Evening star., 1938-01-22
ST|TELY IS GIVEN
6T0-12-YEAR TERM
Also Fined $685. 900 in Pay
Roll Fraud Awaits Trans.
fer to Prison.
BY REX COLLIER,

Reno e. Stitely. young former chief
Of the voucher unit Of the National
Park Service. awaited transfer from
the District Jail to q Federal peni.
tentiary today as the Government
sought to collect a $4,000 fine i'm
posed with q 6-to-l2.year prison term
yesterday for an $4,000 pay roll
fraud.
Prospects of collecting the heavy
flne-stiffest allowed by law-appeared
uncertain In view OF testimony before
the Senate Public Lands Committee
that Investigators have been unable
to recover any of the money which
Mr.. Stitely en1bezzled from emergency
conservation funds over a four-year
period.
The committee has been advised
that when the unit chief became
aware he was under suspicion he be.
gan to "liquidate" his holdings. An
investigators report. read to the COM
mittee. said that during the period
OF the defalcations he purchased
stocks amounting to s250,6oO, deposited
more than $4,000 in the bank, ac-
quired $4,000 home and bought
one or more new cars each year. He
also held expensive parties at a prom
inent hotel, the committee brought
out.
Justice Joseph w. Cox sentenced Mr..
Stitely In District Court late yester-
day on receiving a report on the case
from the probation oficer, to whom
it had been referred when Mr.. Stitely
pleaded guilty to nine counts Of an
indictment.
The court gave the prisoner two to
four years and assessed a 81, 900 fine
In each Of six counts charging forgery
of pay roll vouchers and sentenced
him to serve two to four years and
pay $4,000 fine on each of three
counts charging presentation Of false
vouchers. which were paid by the
Army Finance Office. Two of the
forgery terms and one of the false
presentation terms were made to run
consecutively. while the remaining
terms are to be served concurrently.
If Mr.. Stitely does not pay his nne
and no assets are found which could
be attached by the Government he
may take q pauper's oath upon com.
pletion Of his term, which would
make him eligible to be freed after
serving an additional 80 days, but
would not relieve him Of eventual
liability to pay the fine.
Shows No Emotion.
The prisoner was brought into court
by William E. Leahy, attorney, who
merely announced: Your honor, this
Is Mr.. Stitely." The latter received
sentence without any show OF emo
ton and said nothing before or after
passing Of sentence. His pretty young
red-haired wife burst into tears as
court attaches led him from court to
take him to jail
His confinement in the District Jail
will be temporary, it is said. Attorney
General Homer Cummings will desig-
nate a Federal penal institution in
which he will serve his sentence.
The Senate committee has expressed
anazement that Mr.. Stitely was able
TO dupe officials of two departments
for. 50 long. His method was to forge
pay roll vouchers for a group Of nom
existent "emergency" employees in the
Shenandoah and other national parks,
present them for payment to the Army
Finance once. receive checks made
out to the phantom employees for the
purported purpose of forwarding them
And then forge Endorsements on the
checks and cash them at his bank.
In order to receive the checks, the
committee was told, he forged the
name of J. R. Lassiter, superintendent
Of the Shenandoah National Park, to
. letter Of authorization" which he
presented to the Army officials.
Committee members are seeking to
learn what precautions have been
taken by the Interior and War De-
partments to prevent a recurrence Of
this type Of fraud.