisors, Mayor or Con-
roller, and William M. Tweed, was at this time
/ affixed to the voucher. The deponent is ac-
| qualnted with the signatures of Hall, Tweed,
| Young and Connolly, ard knows that these
| respective names were attached to such Certi-
ticates. The name of the late County Auditor
was affixed by stamping across the voucher
| upon the outside The book -keeper thereupon
prepared a warrant, and it was laid before the
Controller with audited vouchers, and the Con-
| troller thereupon signed it, The audited vouch-
ers and warrant were then sent to Mayor Hall
| who with said unsworn vouchers, fraudulent
upon their face, before him, countersigned the
warrant, which was then deliverer to Ingersoll
| & Co, which firm was invariably represented
| by James Ii. Ingersoll, and the vouchers were
filed away. Subsequently, and after the war
rants went through the bank, they were re.
| turned to the Controllers Office where they
| we've filed with the vouchers. The entries upon
| the Controllers books were made Immediately
alter completion of the signatures to the war
rant, and prior to its delivery to Ingersoll or to
any other party claiming money from the said
| department. The entries upon the books gave
10 specification of work done or materials OF
supplies furnished, but were confined to the
names OF the persons TO whom the warrants
were made out, the day and the amount OF pay
ment, and the general character of the wor
done or materials or supplies furnished.
THERE WERE no new Developments yester
day regarding the Tammany frauds. Judg
Barnard in charging the Grand Jury urget
that the illegal taking of fees by city and count,
officials should be summarilly stopped H.
stated that all persons found guilty of repeat
ing at elections should be sent to State Priscl
for lengthy term and then touching on cor
ruption among officials he said that nearly al
the fast horses and fast wome1 in New Yorl
are supported from the City Treasury.
The World complains that Green has to
much pc Ter entrusted to him, whilst the Time
continues its list of persons in the pay Of til
city. Among the names are many fictitiou
persons, some of them being those of men Ion
since dead. Clerks in the 6nauce departmer
besides receiving salaries draw a heavy pei
centage for collecting the arrears Of assess
ments. H. Starkweather, father-in- law of Go,
Hoffman, as collector of assessments, receive
81 2 per cent on all collections amounting I
about $40 600 per month. One of the names o
the pay roll of Tweed's department. is that
Morgan Doheny, son of the Irish patriot, VIII
has been dead year. A member of the Cit
zen's Committee states that the examnatio
of the records couvinces him that thirty thre
per cent OF monies expended by the differeI
departments in the city has been stolen b
members of the Ring.
L A NashVllle Inn dasnatch hnt III