The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-14
General Delivery Postal Clerk Charged With EmbezzIement
TRAPPED BY INSPECTORS
Specially Prepared Letter Containing Marked Bills Found In Ellis Pockets When Arrested-Grand Jury
 Acts-other Charges.

i Charged Wltn 'emDelHlllS d lSttSi Noi taining valuable inelosures," Charles L. Ellis for the last five years an employe in the Birmingham postoffiee and recently the general delivery clerk, was arrested yesterday afternoon by Postoffiee h. spector Zimmerman and bound over by United States Commissioner Birch In the amount of s1OO0 to await the action ot the federal grand jury Failing to make bond, Ellis was lodged in the county 1ail. As soon as the hearing before United States Commissioner Birch ended, the case was presented to the attention or the federal grand jury, and true bill was found against Ellis. It is expected that Ellis will be given a prompt trial.
 The defendant in the case has engaged the legal services of William E. Fort, a Birmingham attorney.
 At the hearing yesterday Ellis was not represented by counsel
 In response to the Commissioners for nal inquiry whether or not he was guilty of the charge of embezzlement, he enter ed plea of mot guilty" After four post office inspectors had testified that they bad sent Ellis a decoy letter, trapped him. arrested him and found the letter with three s1 marked bills in Ellis pockets, the defendant admitted that their statements were true, but said that ne had made up his mind before he was ar rested to replace the letter and not to use the money.
 The arrest of Ellis was learned with interest and surprise by employees in the federal building. To many persons Tn town who had known the young man since he came here five or six years ago the intelligence that he was in 1 trouble was exceedingly painful. Many of them could not for time believe the news. Almost everyone expressed Keen regret over the young mans unfortu- nate position. Ellis had recently been | living at No 507 Twenty-second street, north, and taking his meals at board l ing house on Fifth avenue between Twentieth and Twenty-first streets. At each place he had made the acquaintance of estimable persons and was highly re- garded by those who knew him. For this reason his arrest on the foregoing l charge was a shock to the social circle 1 in which he moved.
 Facts in the Case.
 The facts in the case are these:
 For several years, it is said, irregular l ities have been suspected in the Birming- ham postoffice. Complaints have beer so frequent that the postohice inspec- | tors were set at work on the case. In dications led them to think that Ellis was culpabe Inspectors Zimmerman i McCrea, Thiele and Greenaway, worked l on the case Last Tuesday they prepared a letter, placed in it three S marked bills, addressed 1t to 'Mr James l.. Gros' yenor, Birmingham, Ala stamped il with a special delivery stamp and mail ed it at the postoffice at HaleysVille Ala Inasmuch as there was no stree number address on the letter 1t was senl to the general delivery division, where Ellis the general delivery clerk, receiptec for it An employe in the postoffice was directed to watch the letter and repor when 1t disappeared. He went to tn' general delivery window each morning a 5;45 o'clock Wednesday, Thursday an' Friday. Each time the letter was there It was there at 5;45 o'clock yesterda, morning.
 At o'clock yesterday afternoon Ellis when leaving for luncheon, was met by one of the postoffice inspectors and tol( to go up to the inspectors room, No. l in the federal building. When he got there he was confronted by the four inspectors whose names have been mentioned. The! asked him what had become of thu "Grosvenor'' letter. He said special de livery letter had been returned to it sender. He did not say that this letter wal the "Grosvenor' letter, Thereupon, thu inspectors insisted upon searching him At length, Ellis drew out of his righ trousers hip pocket the envelope of tn, prepared letter. and out of his trousers side pocket three S1 bills. The envelop' bore the Haleysville, Ala, postmark; thu bills were marked with the word Me Crea"-The name of one of the inspectors
 Placed Under Arrest.
 Ellis was promptly placed under ar rest and taken before Commisslonel Birch. Each of the four postoffice in spectors told how Ellis had been trap ! ped. Ellis declined to cross-eNamlne them At the close of their testimony wher asked if he wished to make a statemen he said that the testimony of the in spectors was true but that he had no us ed the money and had made up his minC not to use it. even though he had yield ed momentarily to the temptation o opening the letter. He said he had re solved to replace the letter in the gen eral delivery.
 Commissioner Birch fixed the amoun of bond at $l00O and held the defendant to await the action of the grand jury Ellis said if the. case was to be trieC soon he would make no effort to gel bail. Otherwise, he would try to get it Papers in the case were inimediatel. submitted to the grand jury and actiol taken.
 Charles II Ellis came tO Rfrminphau m