Arizona republican., 1904-06-26
INTERNATIONAL BANK CASES
Result of Civil Action Against Rhuart
 and Lewis.

J. L. P. Alexander returned yester- day morning from Nogales where he went as counsel for. Leslie Rhuarf and R. Allyn Lewis, in the cases brought against them as the result of their con- uection with the new defunct Interna- national bank of Nogales. The receiv- CT of the bank, Fred Herrera, brought civil actions against both men and criminal charges were also pending in yestigation by the grand jury. The civil cases were tried and the result was the eXoneration of the defendants, except for small sum MT. Lewis was directed to return, not that it had been fraudulently taken but because the keeping of the money would net be in accord with good public policy.
 The criminal charges were not inves- tigated for the reason that the grand jury was dismissed by Judge Davis the next day after it convened. A prisoner in the jail had been taken sick of small poX a few Gays before, and the other prisoners were Vof course exposcd to him. The court feared that the ar raignment of these prisoners before the grand jury or in court, might result in the possible spread of the disease and in the interest of public health he dis charged the grand jury, announcing that the matters to be brought to it's attention would go over till August 2 when another gra-d jury will be con- vened
 The civil case against Mir. Rhuart was brought by the receiver for the collection of an alleged oyerdraft. Mr. Rhaart claimed that the overdraft had been paid and >proved his case for the judgment was in his favor, the costs in the case being assessed to the plain- tiff.
 The civil case against MT. Lewis was brought by the receiver, MT. Herrera, who sought to recover $6, ,S75, funds MT. Lewis received in payment for his bank stock sold to MT. Dessart. The cases brought out tEe story of the bank transactions and practically the same testimony that a trial of the criminal charge would. Tiie judgment that no fraud was found puts the defendants in a favorable light before the grand jury that will have to consider the criminal charge.
 In the trial cf the case the prosecu- ton could rot identify even the bank books and records for the reason that the DleSlOtllL bl tue ldAC bctiIhr JpAAti Dessart, is now in the territorial in sane asylum and Cashier Swain skip ped to Mexico to avoid service. How ! ever. the defense waived this techni- cality and accepted the books present ed being therefore practically identi- fled by HIr. Lewis. All the correspond ence between Mir. Lewis and the bank was produced showing the ature of the transactions. The correspondence showed that Mir. Lewis had not been in NogaIes for a year and a half previous to last November. the failure of the bank occurring in January. During his long absence Mir. Lewis mad repeat edly written to the bank officials for statements of it's conditions, which statements they as frequently neglect ed to forward to him. lie feared that things were not as they should be and in his letters counseled and warned the banks officers that an honest pol icy was the best to pursue. It was shown that this correspondence ended in May of last year when Nlr. Lewis went to Europe. He returned and went to Nogales in November when he be gan an investigation of the affairs of the International Trust Go. of which he was president and learned that 1t had borrowed from the bank aDOuJ SEQ. 900, Of which MT. Lewis had no pre- v;ous knowledge. MT. Dessart was president Of the bank as above stated and was also secretary and treasurer of the trust company. MT. Lewis found also that Dessar+ had borrowed s20,000 or the trust company, about the same amount the trust company had borrow cd of the bank and for which sum Mir. Dessart had given the trust company
 TO security. MT. Lewis demanded of MT. Dessart that he give the trust com pany security which he did by turning over bank stock and other valuable property making the trust company solvent and able 70 meet it's obligations to the bank.
 It was also, brought out that Mir Lewis had bee. trying for eighteen months to sell his bank stock to MT. Dessart and after the trust company had been secured he succeeded in doing so, receiving therefor S11,S75, for which DessaFt instructed the cashier to issue him a check. MT. Lewis deposited the check and took for it certificates of de- posit with the understanding, however, | that he was not to draw all the money