Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1895-03-15
The Lexington Enbezzlenelt.
Three Parties indicted for the Bank Wrecking

IlIGC PdrllGS llQlClGQ lUr liz baAk WItCkllg
The Grand Jury Of Rockbridge, in ses
sion at Lexington, last Thursday, found
three indictments against G. M. Figgatt
cashier of the Lexington Bank, for embez
Element and grand larceny-felony; tive
against him for making false Statement
regarding the condition of the bank: twt
indictments against r. K. Goodwin, book.
keeper of the bank, for making false en-
tries, and two indictments against CharleI
W. Irvine, proprietor Of the Irvine Hotel
for receiving money knowing the same tt
have been stolen.
The Indictment of e. w. Irvine came
about in rather unusual way. The Crane
Jury had finished up it's business in thu
evening, and Captain James Bumgardner
Jr., the acting Commonwealth Attorney
was Informed that it would adjourn thu
next morning. But on the evening in
question, something happened that prevent
ed the adjournment next morning. Aftel
Judge Edmondson, the trustee of the bank
affairs, had finished his work for the day
Tuesday, and gone home, he received an ur
gent note from G. w. Irvine requesting
him to send him G. w. Irvine & Co. (
pass book with the bank. Judge
Edmondson returned the note with the in.
formation that he had gone home and
could not get the pass book then. Later
- Ii mt
note saying he must have the book and
asking that Judge E. go to the bank and
get it. Judge Edmonds0n, whose suspic.
ions were by this time aroused, went
straight to the bank and getting the pass
book examined it. After going over it
carefully he found that G. W. Irvine &
Co. (of which firm Figgatt was the 'sCo. ~
had overdrawn their account $51 900, and
that the checks were drawn and sighed by
Irvine. The next morning he went to the
court house and seeing Capt. Bumgardner
asked if the Grand Jury was still in session
Being told that it was, he said he had some
information he had not had before. to give
it, and then went before it. The result was
that the Grand Jury did not adjourn in the
morning, but in the afternoon, and in the
meantime indicted Irvine for receiving
money knowing it to be stolen. The Rock
bridge County News says:
SIN the pile of pass books which for some
days have been piled up in the bank by de
positors for examination and verifcatiOn by
the trustee, were two books of e. W. Irvine
& Go. In the course of his business these were
reached by j. W. McClung, who has been
assisting the trustee in his work Of straight
ening out the a fairs Of the bank, and the ex
animation Of them made. 1t was recognized
by Colonel Edmondsom that it was his duty
to give these books an unusually thorough
examination; for the "Co." of the firm of G.
W. Irvine & Co., was known to be none other
than g. M. Figgatt, and it was known thai
Figgatt and Irvine had been intimately asso
ciated in business transactions, especially III
speculations at Buena Vista. The pass books
were different in the followieg respect from
the others that surrounded them: They GOV.
cred period of four years, beginning in 1890
and in them were all tine checks given in that
period. Most of the pass books left there
contained no checks, and the checks given in
the last two months since the book was bal
anced by the cashier or teller of the bank
were found in the bank. The others had beer
in the past returned to the depositor and he
did not bring them back. But these books
had in them all the checks given since thu
books were opened, and the accounts were
evenly balanced and on their face showed
that e. w. Irvine & Co. owed the bank moth
ing and the bank owed them nothing, A
careful examination of them showed, how
ever, that e. W. Irvine & Co. were indebted
to the bank for the sum of little over SOL,
500, S44, 600 of this amount being over drafts
of e. W. Irvine Il Go. ALI the checks wer,
signed in q. W. Irvine's handwriting. Nc
Chung at first and Colonel EdmOndsOn after
wards went about the examination of the &C
counts with great system and th0rOughness
The amounts deposited by q. W. Irvine & Go
as shown by the pass books were not verified
by the bank ledgerS as is usually done, blu
by an examination of the bank ''scratcher,
that's the book on which the deposits are
jotted down at the cashiers window at tn
time they are received. The amounts with
drawn by check as shown by the pass book
were verified by the checks of e. w. Irvine
Co., as found on the books. The s'scratcher'
showed that q. w. Irvine & Co. deposite,
from time to time very different sums from
what were made to appear on the bank ledge
and e. W. Irvine & Cos pass book. For in
stance when the scratcher on certain dat
showed deposit of $500 by z. w. Irvine
Co. the bank ledger and the e. W. Irvine
Co. pass book as filled up at the bank mad
it appear that on that date the deposit of Z
W. Irvine & Co. was $500. So on other date
by prefxing figure deposit amounting t.
hundreds of dollars was increased to thous
ands and by this method of prefxing figure
e. W. Irvine & Co. were made to appear t.
have credit on the bank ledger and their pas
book for $51. 800 which they had never depos
ited and their Overdrafts, amounting to tn
sum of SOL, 500, were covered up on the banl
ledger and G. W. Irvine & Co.'S pass book.
How these books ever got to be on the table
of J. K. EGmOndsOn, trustee, is not known
No books are wanted or expected there whicl
show, as these did, that they were evenly bal
anced and that the bank owed their hOlde
nothing and he owed the bank nothing. Tn
natural supposition is that they were thought
lessly left in the bank by e. NJ. Figgatt afte
he had fixed them to suit his purpose, and wer
found there in some place when Colonel Ed
mondson moved the banks books and paper
to the rear room in the building, and beinl
pass books were naturally thrown into tn
pile with other pass books which had beel
left there by depositors, q. W. Irvine, how
ever, recognized an ownership in them, TO
Tuesday night he sent two different message:
to Colonel Edmondson and asked for posses
sion of the books Colonel Edmondson de
clined to give them up.
As stated above, the actual Indebtedness o
the account of e. W. Irvine & Co., to tn
bank is something over 1850. $4,000
this amount was overdrafts made by tn
checks signed in the handwriting of e. W