New-York tribune., 1922-10-24
9nkrupts Lay
,eir. Troubles
70 Employees
H. McKenna Partners
] I'm Receiver Official of
Tintown Office Committed
Irregularities With Checks
|,.uaeer Also Accused
r,aliases BY Saying He Did
III. Like Actions Of Enl-
nloyer Before Failure

Excited charges, hurled without re-
80. seasoned the three or four
s. following the bankruptcy Of viii
e d. MeKsnna 4 Co., the affairs of
ss;.v are undergoing a preliminary
's.ss,ussion ~. 81 the receiver, John L.
rss,. i developed yesterday. First,
nsvfner., william H. McKenna and
sss.rnan Brown, sssused their uptown
,s.nsrsr, Joha 4. Pothoff, of misdeeds,
- ,sxs Tier xpt after one of the cash
3. I'd tod him there had been
sisauy vork With checks
M for the securities strcngbox that
NJ NurisI Jensen took home with her
& Newark, and which an obliging
s;.nd later returned to the receiver
i / messenger, the blame for its dis
,soeara,sce the partners first put upon
nth Pashetf and the uptown cashier,
iso Joseph Harkness.
iFor week preceding the appoint
ssnt 81 the receiver the McKenna &
iA s;tuasion had been gradually work
/ II ID to 4 climax. In the testim ony
i &sIse with the uptown branch at 23
H.M forty-third Street, not less than
| fsyty customers, whom something or
Ahs, seemed to have made uneasy, de-
uasded their accounts be closed out
1 b tie last day, Friday, October 6, two
Ih,jans, of whom Hardness became
s,uevhst sfraid, insisted upon getting
.{.,.e rnt,xox, ay,H vyora nylx, r~ot,.sd Z
u tsIling them they could get it down
] I'm
Butcher Is Fortunate
srothef's butcher, William F. Oil, 10S
ma 1esth Street, was most fortunate
y rot $500 on his equity of S6,500
Me got nothing at all. Obi would
Aw feen still more fortunate, for
rssleE drew $4,000 more for him. but
1sa the Hartman National Bank no
! stsd him the account was overdrawn
i Rshuf had to send the money back.
ba the day the bankruptcy petition
3Hs fled Brown met Pothoff at Del
&hsaic0s, and they figured out how
&esch vas left in the bank. 1t seemed
IA be 1900, and check was there
Hin drawn for that amount.
= ,peshof was not available to either of
fs sartners for three days thereafter
|lkr diligent search for him McKenna
<dA Brown telephoned to his house,
9a taid they told Mrs. Pothoff her
tshAnd was a crook.
81 They next tried to locate Hardness.
aspak them four days to find him and
3ka AeKenna asked:
4 ,a You know your books are not
&skAt and that there has been some
Emmy work with checks? 2"
,Afaness, on the witness stand, said
III sAaot know about these matters,
SMM &hally did tell about counter
y&alsf Mrne checks at the Hartman
Htiak' Bank. j. L. Turner, of the
HakiA asked him, Harkness said, to
fNases number Of checks which had
Nsady been paid, amounting to about
soe0. He did not know how many
Ha we're. These checks had pre-
lssiy been signed by R. E. Sacken,
Aher employee, who had gone to the
entown office.
Meet in Grand Central
Rarner, 1t was also brought out, met
Fkoff in the Grand Central station
81 day Of the bankruptcy and deliv-
|9sd TO him six or more vouchers, Pot
lA having called at the bank earlier
shs day.
When Pothoff was questioned about
|s!ese checks he said he was very anx-
|Ias TO get from the bank the voucher
|9e the $1,000 which had been drawn
|shsn he mee Brown at Delmonico's.
Fl did not like the actions of Mr.
|uvn," Pothoff said. "When l called
|him up ] could not locate him."
farmers account was that he gave
|shese vouchers to Pothoff to have addi-
|tbnal signatures placed on them. Ac-
|ttrding to Arthur l.. Ross, attorney fol
)sIe receiver, the vouchers we're turned
|aser to Pothof after an injunction had
|Hen obtained restraining the bank
|tpn turning over property of McKeana
y Go. to any one but the receiver.
AT the bank yesterday it was said
that number of checks, which the
sMeiai questioned said he believed were
Itsisyy sheeks, had been signed by Hark-
asss following their payment over
ssckers signature, because they had
Sseen paid before notification had been
7iyen that the first signature was no
sager good for McKenna G. Co. Notice
sae change was received several days
|Fer 1t became effective.