The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1901-03-21
ARRESTED FOR
BMBEZZLEMENf.
Misappropriates $500.

Misappropriates $500.
he CoNFESSES THE CRIME.
News and Observer 18th.
The following special message was
yesterday sent by Gov. Aycock to the
General Assembly, notifying that body
of the embezzlement of some 81 600 OF
renitentiary funds by one of the clerks
In the State Treasurer Office during
the Russell administration
To the Honorable, the General Assem-
bly,:
1t oeco mes my painful duty to COM
municate to your Honorable Body the
fact that deficit has been found in the
account OF the States prison In the
Treasury Department. am informed
by the Treasurer, who has been inyesti-
eating for the past two or three days,
that the deficit amounts to about four
thousand $4,000, so lar as has been
ascertained to the present time. The
deficit appears to have begun early in
the year 1900 or possibly before then
and continued until about the last of
November OF said year. The books
have been changed so as to force bal
ances. This morning Honorable B. X.
Lacy, State Treasurer, sent for Maj.
Martin, who has for several years been
clerk In the office until the 10th OF
March, 1901, and confronted him with
the changes in the books. Mai. Mar
tin admits the changes in the books
and confesses that he took the money
covered by the changes amounting, ac-
cordIng to his statement, to thirty eight
hundred ($3SOO. deem it my duty
to lay these matters before your Honor
able Body to the end that committee
may be appointed with authority t.
send for persons and papers and make
d thorough and complete exami.atlon.
The committee should, oil course, he
to sit during the recess of
tLe Legislature.
Very respectfully,
c. B. AYCOCK.
By the Governor
p NJ pEARSALL.
Private Secretary.
This shortage in the renitentiary
fund was discovered last week, when
Treasurer Lacy, who recently came
into office, ordered the clerk who sue
eeeded Maj. Martin to check up the
penitentiary accounts. 1t was found
that the Treasurer's books showed that
The penitentiary had only about 5000
to its credit, whereas the penltentiary
books showed over $4,000.
An investigation was at once begun.
Wednesday afternoon it was known
positively that the accounts In the
State Treasurer's Office had been tam
pered with, and ex-Treasurer Worth,
under whom Martin was employed,
was sent for. Further investigation
Wednesday night revealed the charac-
Ter of the fraudulent entries on the
books and showed the shortage to be
near $4,000 in the penitentlary &C:
count alone.
The other accounts-asylums and
the like-that Martin had charge oil
have not yet been checked over.
Yesterday morning Treasurer Lacy,
as stated in the Governors message,
sent for Maj. Martin and confronted
him with the charge of having embez-
zled the States funds and falsified the
books. He confessed that he had done
so. His speculatIons, he said, we're
solely from the penitentiary fund ard
amounted to 49, 800. This amount, he
stated, had been taken at various times,
from March 1st to November Goth,
1900, and that he had secured 1t by
laisifying books and raising vouchers
and then drawing a check for the off
ference. He added:
"Nothing wrong has been done d.:r-
ing the time l was in Office under ycu,
Mr.. Lacy. All the money was tai an
between March and November of last
year, when Mr.. Worth was Treas, rer.
Since you have been IN Office have
drawn one check for about 81 200, but
it was to cover an amount taken he-
fore you came in"
Asked is to what he had done with
the money, Maj. Martin said be had
given it to the poor-wiIows and Or
phans-and to the church. He de.
clared that he had not used it in per
sonal expenses, but that he had been
giving in charity until he found he was
bshlnd and he took the money to tide
over his embarrassment. He added
Il expected at frs! to be able tc
cover it back into the Treasury, and
expect now if can ever do so to pay