The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-12-10
NOLLE PROSSED
Political Indictments Found
by Alec MeLean's Re-
formers Thrown
Out.
FREEHOLDER CASE ENDED
Charge of Illegally Exceed
ing Appropriations
Dismissed.

Grand Jury for the September term, 1859,
were nolle pressed by Judge Blair in the
Court of Oyer and Terminer this morning.
The only ones not thrown out of court
for want of sufficient evidence were those
against City Treasurer James Smith of
Hoboken, charged with perjury in his
testimony before the Grand Jury, in
which he denied ownership in a local
weekly paper, and the indictments found
! in connection with Sunday thea tricals
! being permitted at the Lyric Theatre in
Hoboken.
In addition to these the indictment
against ex-Water Registrar Cornelius
Healey of Jersey City, found by the Sep
tember, 1897, Grand Jury, and charging
him with misappropriating several thou
sand dollars of the citys POUNDS was also
nolle pressed.
= Several days ago Prosecutor Erwin sub
mitted statements to Judge Blair, in
which he showed that there was not suffi-
cient evidence on which to bring the de-
PENDANTS to trial. and to do so would only
entail needless expense on the county.
This morning Mr.. Erwin moved to nolle
PROSE- and the motion was granted
The indictment against the members of
the last Board of Freeholders, charged
with misdemeanor in exceeding their
appropriations by paying a claim of s10,-
900 due the estate of the late Sheriff Will
liam Heller, was the first disposed of.
Prosecutor Erwin, in his statement,
says that the appropriation, $3.50. 7S5. "a,
fixed by the Board for the fiscal year,
did not include the total amount available
/! for county expenditures. In addition the
Freeholders were entitled to spend
moneys received from sources other than
taxat- on, and that the moneys 50 received
made up the apparent deficiency in the
appropriation caused by the payment of
the Heller claim. The statement also
shows that under decision by the Court
the Board had right to pay any in
debtedness of the preceding Board. The
Prosecutor adds
1T is grave question whether under
the legislation permitting the issue of
bonds to pay judgment claims whether
the benefit of the law making it a crime
for any municipal body to exceed appro-
priationS may not be successfully evaded.' .
He also cites the fact that while the
Board of Freeholders may estimate the
cost of an election the money is expended
by other and may cost double the sum es-
timated.
In the matter of the indictments against
the Freeholders for misconduct and con-
spiracy in connection with Contractor Ig
natius Noonan, the Columbia Insecticide
Company and others, the Prosecutor sets
forth that there is no evidence sufficiently
strong to warrant the expenses of trial.
In urging the nolle PROSE- of the indict-
ments against the Ma ar and Common
Council of Hoboken for alleged misde-
;neanor in exceeding their appropriations
by entering into contract with the Hud-
son Electric Light Company Mr.. Erwin
pointed out the fact that no appropriation
had been made by the Tax Commission
ers for electric lighting and that it ap-
peared that the Common Council had a
right to and that it was it's duty to pro-
vide light for the city. He lso pointed
out that since the Indictment the new
company that had offered to furnish lights
at a lower cost had merged with the
company receiving the contract and the
offer, therefore, had been practically with
drawn. Th 9 same arguments were used
by the Prosecutor in connection with he
conspiracy indictment found against the
Mayor and Common Council of Hoboken.
In moving to nolle prosse the Indictment
against ex-Water Registrar Cornelius
Healey of Jersey City, MIR. Erwin said
that the examination by Expert Charles
Both showed a deficiency of $4,2O0; that
there had been no effort on the part of
the Grand Jury to ascertain just what
sums Healey had embezzled or whether
he had embezzled any sums at all.
Healey's name, he said, had not even been
mentioned in the Grand Jury room, so
that in fact there was no evidence that
Healey had appropriated the city's moneys
at all.
The Prosecutor stated that an inves-
tigation had been made during the term
of his predecessor; that he had tried to
trace out what particular moneys Healey
was charged with misapproprfating, but
could not because the expert was unable
to tell. In conclusion, the States repre-
sentative said that the city had a remedy
in the civil courts. but as other clerks
beside Healey had handled the missing
money it would be impossible to hold the
former Water Registrar to account in a
criminal court.
In moving to nolle PROSE- the indictment
against the Court House Gust an, ] 5hn
Hogan, the Prose- u or said taat while
ing, the money received by Hogan for
the sale of a pig of copper, which was
the basis of the Indictment, was paid
over by Mr.. Hogan to the County Collec-
The indictments found by the Septem-
ber term Grand Jury of last wharf.-the