Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-06-28
FORMER CHIEF OF
MAILS rs GUILTY
Terre Haute Man Took Marked
Bills From Letters.

Alfred L. LAIR, formerly superintend
ent of the mails at Terre Haute, Ind,
charged in an Indictment returned by
the last federal grand jury, with lar
ceny and embezzlement from mails in
course of delivery, was found guilty on
all six counts of the indictment by
jury in federal court today.
The court was expected to pronounce
sentence this afternoon.
The Indictment was returned follow
ing an investigation, the result Of
charges Of postal inspectors who claimed
they saw LAIR take four 81 bills from a
letter in process of delivery through the
Terre Haute postoffice on March "A.
The bills, which were marked, it was
said, were later found on LARS person.
ADMITS BILLS
FOUND ON HIM.
On the witness stand LAIR admitted
the bills were found in his possession
after he had been recalled to the postotice
on the afternoon of March "a, but said
they had been taken by him from a
drawer where he kept postage due stamp
money.
He said every clerk in the office had ac-
cess to that drawer.
John J. Cleary, postmaster at Terre
Haute said on the witness stand that
during the last eighteen months LAIR
had been IN the employee Of the post
office a loss of approximately $1,000
resulted from thefts from the mails and
that since his dismissal only two losses
involving $40 have been reported
Larr declared he and Postmaster
Cleary had some differences and that
Cleary had asked him to resign.
Cleary denied there had been differ
ences and that he had ever asked LAIR to
resign.
WRITE AND FOLLOW
DECoY LETTER.
Three postoffice inspectors, ". r.
Briggs, H. H. WATSON and F. L. Pierce,
testified they had prepared the special
delivery letter and had traced it from
Cincinnati. where it was written, to the
time it was placed on the special de-
livery distributing table in the Terre
Haute postoffice.
Each bill had been marked with a dot
Of red Ink on the scarf of the portrait Of
Washington, engraved on the bills.
w. r. Briggs, one of the inspectors,
said he saw the special delivery letter
after it had been placed on the dis
tributing table and that he saw LAIR
place the letter face down in q pile of
letters other than special delivery, but
that he did not see LAIR take the letter.
HAD COLD,
AFRAID TO COUGH.
He said he had a bad cold and had to
cough and that be left in order that
LARS attention might not be attracted.
Frank L. Pierce, another inspector,
who was with Briggs, said he stayed
after Briggs left and that he saw LAIR
place the letter in the top Of his trousers
under his belt.
He said LAIR felt the letter and evil
IDENTIFY knew there was money In It.
HE then placed It with a pile OF long
letters" Pierce said, land when the op-
portunity came, he slipped the letter
under his belt"
He said LAIR made three attempts be-
fore he finally got away with the letter.
Each of these three attempts were frus-
trated when he was interrupted by mail
carriers and clerks, Pierce said.
NO other clerk handled or bothered
that letter, which had been traced care
fully from Cincinnati" said Pierce, land
the letter was never seen sgain from
the time 1t got into the hands Of Larr."
II. II. WATSON. the postal inspector
who examined LAIR In the office of the
postmaster and found the three marked
hills on LAIR, said LAIR when first asked
for all his money gave them a pocket
book.
BILLS AMONG