The San Francisco call., 1896-01-16
Took Gold Coin From Trays and
Made No Entry of Many
Deposits.
ANOTHER SKELETON UNVEILED
Frank McMullin, Ex-Teller, Got
$4,000 From the Bank on
Worthless Securities.

The defalcation in the Changers Bank,
as announced exclusively in THE CALL
Yesterday, came as q genuine surprise to
commercial circles and more than aston
ished farmers throughout California and
the defaulter's closest friends. In every
particular The CALLS account of the short
age was found upon inquiry at the bank TO
have been correct. William Wittland, re-
ceiving teller OF the bank, had q bsconded
with Sl2 OO0 belonging to the institution,
and there was no telling where the dis
crepanCies in his books might end, since
the country passbooks with the bank had
not vet been compared with the ledgers
and it was through skillful manipulation
OF passbooks that Wittland stole at least
$4,000.
But there was still another skeleton in
the closet of the Grangers' Bank, which,
while not so startling as the Wittland de-
falcation, meant the loss of ST., 900 in gold
coin to the banking house.
So far this represents in connection with
the teller's deficiency about $4,000 lost to
the Changers. This of course is up to date,
With the many interior customers yet to be
heard from.
Frank McMullin was paying teller OF
having filled that position for many years
with entire satisfaction to the manage
ment and at the same time as a respected
official in the eyes of the directors. There
was nothing criminal in his transactions
with the bank, but merely a succession of
unfortunate speculations to which the
management unwittingly lent itself until
50, COO of the assets passed into McMulin's
hands
McMullin had property in the country
and using the friendship OF Manager Mont
pellier succeeded in drawing money at
various times to the amount of $22, 900.
He had ranch in Santa Cruz County
the Buena Wis ta vineyard-and held 100
shares of stock in the y olo Orc hard Com
pany at " oodland; besides he owned a
tract of productive cactus land in the Mo-
jave desert that never had any real value
Upon these he borrowed the money
Three years ago ne lett the Bank and ever
since efforts have been made to collect on
his securities, but wieh such Indifferent
success that only the NOlO Orchard Com
pany's shares have been found available
These are said to be worth about $1,000, the
amount paid on them by McMullin.
The bank holds a mortgage on the
Buena Vista property, but it is a second
process of foreclosure little hope is left for
the GrangerS' Bank money.
President La Rue OF the bank stated yes
terday that the Moiave desert land upon
which McMullin gave a mortgage that was
accepted by the manager was mo good :"
The desert patch could not be sold for a
song. So only about $4,000 Is available
leaving the loss from $4,000 to $1,000
through these dealings with the old teller
With regard to Wittland, President La
Rue made a full statement. in which he
told how the abSconding teller had got
away with nearly $4,000, possibly more.
"Wittland, said he, worked the
scheme in different ways, but chiefly
the passboOks and file-tags. In one in
stance, we found where he had taken 500
piece from the top OF each pile in a $4,000
tray. After the bank closed we counted
the cash, all except that tray. Then, when
! went home | began turning the matter
over in my mind until l determined to
have that tray counted and the others
examined carefully. | reasoned there
might have been dummies in these trays
and started back at once to the bank On
going over the trays [ saw the piles of $40
pieces were all right, but this particular
one that had not been counted was short
$50 on each OF the twenty-five piles, or $500
in all. There was 500 also taken from the
cash. The balance was stolen through
manipulating the passhoOks.
after entering IL in customers pass books
Instead of putting the com on the table
he dropped ii into his pocket. When q
depositor passed in money the amount
was entered in his passbook, and the re-
ceiving-teller was supposed to put tag
with the name and amount on the file.
Then the bookkeeper took the tags from
the file and credited them in the ledger
In many cases there were no tags. so the
Peculations could not have been detected.
If the customers had given in their books
TO be written up there would have been a
discovery, but Wittland was too careful to
let the passbooks get into other hands.
He wrote them mp himself. To do this he
remained on duty all the time for six
months, during which period the stealing
was going on daily. He never took holi-
day, knowing that If he did take one his
crooked work would have been discovered
at once.
I'm one case we found where he had
taken S4OUO at one time; and later on,
when the depositor came back, this money
was all refunded but about $500. Proba-
bly, Wlttland made 4 winning on the races
and tried to cover up his tracks in this in
stance. But be frequently changed money
from one account TO another to elude de-
lection. We believe that he cleaned up
most OF the money taken within six weeks
before the bank closed
''How did he spend the money?"
HE played the races, and operated
through poolroom downtown at the rate
of something like 500 a day. We don I
know if he had any accom- plice in this
work, but he certainly found some means
of getting rid of large sums of money
through outsiders, because he was always
at his post during the day. We placed all
confidence in him; he was a plain. home
man, who never seemed TO spend money.
ana did not dress above his means. His
salary was $50 month, and, besides his
wife boarded students of the university in
his home at Berkeley. Knowing all this.
we took him to be shrewd, saving young
man.
Wittland used to visit the racecourse
Saturdays and was known IN the betting
ring as a plunger, usually going as high
as $500 or 5000 on horse. In this way he
parted company with an odd thousand or
so at the end of each week Manager
Pardee OF the insurance company that
will pay $4,000 TO the bank on Wittland S
bonds declared he knew nothing of the
matter, and claimed that the felony might
have been compromised had IL not been
made public and the farmers been in