The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-03-17

A. No doubt I did.
 e. All right. You gave the sym- bol as 1-l13-Cl2?
 A. That's correct.
 @. Was it the item of office sup plies which is the symbol number, and among the charge was the dues for the Municipal Finance appro- priation of office supplies.
 A. Undoubtedly it is, yes.
 Legitimate?
 @. And when you presented this invoice, you at that time testified that you made these disbursements in behalf of the City of Waterbury, that you were entitled to reimburse ment, and you presented this in- voice, and 1t was perfectly legitimate for you to take the check and cash it? A. Absolutely.
 @. No question about that.
 A. No.
 @. And you did take the check and you did cash 1t?
 A. I did.
 Attorney Hea1ey:
 @. The invoice was presented under date of October 30. Wasn't it, MT. Purcell?
 A. think so.
 o. And the check was drawn on the same date, October 30?
 A. Apparently.
 e. No question about it?
 A. No.
 Q. There was no meeting of the Board of Finance, was there, on the 30th day of October, 1886?
 A. I don't know.
 Met Regularly
 @. The board of finance met reg ularly on the first and third Thurs day of every month. That is right?
 A. Fairly regularly I believe, yes. o. And with almost clock-like regularity. didn't 1t?
 A. With the exception of the times when there were special meet ings. Q. You say that the chances are at least thousand to one that the board of finance did not meet on the next to the last day of October 1886?
 A. Unless here was special meeting.
 e. Is the signature on this check placed thereon by the check writing machine?
 A. The check-signing machine.
 o. The check k-signing machine which was on the third floor in the controllers office. A. Yes. Admits Error Attorney McDonough: e. ... =.
 MT. Purcell, last May, did you make a report to the board of fin- ance-May of 1938-regarding the estimated salary donation of teach CTS and salaried employees in the City of Waterbury, the estimate being that it would be practically $192,00O and later when that report reached the board of aldermen, 1t was dis covered that you had made mis- take of approximately $27,000 in the teachers item. Is that SOP A. To the extent of the estimate, yes. o. That's right. At this point, Attorney Crawford submitted motion that Purcell's testimony be stricken from the rec ord.
 Judge Inglis' reply to Crawford was as follows:
 It seems to me that the weakness of your position is in your interpre- tation of the phrase of the 1887 act. I can't come to the conclusion that the legislature intended to say that each particular claim which had been paid asa result of the claim for which an appropriation mad been overdrawn had been properly paid. It seems to me that the legislature is saying in that phrase, as recall, the voucher, having been duly paid, is nothing less than finding, that as far as the creditors of the city are concerned, they are satisfied; they are paid, and, therefore, 1t is simply matter of bookkeeping on the city books as to whether the cash deficit account should be con- tinued or whether the items of the cash deficit account as assets of the surplus resource sinking fund shall be continued because of the fact that creditors of the city had been paid. The legislature said in sub- stance, there is no longer any req son for carrying those items on &C., count, and I can't believe that the legislature intended to say that inaSmuch as the whole argument turns on that, on that point am going to have to deny the motion. Attorney Slade, following the over- ruling of Crawford's motion, arose to place similar motion, seeking to have Purcell's testimony stricken. This motion was also denied.
 Recess was taken at this point. After recess, Joseph B. Moore states witness, was called to the stand by MT. Alcorn.
 @. How long have you lived in Waterbury, MT. Moore?
 A. All my life.
 e. Are you man of family?
 A. Yes.
 o. Where do you live?
 A. 9 Stiles street.
 Q. How long have you lived there?
 A. Approximately two years.
 @. Do you own your own home?
 A. No, sir.
 Q. How long have you been mar ried?
 A. About thre years.
 o. Now, do you mind telling your age?
 A. 34.
 e. After you left school, where did you go to work?
 A. The Connecticut Company.
 c. In what capacity were you employed?
 A. In the storage department.
 o. How long were you with the Connecticut Company?
 A. Approximately IS years.
 e. Did you leave the employ of the Connecticut Company in 1886? A. Yes.
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