The San Francisco call., 1909-09-30
FINDS TOMALTY
GUILTY IN LESS
THAN Z HOURS
Jury Has No Division Upon His
Alteration of Records of !.
Treasurer
Convicted Man Asserts Inno-
cence, but Will Be Sem
fenced Saturday

James C. Tomalty. chief book keeper
of tho city treasury under Treasurer
Charles BanteI. was convicted yester-
day afternoon by a jury in Judge Law
: lor's department Of the superior court
OF the charge Of falsifying the records
Of the 1reasurers Office. The jury was
out one hour and so minutes, but. ac-
cording to the foreman, there was no
division on the vote at any time during
its deliberations.
Tomalty's wife and his sister, Mrs.
Dutton, were in court when the verdict
was returned. Although Mrs. Tomalty
listened 10 the reading of the verdict
with fortitude her suspense between
The time the jury returned TO the court
room and the moment Courtroom Clerk
J. }. Groom read the verdict was
gonizing. She surveyed the faces of
the twelve men with dreading eyes.
While waiting IN the courtroom before
the deputy sheriff took her husband TO
the county jail the wife broke down.
PENALTY Is FIVE YEARS
Judge Lawlor set the time of SEN
tence at 10 O'Clock next Saturday. oc-
tober :. The penalty provided for the
offense OF which Tomalty has been
convicted is imprisonment in the.
states prison for term not to exceed
i've years. The indictment under
which Tomalty was convicted charged
that he had prefixed the figure TO a
disbursement entry of see5 in the police
court bail bond fund, making the
amount read $5,s05. The theory of the
prosecution was that Tomalty and
other attaches of the treasurer's Office
appropriated the $1,000. In all the
fraudulent entries charged against
Tomalty represented false charges
amounting TO $4,000. OF those sums
$4,000 was charged against the police
court bail bond fund. $4,000 to the
absent heirs fund, $4,000 TO the public
administrat tors fund and $4,000 was
recorded in loose leaves alleged TO have
been removed from the loose leaf
ledger of the county clerks special
fund.
The proceedings yesterday started
early Attorney Stephen V. Costello
completed his argument for the defense
before IL o'clock in the morning. He
referred 10 Tomalty's previous good
reputation and the good name of the
family He declared that he asked OF
the itlrv not mercy but simply Justice
Hon Cook closed for the people. Cook
spoke logically and followed the evil
\ dence closely without any attempt at
oratory. He spoke for an hour and l5f
minutes. He made much of the adj
missions of Tomalty to Assistant At
toriley General Raymond Benjamin and
Theodore Kytka, in which the defend
ant acknowledged the alterations OF
the figures He also commented on
tho limited testimony given by Tomalty
when he was on the stand in his own
behalf
LESS THAN TWO HOURS
Judge Lawlor started TO charge the
Jury at > o'clock and finished shortly
after 8. The jury retired at $40 and
returned with the verdict at $40 o'clock
Edward B. Jennings was the foreman
The jurors were Joseph M. Wieland
OF Samuels' lace house: Carl @. Bark
haus book keeper: Charles Wollpert,
furniture dealer; James u. Flansga
clerk; Patrick J. Farrell, real estate;
Armand Brusco, wholesale vegetable
dealer: Albert E. Hageman, retired res
taurateur; Edward B. Jennings, Hoo
per & Jennings; Charles A johnson,
retired butcher; Stephen T. Edmonds,
plumber: Charles H Douglass, manu-
facturer; William D. Chick, shipping
clerk.
Assistant District Attorney Robert
Harrison, who prosecuted the case with
Hor Cook, was in the courtroom when
the verdict was returned Il believe it
is a just verdict" he said. There
were charges of three alterations in the
record and one charge of removing
sheets which might be prosecuted
gainst Tomalty. but can not say that
they will he. But in a short time the
report Of the expert on the shortage
will be made TO the city, and then the
1fx 81,
conspiracy. The matter is not closed
vet"
MAINTAINS INNOCENCE
I am innocent declared Tomalty,
mo matter what the jury may say.
have never done anything wrong"
James G. Tomalty was first indicted
by the grand jury for falsifying public
records in November, 1908. He was
srraigned under the Indictment on De-
cember -. On February 2 of this year
the indictment was quashed on legal
grounds. On March 81 the indictment
under which he was convicted was re-
turned by the grand jury.
Life Imprisonment
The trial OF William Johansen,
charged with the murder of Albert
Numelin. Steuart street saloon keeper,
July ]. was concluded in Judge Dunne's
court yesterday. The jury retired at
s-4o, and shortly after o'clock re-
turned with verdict Of murder in the
first degree, fixing the penalty at life
imprisonment
The principal testimony yesterday
was that Of the defendant himself, who
stated that the shooting of Numelin
was accidental. His relations with
The deceased were quite friendly. said
Johansen, and they had been drinking
together during the day, He explained
that when the revolver accidentally
went of he had bis right hand in his
trousers pocket, getting out money to
pay for the beer, and his left hand in
the coat pocket in which he had placed
the pistol.
The slit in his coat pocket, which
the prosecution insisted showed pre-
oleoltation on the part of Jol1ansen. the