Norwich bulletin., 1914-01-29
Direct Steal of
 States Money
OSBORNE SO cHARAcTERIzEs
 ROAD CONTRACTS.
WORK FOR GRAND JURY
Orders Tes.Imony Taken at Investis.- tion to Be Turned Over to District Attorney-costIy Repair Work.

Albany, N. r., Jan. -2s.-Connnis-
 sioner James w. Osborne ordered tbs
 .estlmony which was taken before him
 tu tousy, concerning highway repair work
 ti la hontsomery county, referred to the
 district attorney of that co,,ntv r,;+L
 request for grand jury action. The
 work was performed by the MohonI1
 construction company of Amsterdam
 oA wnlcn Peter V. Baird, described as
 friend of Joseph J.. Murphy retire6
 osnocratic leader of Troy, is president
 MT. Osborne characterized as grand
 larceny the manner in which the con
 tract was obtained and the work uer-
 tormed- He also expressed the opinio,
 that the highway contracts in that
 county were controlled by "a nolttIco1
 coterie consisting of former Senate.
 William A. Gardner, Baird, County
 Cnalrman WempIe of that county and
 Joe Murphy of Troy"
 Work Absolutely WorthIess.s
 The road was four mile stretch
 between Canajoharie and Sharon
 springs Built in 1902 at a cost of S33.0O0, it was re-surfaced in 1a1a ar
 cost of approximateIy sal oon Tn
 eoditlon to this a supplemental axrse-
 ment mad been drawn. but never sign eu' Wnlch would have brought ths re-
 ssuurIacing cost up to 3s7, 1000. A. s. nirick a highway department engi- neer, testified today that the price I,ejd was $n.7<1 in excess of a nroner charge for the work, which would have allowed the contractor a 20 Der cent profit. f- i' Not only was the price paid & direct steal or state moneys declared MT. Osborne, 'but the testimony before n1s today tends to show that the work vas absolutely worthless, One of tho vii nesses. Alvin c. Bullock, secretary of the board of trade of Cana1oh--sz.
 tesuned that it had blown away in Piaces. Ills testimony also convinces me that the public spirited citizens of mat vicinity appealed repeatedly to the highway department and to Gov ernor Sulzer, and all they received was polite letters. There was no relief" SIS Similar Contracts. The contract for the road was ons of the SIS approved by the Rensei. Peck-Reel highway commission aftsr First Deputy Foley had awarded E. It was brought out that the work hs6 been completed before the Commission had granted its approval.
 District Attorney Alexander has ye quested me to learn additional facts sDout those SIS contracts so awarded and so approved" said Mr. Osborne He wanted to find out if the perfTTnc- tory approval by Bensel. Peck and Keel was not merely technicaffty." Specifications Not Met. Joseph c. Curran, an fnvestigator now in the employ of the highway de partment, who assisted John A Hen messy in his highway graft inuuiries. testified concerning the road. He had taken B samples of the material used In various sections. Not one conform ed with the specifications. Crushed stone which would pass through a. two and half inch screen was speci- ned, but Curran's exhibits all were much larger. one being nearly eight inches long. The contract called for imported stone, but the witrAss said MT. Baird had used the stone from his own quarry, less than mile from the road.
 The samples, which were some of those taken by Mir. Osborne's assistant: and representatives of the attorney generals ofi1ce from Hennessy's room at a local hotel. were placed in er- dence. They aroused Mir. OsborneSs l ire.
 Murphy's Nephew involved.
 t"rm going to get the grand jury of Montgomery county to do something about this.' he declared emphaticaIiy. unless the people over there have too | much influence"
 MT. Osborne promised to inquire fur | ther into the reason why Charles E. | Murphy, Jr, nephew of the leader of Tammany Hall, and bonding agent. sent @ telegram 10 Daniel L. Mott. a highway contractor Of Utica offering | to execute" contract which he'd been | awarded to Mott on August a5, 1918. In this connection 1t was brought out that sixty contracts. one of which was | Mott's, were held up in the office of ths ! state comptroller, pending an invezd- | gation by experts of the department of 1 efficiency and economy.