The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-11-16
ADMITS WIRING D0IuGS
Ex-Postmaster 0'Farrell, Of
Bayonne. Arrested for
Defaleation.

Edward O'Farrell, formerly Postmaster
of Bayonne, was imprisoned in the Hud-
son County Jail yesterday morning on a
misusing the government funds. He had
failed to make good the deficiency in his
accounts discovered in the audit of his
accounts by the PostofHce Department.
When the shortage in his accounts was
ascertained, and he was served with a
formal notification to liquidate his indebt-
edness, O'Farrell drew several hundred
dollars from the Mechanics Trust Com
pany, the local banking institution, where
he deposited the receipts of his office,
and suddenly left Bayonne. without in
forming his sureties or his family of his
intention or destination. He was absent
from town almost a week before he COM
municated with his friends. Then he
telegraphed from Providence, r. f., that
he would return the following day and
satisfactorily explain his absence.
Several days later he reappeared in Bay
onne and told his bondsnen that he had
been in Chicago and Providence endeavor-
ing to raise sufficient money to pay the
deficiency, but had not met with any sue
cess. He also admitted that he had ex-
pended the money he drew from the bank.
In the meantime his sureties, City Res
corder Patrick w. Connolly, DR.. Samuel
/. Myers. John J.. Reilly and James Com
molly were officially Informed that the
shortage amounted to 81. 120.72, and that
the Post Office Department expected them
to pay that sum. Several conferences
were held between the Sureties and Post
Office Inspector Lewis, and the bondsmen
utlra=fn1l1U pr1 fffGd IN 4Xtpn ION or time
in which to settle the matter. A SIbScrip-
ton list for the benefit of O'Farrell was
started, and other plans to relieve him
were devised, but none of the projects
yielded encouraging results.
The extra days of grace allowed the
sureties to pay the deficiency expired last
week without any settlement being made.
Postmaster John w. Goddard, O'Farrell's
successor, informed the Department of
the state of affairs. and On Thursday last
Postof1ice inspector Taylor preferred a
charge of defaleation against OFarrelI
before United States Commissioner J:
Linsley Rowe, of Jersey City. who issued
a warrant for the former Postmaster's
arrest. The document was given, on Fri
Murray for service. Accompanied by a
fellow deputy, Murray visited Bayonne
on Saturday. He learned that O'Farrell
was at work in New York City, and was
Not knowing ~O'Farrell, he sought the
assistance Of the local police, and De-
tective Griffin was assigned TO the case.
At one O'Clock yesterday morning the OFF,
GERS found OiFarreIl in the vicinity of
his home, and arrested him. Later he
was taken to the Hudson County Jail.
O'Farrell was appointed as Postmaster
at .Bayonne by President Cleveland in
June, 1895, to succeed Frederick Boorman,
Republican, whose term had expired. He
was Endorsed for the position by the Bay
onne Democratic City Committee and the
Hudson County Democratic Committee,
and was backed by John L. Dunn, of
Elizabeth, then Representative in Con-
gress from the Eighth New Jersey Dis
trict. His appointment was confirmed by
the Senate in December. 1895. but before
the end of the month O'Farrell was an diff
ficulty. An audit of his accounts dis
clcesd a shortage of almost 81. 00a. which
his sureties made good. In june last
O'Farrell resigned the position under COM
pulsion, and, at the instance of United
States Senator James Smith, President
Cleveland named John w. Goddard as
Postmaster. O,Farrell surrendered the
office on July 10.
O'Farrell is a native of Ireland and is
about forty years old. He has q family.
He served in the Bayonne Board of Coun-
cilmen, and has been prominent in local
Democratic and Irish National societies.
BY trade he is a boilermaker. He has in
timated that his deficiency was due to
payments he made to a former official for
using his influence to obtain the appoint
ment for him.