Evening star., 1934-11-11
Prominent Los Angeles
County Men Accused OF
Conspiracy to Defraud.
RACE DISCRIMINATION
ALSO AMONG CHARGES
Assistant Attorney General Kee.
nan of Washington to Direct
Prosecution.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
LOS ANGELES, November 10.-Nine
former officials of the Civil Works Ad-
ministration and its various out
growths appear for trial here Tuesday
on Federal charges of conspiracy to
defraud the Government in connec-
ton with affairs of the administra.
ton in this county.
The nine men, prominent in civic
and business affairs of the Western
States, face general charges of con-
spiracy to defraud the Government,
discrimination against workers in bar
ring certain races from c. w. A.
projects and refusing to give work to
ex-seryice men with dependents. They
are:
r. N. Branion, former director OF
the Federal Emergency Relief Admins
tration for California; Pierce Will
liams, Western regional Federal Emer-
gency Relief Administration; Maj.
Jules Hanique and C. c. Frye, former
Los Angeles County directors of the c.
w. A; Henry E Walker, formerly IN
charge of the Unemployment service
for the State under the F. E. r. A; j.
T. Richie. former head Of the county
purchasing division Of the c. w. A;
Roy C. Donnally, assistant county
manager for the F. E. R. A; Eugene
M. Brown, former executive secretary
for the county unit of the F. E. R. A.,
and George o. Durkee, assignment
manager for the c. w. A.
Indicted Last June.
Indictments against the nine men
we're returned by the Federal grand
Jury last June 81. Since that time
FRYE has pleaded "nolo contendere,"
and Government officials said he
would testify against his co-defend-
ants. Demurrers to the indictments
filed by several of the defendants
have been overruled by Judge Paul
j. Mccormick.
Since its inauguration here. the path
of the C. W. A and the organizations
which succeeded it has been rocky
one.
AS early as last December 80 rum
blings of discomfort we're heard when
Frye, first county director of the c.
w. A., resigned-"of his own volition,"
State officials said.
A few days later John B. Elliott,
prominent in the Democratic party in
California, issued a statement de-
nouncing the administration of the
c. w. A. in this county. He said at
that time he would attempt to bring
the matter to the attention of the
grand jury. charging $4,000 or more
unemployed had been put to work on
various projects without tools, that
thousands of workmen had not been
paid, that officials were incompetent
and were hired because of political
pull"
Hanique, who succeeded Frye as
county director of the C. w. A, re-
signed January Is, 1884, few days
after Elliott's denunciation. He was
succeeded by Harold English.
Hanique Is Reinstated.
English lasted 10 days on the job,
resigning with charges of political in
reference" January IS, and Hanique
was reinstated by State C. w. A. Di-
rector Edward McCauley.
The same day the grand jury indict-
ed three persons, Emily C. Paddle
ford, a truck broker; Albert A. Post,
executive of a construction company,
and Laurette Hasker, C.. w. A. clerk,
np charpes of conSpirinp to defralld
the Government by splitting commits
sions paid by truckers for whom they
obtained c. w. A. jobs.
Convicted by a jury, the trio was
sentenced May g. Miss Paddleford to
four months in the county Jail, Post
and Miss Hasker to three months each.
Miss Paddleford and Post also were
each fined $500.
Meanwhile Hanique had been sue
ceeded as county director of the C..
w. A. by Maj. Donald H. Connolly,
U. S. A.. who abolished the post of
chief engineer of the organization here,
thus eliminating Hanique from the af-
fairs of the C. w. A. altogether.
The Department of Justice, Elliott
and Edward H. Fitzgerald, United
States labor conciliation commissioner,
had been conducting separate investi-
cations meanwhile, and June 81 in
dictments were brought against the
nine men who will go to trial Tues
day.
Joseph B. keenan,, Assistant Attor-
ney General, is here from Washington
to direct the Governments case.