Connecticut western news., 1921-06-16
JOHNSON SENT TO
 PRISON FOR 3 to 7 YEARS
Norfolk Man in Superior Court Pleads Guilty to Embezzle-
 ment of Town Funds

= Philemon w. OhnSOn, WnO was town treasurer of Norfolk and later disappeared, pleaded guilty in Win sted Tuesday to embezzlement of town funds and was sentenced to state prison for three to seven years.
 Sentence was given in the superior court by Judge Isaac Wolfe. The amount charged as having been em= bezzled by Johnson was $1s,607.
 Johnson was accompanied by his wife and he showed no emotion when sentence was imposed. No evidence was offered by State Attorney Wal ter Holcomb recited the particulars of the case to the court. He passed quickly overt the main phases of Johnsons use of the towns money, of his disappearance, of his discov- cry in Edmonton, Alberta, and his return to the state in custody of state officers.
 For Johnson, Benedict M. Holden made long plea, asking for light sentence for his client. In this con- nection he referred to James Fran cis Horton, said to be a promoter, whom Holden told the court was the "master mind", whose dealings With Johnson led the latter to use the money of Norfolk.
 Judge Wolfe imposed sentence without delay. Johnson was taken to Wethersfeld later in the day.
 The case was called when court opened at 9 o'clock and the defen- dant did not appear. The bond was about to be called when Johnson came in. This was 9:3O. Fifteen minutes later MT. Holden appeared and explained that he thought the court began at 10 o'clock.
 Johnsons' story as told by him to 9 newspaper man Monday IS Hs tol- lows:
 "It seems like going over +he pages of an old book read years ago and closed up for good when I at- tempt to recall and piece together the incidents and developments brought. about by Horton which ruined me financially and then made me decide that nothing was worth living for. Those who have had trouble, those who have worked for the good of a thing, simply to be misunderstood and calumniated will understand My friends, will under stand. The gratifying thing about the whole business is that through four years of mental anguish, there were those who stood by me and gave me the friendly hand when l came back to face the situation. There were others, of course, who turned against me, who lied, and stabbed me in the back. But now they are not so eager to talk.
 "The position 1 held in Norfolk, the friends had, when Horton came on the scene, were the results of hard work from the time l was 16 years old I was born in South Nor folk. I was educated in the Norfolk schools At IT was a clerk in Col lars store. I worked hard there to to make good. People seemed to like me and l made friends. While l was a clerk I met Miss Isabella E'd- 7idge, fernder of the Norfolk Li- brarv. Now that am back again is interesting to look back at some of the things that were written about me in my absence. For instance there was the story that I had dis placed Harry Atwood as librarian. was made librarian because I could handle the work. I succeeded At wood when those interested in the li- brary found that Atwood was in such q condition that he could not take care of the job.
 ''I tried to do my best as librarian and there were those who said that from that time l rose in the estima tion of the townspeople. 1 appre- ciated this and would have cut off my right hand rather than injure those who had helped me. I was proposed for town treasurer and the nomination seemed to meet with fa- vor. The time came when I was elect ed and put in charge of the towns money. Nobody realized what these responsibilities meant more than l did. My circle of friends grew. I had property and credit. If 1 had wanted to work the town I could easily have raised all kinds of money. I could have come into Hartford in my official capacity to do so. If l had been a crook I could have made a getaway with the sum five or six times lrger than the money they claim is involved in the charge against me.
 Enter J. Francis Horton
 My position in the town had been established. I was enthusiastic about my work and, if I do say it, I was interested in public welfare of the town, the place where was born the place where I had lived all my life. Then, one day., back in 1915, there came to town a smooth stran- ger, with certain big town cut to his clothes, well groomed, sauve, and with a strange capacity for persua- sion. There are number of people who will bear me out about his per