The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-07-03
Convicted Ex-Banker Flood
. Makes q Strange Revelation.
Why HIS ACCOUNTS WE'RE SHORT
He Was the Trusting pupe Of Dis
honest Stock Brokers.
Aasy overdrsw Their Accounts sad One
killed. Himself a.d the Other Fled
Hsed cescealed the shsrtages and
Tried to Repay Thsm.

ssN FRANCISCO, July flames ".
Flood, ex-cashier Of the Donohue. Kelly
bank, Who is under conviction for the en-
bexziemsnt Of $l63. 600 Of the banks funds.
yesterday broke silence for the first time
since the discovery Of the d.falcation aud
has cleared up the apparently inexp.ica-
Die mystery which has surrounded the
disappearance OF the money and the man.
ner OF it, Withdrawal from the bank.
Flood has all along maintained that the
money was paid out over the counter in
the regular course Of business. but during
and after the trial he peremptoriiy refused
to divulge the names Of the persons who
secured the money. contcnting himself
merely With the statement that he is the
victim of misplaced confidence and that he
IS willing to suffer the consequences of his
indiscrstions. At the trial Flood made no
defense whatever, except that through his
attorney hs claimed that he had at no time
exceeded his authority as cashier, the
money being paid out in overdrafts and IN
the regular course of business. This un-
sworn statement, however, was not sats-
factory. and he was promptly pronounced
guilty of embe1xlement. The recent facts
OF the case have been transpiring little by
little, and TO settle the whole matter.
Flood. who Is in Jail, finally determined
to tell the entire story.
The case. after all. is simple, and the de-
ficit occurred, as Flood heretofore claimed,
in ovsrdrafts. $i50.oco being paid to James
Cogan, once well-known stock broker
here, and &35.O00 TO Andrew Wood Fox.
once . sOn-in-law OF Senator Stewart.
CoRan WAS large operator. and ostab-
lished himself 10 completely in the con-
fidenco of the officers Of the Donohue-
Nelly bank that he was given large credit.
His account fuctuated greatly. and was
some days largely In his favor and at other
times heavily overdrawn. But the stock
market finally began to 60 strongly against
Cogan and his overdraft at the bank
reached very large sum. Then Flood
became alarmed and pressed Cogan for
payment. But he was ready in promises
and explanations and. To protect himself,
Flood gave him further credit. thinking
the operations would be brought to sue
cessful issue and the overdraft properly
covered. But IL was not, and one night four
years ago Cogan died, having committed
suicide, A. many thought. and he owed
the bank $l50 0000. Flood alone, of tho
officers of the bank. knew how much had
been lost.
Fox's operations were exactly simi-
lar. though separate from Cogan's,
and he managed to get $4,000 from
Flood. Fox was finally expelled from the
stock exchange and Flood then realized
that he had been deceived by both Fox
and Cogan. He managed to cover up tho
deficit by . system Of false entries and
false checks and drafts, but one day in
February last he was taken unawares by
the bank examiners and the defaication
discovered. The cashier had. in the mean
time, reduced the deficit over $4,000 from
his own resources.
Flood seems to have maintained silence
either from Quixotic notion that he owed
to Cogan the protection Of his memory or
because he was ashamed to tell how easily
and completely he was deceived.
A motion for new trial is now pending
and he 10 in the meantime in Jail. bail be-
ing denied. 1t is not known where Fox
is. A. he has been absent from San Fran
cisco for several years. He was Ut one
time. it 10 said. on the police force in Sc
attic. He 10 divorced from his wife.
The Chronicle has . dispatch from PORT
there tonight at the Holton house by q
reporter. Fox denied that he ever had
any connection with Flood. He main-
tanned that he had not been in San Fran
cisco since 1852. Fox has bsen travelling
for powder house for some years
The PosT-lSrsLLiGEScgR has been invesiigat-
ing the report that A. Wood Fox, above
referred 70. had been four years ago .
member OF the police force In this
city. but neither Sheriff woolsry nor
the old members OF the police force ever heard
OF such . man. Ex-Cnisf Of Police Bolton
Rogers said Saturday night that II Fox was on
tho police force is wss under IN assumed nams