Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-10
PITTS DEPOSITED
ONLY OWN MONEY,
DEFENSE CLAIMS
Smith Co. Counsel Promises
'to AnnihiIate" Charges
of EmbezzIement.

Counsel for the defendants in the
F. H. Smith Co. conspiracy case, now
on trial in District Supreme Court, to-
day promised ito eliminate and an
initiate every vestige of criminality''
suggested In the indictment against G.
Bryan Pitts, John H. Edwards, IT., and
G. Ebert Anadale.
The three men, formerly officers of
the Smith Co., are charged by the
Government with a conspiracy to en-
bezzle company funds and destroy its
records.
An outline of the facts which the
defense expects to prove in substantial
ton of its claim that the defendants
are innocent of the charge was given
to the jury by Wilton j. Lambert, of
defense counsel.
Claims Money Was Pitts' Own.
After stating that the defense would
rely in part on some of the Govern
ments testimony, which they claim
tends to prove the innocence of the
defendants, Mr.. Lambert began an ex-
show conclusively that Pitts never en-
bezzled any money from the Smith Co.,
and that he did not conspire with the
other defendants to do so. He said II
would be admitted that Pitts had fire.
quently deposited money in various
banks as claimed by the Government,
but that 1t would be shown that this
was his money and he had the right
to do with 1t as he pleased.
I'VE will show that he had as much
right to the use of this money as you
gentlemen have to purchase a package
of cigarettes" Mr.. Lambert declared.
We will further show there was never
any thought on the part of the defend
ants to take that which did not belong
TO them. If they made any mistakes
in Judgment that is not enough to con-
stitute the conspiracy charged by the
Government"
Mr.. Lambert then went into an ex-
PLANTATION 'of the financing plan en-
ployed by the Smith Co., which, he said,
resulted in Pitts being entitled to con-
siderable sums Of money from the COM
pany.
Describes SURPRISES.
THE Smith Co. followed a system of
building operations which is in common
use. They would acquire a piece of
property anu CIIeI pan 10 erect GnereOn
building let us say at a cost of 81, 000,-
900. A corporation would be formed to
finance this enterprise. and stock in the
corporation would be sold to various in
diyiduals. There were occasions, how
ever, when the building in question
would finally be completed for a sum
smaller than had been anticipated.
That would then leave a surplus of
money in the treasury of the corpora
ton which rightfully belonged to the
stockholders.
I'VE will show that in some cases, Mr..
Pitts owned substantially all of the
stock in these corporations and that
there was nothing criminal in his TAX
ing this surplus money and depositlng
1t in cash to his credit in any bank he
might select. We will prove that the
money involved in all Of the e5 alleged
embellishments upon which the Govern
ment relies actually belonged, in fact,
to Mr.. Pitts.
Let US take, for example, the Beyer-
ly Building Corporation, which was or
ganized to build the Law and Finance
Building in Pittsburgh. The stock in
this corporation was owned almost en-
tirely by Emory CoblentZ, f1nancier Of
Frederick, Md The construction work
Continued on Page 2, Column 81