The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-07-05

Alcorn Starts Cross Examination OF Accused Accountant, Alderman

and that was done. We looked at the warrants payable sheet and we marked 1t with red pencil, c check mark and also a number of the check, indicating there was a check for that warrant.
 c. MT. Alderman, I asked you over the recess to refer to your work sheets and indicate the specific work done by you on certain days. Did you do that?
 A. l did.
 e. In your experience and your knowledge of practice in your pro- fession, is 1t or is 1t not unusual for accountants to work nights and ho- lidays and Sundays when they are busy?
 A. It is not at all unusual.
 o. Do you have in mind, in con- nection with the testimony, of MT. Brown, the times that he worked on this case?
 A. Yes, sir.
 Q. You have covered 6 wide va- riety of the things that you have done for the city of Waterbury be- tween 1930 and the first week of January 1888, and you have indi- cated to the jury in your testimony the departments in which that work was done and for which that work was done and the time in which you did 1t. Let me ask you whether between your work on the February reconciliation for MT. Purcell in 1881 and the work that you did in December 1897 that you have been referring to, whether you had any work-or whether in connection with any work--you had occasion to examine or handle or investigate in any manner the so-called warrants payable sheets2
 A. did not.
 Ask Employees
 e. During the time you were working in the welfare department from November 1883 to February 1936, suppose you had occasion to refer to accounting data or records in the controllers office, what was your procedure to get the required information?
 A. Either Miss Driscoll or one of the employees, or once in 8 while I, would run upstairs and ask one of the employees in the controllers of- flee for voucher number or for 8 bill and the boy or girl in the con- troller's office would give us the re- quired voucher.
 Q. Did you make any attempt in concealing or making 6 secret of any character as to the work you were doing in December 1887?
 A. I did not.
 c. Mir. Purcell, to your certain knowledge, was aware of what you were doing2
 A. He was.
 Had Contacts
 c. Did you have occasion to re- fer to him and get information from him to connection with the work you were doing2
 A. I did.
 o. The first day that you saw MT. Purcell in 1887, December, wher you were working there, did he ask you what you were doing?
 A. Yes, sir.
 Q. Did you tell him2
 A. I did.
 e. What did you tell himp
 A. I told him I was doing sont work for MT. Leary.
 Q. When you saw MT. Hickey here in the courthouse, at the time of the grand jury, did he ask you what you were doing?
 A. Yes, sir.
 c. What did you tell him?
 A. The same thing-that was working for MT. Leary.
 e. Had you known MT. Hickey before you met him here?
 A. I had not.
 o. Were you in the habit of re- ferring to MT. Leary as "Dan?"
 A. I was not.
 e. MT. Brown, may I have the December checks for 1887? (Mr, Brown stated that they were not segregated and 1t would be physi- cal impossibility)
 CRAWFORD: I want the checks covered by the December reconcilia- ton which was made by Miss Smith, according to MT. Purcell's testimony, after the middle of Jan- uary. I think I will Have to ask for the cheeks.
 BROWN: The checks which MT Crawford refer to would be sorted chronologically and placed in the regular procedure, regardless of dates issued. The only way we can tell which of the checks came back would be for me to go through each and every vheck and every recon- ciliation.
 JUDGE: It seems to me you have the checks available. If you want them, MT. Crawford, you can sort them out yourself.
 Unreasonable?
 CRAWFORD: respectfully sub- init, with all due respect to the court, that it is hardly fair and reasonable to put the burden of the task upon me. Those checks were turned over to the state according to the testimony in January. The December checks were already se- gregated. If they have been set back in chronological order for the purpose of the states convenience, why should I have the burden of doing what this man is being paid $500 an hour for doing It is an unreasonable request in view of the statement to ask us to meet it.
 Judge:
 AS a matter of fact, these checks were taken from the controllers of- fice-the December checks that MT. Crawford is referring to-ss segrc- gated?
 A. No, sir.
 Judge: It seems to me that is the answer. As they were taken from the controllers office. there is just enough reason if you want those checks to put the burden upon you to segregate them as to put that burden on the state. And I think that is the way I will have 1t.
 aal.