The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-02-24
FRIEND TO PROSECUTE.
Don T. Warner Will Attempt to Con
 vict B. H. Mattoon,

Don T. Warner Will Attempt to Con- vict B. H. Mattoon.
 l Waterbury, Feb. 23.-The next term
 of the criminal side of the Litchfield County Superior court will come in at
 New Milford on April 5. The next
 chapter in the now famous Watertown
 embezzlement affair will probably be
 issued at that time. The case of the
 State oe Connecrticut vs. Burton H.
 Mattoon, charged with embezziement
 and false entry, is slated to come up at
 that term of the court.
 It was for alleged misappropriation of
 funds belonging to the Watertown Sa- wings bank, of which he was treasurer,
 and making false entries in the banks S
 books that MT. Mattoon was haled be- 1 fore the Litchfield County Superior
 Court at Winsted on a bench warrant. | He was released upon bonds furnished 1 by his son-in-law. He has retained At l torney E. F. Cole of this city to defend
 him against these charges, while his l life long friend, State Attorney Donald cute the case.
 The new officials of the Watertown Savings bank have been busy since January 20 in examining the books of the bank. According to these officials 1 they have found number of clerical errors on the books, the largest amount being one of twenty dollars. In this case depositor brought in a, bank book upon which he claimed he had not been credited with twenty dollars which he had deposited in the institution A number of other errors of similar na- ture were also found, but the directors do not believe that any of these were intentional on the part of MT. Mattoon. The civil suits brought by the Water town Savings bank against Mir. Mat toon and his bondsmen and against the town of Watertown are still pending in | the district court. It is expected, how ever, that either one side or the other will soon ask for a nominal judgment in this court and transfer them to the Superior court. Perhaps the suit against MT. Mattoon and his bondsmen will not go to the Superior court, but it is pretty safe guessing that the suit be- tween the bank and the town will be thrashed out in the higher court. Upon the outcome of this latter suit
 depends the solution of the question as
 to whether or not MT. Mattoon as town treasurer embedded funds of the town to the amount of twenty-three thou sand dollars. The bank claims that the town is liable for some fourteen thou
 sand dollars in paper held by it, which
 paper was contracted by MT. Mattoon as town treasurer. The town holds that it never authorized it's treasurer to bor- row the sum, therefore it cannot be held liable. As the dates of these papers
 range over period of ten years a nice
 batch of evidence is likely to be brought
 into court on the trial
 In the meantime the selectmen of the
 town of Watertown have caused MT.
 Mattoon to practically turn over his off,
 cial powers to them. He has been shorn of his office in the bank MT.
 Mattoon now occupies small office in the Pythian Hall building and carries on his real estate business. It is esti-
 mated by lawyers that it will cost MT.
 Mattoon some seven or eight thousand
 dollars in attorneys fees to free him.
 self of the charges now pending against
 him.