Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-06-15
COMPANY
CHARGED WITH
$4,000 FRAUDS
Grant County Has Paid Fake
Freight Bills for Five
Years, Says Report.
Charges that the Kokomo Stone Com
pany has defrauded Grant County of SIS

Charges that the Kokomo Stone Com
Rpany has defrauded Grant County of SIS
as47.63 through the use Of fraudulent
freight bills over a period Of i've years
from Jan. l. 1917. 10 Dec. 81, 1921, are
made in a report Of Field Examiners
Vic c. Palmer and Clyde Strait to Jesse
Eschbach, chief examiner Of the State
board OF accounts.
The method Of operation. according to
the report, was to send snort-weighI
shipments OF stone accompanied by 4
freight bill Of the Indiana Railway and
Light Company purporting to be a du'
plcate Of the original for a greater
amount Of stone than was actually
shipped. Harvey NJ McCaskey, road su-
perintendent. is said to have received one
freight bill for his approval and the
traction company q different one. accord
ing to the method of operation followed.
Discovery OF the practice was made by a
comparison Of the freight records Of the
Indiana Railway and Light Company
with the claims filed with the Grant
County board Of commissioners in the
auditors office.
SHORT WEIGHT
SHIPMENTS CHARGED.
The company is charged in the re-
port with sending short weight ship
ments $40 times out OF a total numter Of
GIL shipments during the lve-year period.
In addition TO this the report charges
the stone company filed claims and re-
ceived payment for fOrty-four shipments
never received the county.
McCaskey Is rged in the report with
failure TO kee q close check on the
materials received by the county and
failure TO require assistant superintend-
ents to keep a record Of the materials
used on Grant County roads. In this
connection the report says:
1--WE feel this practice should be
stopped and an effort should be made
90 ascertain II the amount Of materials
purchased is being placed on the roads
Of Grant County, Indiana, and not used
for other county purposes"
The report says the company received
500, 45O.1S and the amount actually due
was SI00,45222 showing an overpayment
of $50. 1882. The stone company is
given credit by the examiners amounting
S1.354 so and S51512 for shipments on
which freight bill dates OF the traction
company do not agree with the dates Of
claims filed.
The report Of the field examiners covers
thfrty-nine typewritten pages and in
Gicates an exhaustive Investigation Of
the Grant Cunty situation was made.
In connection with alleged fraud on the
part Of the stone company. the report
says two assistant highway superin
tendents were in the employ OF private
concerns and the county at the same
lime. The men implicated were Ira
zkkSboIt and c. s. Kelley. sherman VIM
gr, another assistant highway super
tntendent, is charged with filing 4 claim
and receiving pay for 210 hours work
while It is claimed the actual time he
put in was only seventy hours.
Another feature Of the report shows the
sum of S10964 81 was expended for
"emulsifed asphalts" purchased during
the year OF 1921. EmuIsifpd asphalt is
a compound for mixing with stone for
tavia road work. This compound. Ct was
pointed ont, consists of approximately
y per cent bitumen and % per cent
water, with loss Of less than l per cent
IN mixing. Bitumen Of the best grade.
It was pointed out, can be purchased for
SOC per ton.
The total costs for emulsifed asphalt
were listed at S1098434. while the