The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1938-08-02
Committees Report
Favors Legal Action
To Recover $50, 900
Echo Of Grand Jury Investigation Touches Off Fire.
works at Meeting Authors of Measure Rebuked;
Reiner Sponsors Motion on "Moving Day"

Waterbury's Republican aldermen
resurrected the grand jury report
last night in the matter of payment
of q pension to former City Court
Judge John F. McGrath, accorded a
pension by the retirement board, as
Of July /.
Moving adoption Of committee
majority report, as prepared In
printed form by Alderman George
L. Kingston and Fertin C. Niver,
the Republicans recommended ex-
ploration of the possibility of re-
covering some of the $4,000" cited
by the grand jury as having been
paid to Judge McGrath from
July 1881 until May. 1887" to apply
against the pension" set at $4,000
annually by the board of retire.
ment, approved by the board Of
finance and the controller.
G. o. P. Rebuked
Alderman Thomas P. Kelly offered
an amendment Immediately, provid-
ing for the transfer, as recommend
ed by the board of finance, and re-
| lection Of the committee report.
| "A few months ago no one on the
other side of this body would have
dared raise his voice against Judge
McGrath," Alderman Kelly told the
Republican aldermen, silent under a
scornful rebuke of action of Repub-
1ican members of the report COM
mittee.
"As I recall, the board of finance
recommended the transfer of sum
IN the city court budget to provide
tie pension for Judge McGrath," he
remarked. There was no mention of
The grand jury report nor of the
amount of money Judge McGrath
received. 1t i'll behooves the board
! of aldermen membership to bring
such matters here
| Stating that Judge McGrath has
rendered service to the city of Wa
terbury for 80 years, Alderman Kel-
" continued:
Although I am not Of the politi-
cal afflliation of Judge McGrath, I
Tail to see by what right the COM
mittee interpolates the grand jury
report in this instance. Judge Nc
Grath was not convicted, nor yet Is
he charged with any crime. He has
rendered good service to the city and
the board Of finance has recon-
mended transfer Of funds as accord
ed by the retirement commission
to pay this pension. The finance
board, the controller and the re-
ffpo1N0 nv1f rvVicctnra houn
this transfer to provide for the pen
sion and there has been no mention,
hn1 now, Of any grand jury re-
port"
TT Vote
The Republicans were at loss
last night, lacking the one vote
margin Of Alderman Burton H. Wal
ker, absent because Of illness. They
lined up in support of the report
after the amendment by Alderman
Kelly, (rejecting the report resulted
In tie vote, TT, and tie was the
case in the latter instance. There
upon Republican Alderman c. Ar
thur Dubois moved that the matter
be tabled and this was the course
followed.
The report of the committee cited
"unwarranted payments" per the
grand jury remarks, and advocated
that the corpora ton counsel look in
to the matter of possible recovery
of all, or part" of the payments al
1egedly made to former Judge Nc
Grath with view to application Of
such sums against the pension"
The report acknowledged, in its
6rst part, that the retirement COM
mission and the corporation coun-
sells ruling impelled payment of the
pension. however.
Apparently without discussing his
proposition with other Republican
members Of the board, Alderman
Joseph Reiner last night sprung
surprise at the meeting by pre-
eenting resolution for adoption of
an ordinance. The proposed addi-
ton to the city's regulations would
provide that any firms or persons
who moved the goods of any cleo
tor" must file report with the reg
istrars of voters of the electors
change Of address within 10 days
or be subject to a $25 fine"
Asked who would enforce the Or
dinance and whether he had en-
quired into its con5titutionality,
Alderman Reiner replied to Alder
man Thomas P. Kelly:
There is no question of its con-
stitutionality, Mr.. Farley--I mean,
Mr.. Kelly. 1t has been passed in
other cities. It's good thing"
The Reiner proposal evidently
was designed as a check on voters
to prevent illegal voting. But AL
.derman Reiner was not prepared
to explain how it might be con-
trolled or enforced.