Evening star., 1943-09-16

executed any of the projects claimed.
That Engineers Group, Inc, held
FHA construction awards totaling
81 ,000, 900 in Rhode Island. Mary
land, Virginia and the District of
Columbia. whereas it had received
no construction awards of any kind"
That the firm had influence with
F'HA and had been designated its
agents for the placing of housing
contracts in the Washington area,
whereas it had no such influence
and had not been designated by FHA
in any official capacity whatever"
That the defendants owned out
right or held options on various
housing developments and indus
trial plants, whereas it neither
owned nor held options on any prep
erty whatever.
That initial payments by clients
to Engineers Group, Inc. were to be
held as security, whereas such funds
were not held as security and were
Immediately spent and dissipated."
The indictments contain 20 mail
fraud counts, each carrying. on con-
Victlon, maximum penalty of five
years and $1,000 fine. and twenty
first count charging conspiracy to
commit the alleged fraud, a statute
punishable by not more than two
years and $4,000 fine.
The indictment followed a long
investigation by the FBI. The case
was presented to the grand jury by
Roy Frank, Earl R. Larsen and Rob-
ert w. Strange, special assistants to
the Attorney General. under the di-
rection of Tom C. Clark, assistant
Attorney General in Charge of the
Criminal Division.
Claimed He Was Duped.
Representative Curley last April
told the Senate Defense Investigat-
ing Committee, which was then
studying the activities of Engineers
Group, Inc, that he had been duped
by high-pressure scheme and that
he was unaware at the time that
Fuller had criminal record.
I was just fool, guess" he told
the committee He said he had ac-
cepted Mr.. Fuller because he relied
on Mr.. Fitzgerald, but said the latter
had sold me down the pike"
think there are very few people
who could resist an, appeal by him
(Fuller), supplemented by the i'm
posing array of outstanding men as
sociated with him." the former Gov
ernor testified at the time.
He explained that he had agreed
to nominal use OF his name by the
engineers group for patriotic rea-
sons" after casual meeting in a
Washington hotel lobby. He said he
believed the organization was form
ed as syndicate to develop kalunite
deposits in Utah for the purpose OF
producing aluminium.
Mr.. Curley told the committee
that he had invested no money in
the company and that he expected
no returns for the use of his name.
Mr.. Curley, who previously had
served as a Massachusetts,, Repre-
sentative from 1911 to 1914, was
elected to the House from the llth
Massachusetts, District last fall.
His election constituted a political
comeback for the 69-year -old ex-
Governor who had failed Of election
in four previous efforts to get back
into ofice. Mr.. Curley served one
term as Governor in 1885 and 1895.
In Politics for 43 Years.
He entered politics 43 years ago
when he was elected to the Boston
Common Council. Later he served
two terms in Congress. In 1914 he
was elected to his first of three
terms as Mayor of Boston.
Much of the former Governors
career was stormy. In 1885 Presi-
dent Roosevelt was asked by Massa-
chusetts utilities foes to send armed
troops into Boston and declare the
governorship vacant on the ground
that Mr.. Curley had never been
properly sworn in.
Although his formal education
stopped with the elementary
schools, Mr.. Curley's campaign
speeches have always been literally