New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-02-02
RAD For SHERIFF DAVIDSON.
CHARGING FOR PRISONERS NOT CARRIED.

oxr OF THE sHERIFFs CLERKS ARRESTED ON
LEAVING THE wITSEss-srAND.
The special committee of the Assembly which Is
investigating the city government had an interest
enc session in the Metropolitan Hotel yesterday.
The inquiry was confined 70 the Sherit's once.
The fact was brought out that under the
ordinance allowing the Sheriff ST. as for
each prisoner conveyed from the Tomos
IN the courts he charged last year for nearly ooo
prisoners more than were actually conveyed by
him: and received pay from the Controller on these
false statistics as submitted in his sworn vouchers.
Sheriff Davidson testified that he did not have per
sonal knowledge of the manner in which his bills
were made up but relied his subordinates. IL was
shown that under the act passed by the last Legis
,a,ure transferring certain prisoners from the care
~ the Commissioners of Charities and Correction
to the Sheriff 456 prisoners had been so transferred
The Sheriff charged the city full days board, ac-
cording TO his bills, for prisoners who came under
his care late in the day. and another full days board
for the day on which such prisoners were discharged
The Sheriff declined to answer questions in regard
20 the sums he paid for his nomination. He said
his net receipts last year were only $44,90s; but
the committee decided to examine his booksin order
TO get at the facts.
Hugh Donnelly, William n. Penney and Robert
Lindsay Of the District-Attorney's Office testified
70 the actual OF pTlsOntiS convey iiOh
The Tombs to the General Sessions Court 1t was
stated that the Sheriff charged for the conveyance
of prisoners on Sundays and at other times when
the courts were not session. Warden Finn, OF the
Tombs testified that he signed statements of prison.
ersconyeyed from the Tombs to the General Sessions
Court, as requested by the Sheriff's officers, on
their representation that the figures correspondent
with those on the prison lists. Since this invest-
CATION began he, for the first time aseertaned that
this was not the fact.
Jacob A. Werthem er. a clerk in the Sherlffs
Office who made up the vouchers on which the
Sheriff drew the money for the transfer of the pris-
oners gave confused and contradictory explana-
tions of his method of making out the
statements He said he was under the
impression that tn Sheriff conveyed the
prisoners from the Police Courts to BlackWelIs
Island Though the Sheriff had previously testified
that he never did So Mr. Werthemer said that he
Included a part of such transfers, taken from the
Police Court books, in his statements, and that
placing them each month under the head OF prlsrc
oners transferred from the Tombs to the Court OF
General Sessions was clerical error" al
though he wrote out the heading each tune
himself He said it clerical error 70
charges for prisoners when the courts were closed
and that asking the Warden of the prison 10 certify
TO false lists was another " clerical error"
Upon the conclusion of Mr.. Werthelmers test-
mOny he was placed under arrest on warrant
charging him with cOnspir1ng 10 defraud the city.
Juhus G.. Lulley a bOokkeeper in the Finance
Department, testified that the books showed that
William A. Butler retained $36,6o9 IN fees re-
ceived by him other than those received for
searches.