The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-12-12
HOW NEMESIS OVERLOOK
 CHAPIN, PAYING TELLER OF THE PHOENIX NATIONAL
For Six Years He Falsifed His Cash, Making the Necessary Deceptive Entries More Than 1,SOO Times-Cash Was Scarce in Hartford Tues day, and Bank Examiner Came That Day.

Hartford, Dec. 12-It might be worth the time of a psych- 1 |ologist to inquire into the daily life of Merrick w. Chapin, pay ing teller of the Phoenix Ma tjonal Bank of Hartford, who, stealing day by day for six years, direct from the cash, had to falsify his record more than 1, 800 times and was never more than 24 hours away from dan ger of detection, except on Sun days and bank holidays, and for a week twice a year, when he took a seven days vacation and altered his methods of con- cealment accordingly.
 When discovery came, it came suddenly. On Tuesday all Hartford was short of cash, Merrick couldn't get the cold money. His thefts appeared in his accounts and also in his cash. D. c. Muloney, chief fed eral bank examiner, walked in, and that ended the long game of theft and Justification.
 Made Assistant Cashier.
 When the American bank was merged with the Phoenix in May, 1912, MT. Chaptn was made assistant cashier of the consolidated bank and placed in charge of the teIlers, hs acting as first teller. The Phoenix utilizes several paying tellers as il takes care of some of the largest payrolls in the city, including Colts : the Underwood, and Pratt 6 Whitney Co.
 Admission to Officials. r The shortages have been accum ulating ever since MT. Chapin wen
 to the Phoenix bank, he has admit n ted to the officials. His method o . dedication was a simple one ant 0 could be worked at the Phoenix be t cause of his position there as mas @ ter teller.
 ;, The Phoenix is a bank which re f. ceives the major part of it's deposit u in checks, and pays out most of it
 withdrawals in currency, its outgo il r payrolls being more than S5O0,0O0 d week. In this situation, the Phoe lTNfI Inr f the other banks in Hartford wher q just the reverse situation existed @ and where the deposits were mostl n in currency and the withdrawal o mostly by checking out the accounts t. Vouchers for Currency.
 In buying these large amounts (
 currency from the other Hartfor
 banks, the Phoenix would give
 voucher at the time the currenc N was procured and the voucher woul
 come through the clearing house tk
 next day the same as 8 check. Tn T" gave MT. Chapin the opportunity ' purchase currency in excess of wh " he needed to meet the payrolIs and
 give the banks voucher for it ar H then in the next aay's accounts
 enter credit which would offset u currency he appropriated to his ov y use.
 ~ His currency dealings were large that his cash on hand was n questioned and he could always ke,
 one day ahead of the balance she v, furnished to the bank.
 Mutilated Money Report. l', ~ While in the six and a half yea hot hn ho. 'ai was always granted a two weeks V "a cation yearly, he would never ta ~ l' but one week off at 6 time. T IT way he covered his shortage wh ,r away for the week was to rep< 17n before he went an amount of nut ,n ated money sent to Washington a yT1 he would be back on his job beft '1 the returns from Washington wo1 g disclose his stealings
 -, Disclosure Tuesday. a+s Fate picked Tuesday as the D 1o chological minute to expose MT. CT nd pins dishonesty. It so happer
 that all the Hartford banks w
 short of currency, and MT. Cha
 could not buy all he needed to ts and care of the banks business and
 own shortage, and fate also sent
 bank examiner to the Phoenix ba
 Tuesday and the shortage was ot
 ous to this federal official The bs o+ officers say that if the shortage ord any more than $44,OOO they have ogN yet discovered 1t. What MT. Cha ,or+ did with the money has not been nas closed. He lived economically, i ,oir said, and belonged to no expen, l CIy,Joc nies |iuO7 OI SoC1dI orsahlzatlohs.