People v. Drury

• Decision Date: 02 October 1929
• Docket Number: No. 19350.,19350.
• Citation: 167 N.E. 823,335 Ill. 539
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court
• Parties: PEOPLE v. DRURY.

335 Ill. 539

167 N.E. 823

PEOPLE

v.DRURY.

No. 19350.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

June 19, 1929.

As Modified, on Denial of Rehearing, Oct. 2, 1929.

Commissioner's Opinion.

Error to Appellate Court, Third District, on Error to Circuit Court, Douglas County; James S. Baldwin, Judge.

Cyrus H. Drury was convicted of conspiracy and brings error after affirmance of the conviction by the Appellate Court (250 Ill. App. 547).

Modified, and, as so modified, affirmed.C. D. Fithian, of Chicago, O. B. Dobbins, of Champaign, and John R. Pogue and W. Thomas Coleman, both of Decatur, for plaintiff in error.

Oscar E. Carlstrom, Atty. Gen., Robert F. Cotton, State's Atty., of Tuscola, and S. S. Du Hamel, of Springfield (Lott R. Herrick, of Farmer City, of counsel), for the People.

PARTLOW, C.

At the October term, 1926, of the circuit court of Douglas county, Cyrus H. Drury and Harry L. Crawford were indicted for a conspiracy. Drury was granted a separate trial. He was found guilty, sentenced to the penitentiary until discharged by law, fined $2,000, and ordered to stand committed to the penitentiary until the fine and costs were paid. The judgment was affirmed by the Appellate Court for the Third District, and the case is before this court for further review.

It is insisted that the evidence fails to support the verdict. The indictment consisted of 30 counts, all of which were quashed or nollied except the first 5. The first count charged that Crawford and Drury on March 1, 1926, did unlawfully, fraudulently, maliciously, wickedly, and feloniously combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together, and with divers other persons whose names were to the grand jurors unknown, with the fraudulent and malicious intent to wrongfully, wickedly, and unlawfully obtain from the Hindsboro State Bank, a corporation, a large amount of money, property, and cerdit of the value of $36,000, by means and use of the confidence game. The other four counts are substantially the same as the first, except that he second charged a conspiracy to obtain money by the confidence game, the third charged a conspiracy to obtain a large amount of property by the confidence game, the fourth charged a conspiracy to obtain credit to the extent of $36,000 by the confidence game, and the fifth charged a conspiracy to obtain funds, money, and property by false pretenses.

Hindsboro is a village in Douglas county having a population of about 400 people. John Crawford and his sons, Harry and Elmer, were engaged in the grain and lumber business in Hindsboro under the name of John Crawford & Sons. Elmer Crawford was in active charge of this business.The Hindsboro State Bank was organized in 1916 with a capital stock of $30,000. Harry Crawford owned 58 shares, his father owned 51 shares and his brother 50 shares. Harry Crawford was the cashier and had been since the organization, his father was president, and his brother was vice president. The Arizona Power & Water Company was attempting to sell a $1,000,000 issue of its bonds. J. Everett Davis, a cousin of Crawford, was president of the First State Bank of Pesotum, Ill., and was also the secretary and treasurer of the Arizona Power & Water Company, of which J. W. Tiscornia was the president. Drury resided at Clifton, Ariz. He was selling these bonds of the Arizona Power & Water Company and was associated with A. B. Graham. Corrigan & Co., a corporation of Grand Rapids, Mich., dealt in stocks and bonds, and it was interested in the sale of this bond issue. Phil Corrigan was the president of this corporation and was active in dealing with the parties involved in this case.

Drury did not testify, but Harry Crawford was one of his witnesses. Crawford testified that he first met Drury in 1919 or 1920, and that he only met him a few times after that date until May, 1924. On May 19, 1924, Drury, through Crawford, secured a loan from the Hindsboro State Bank for $1,400 without giving any security. This money was deposited in the bank. On the same day a check for $800 was drawn by Drury. Within 10 days the whole amount had been checked out, and by June 3, 1924, Drury had an overdraft of $500. There were no other transactions until September 26, 1924, when two checks of Corrigan & Co. to Drury for $2,487.50 and $2,578 came into the bank for deposit. About the same date two checks for $5,065.50 were drawn by Drury against the bank. Crawford gave Drury credit for the two Corrigan checks and cashed the two checks drawn by Drury. These two Corrigan checks were paid by he Grand Rapids Savings Bank, upon which they were drawn. The evidence shows that when the first two Drury checks were received A. B. Graham brought the checks to the bank and told Crawford that Drury had requested him to bring in the checks and that they were not to be cashed until Crawford received other checks for like amounts. Between September 24, 1924, and October 1, 1924, Drury deposited with the bank 6 other checks of Corrigan & Co., payable to Drury, in the amount of $2,565.50, $2,500, $2,600, $2,600, $5,000, and $2,500, making a total of $17,765.50 for the last 6 checks and a total of $22,831 for the 8 checks. During the same period Drury drew 4 other checks payable to Corrigan & Co. and 2 payable to the Hudsonville State Bank for the same amounts as the last 6 checks as above stated. All of the checks drawn by Drury were honored by the bank, and the checks of Corrigan payable to Drury were deposited to his credit. On the last six checks issued by Corrigan & Co. payment was stopped by Corrigan & Co. and they were later protested. These six dishonored checks were charged against Drury's account, making an overdraft of $17,765.50. Crawford testified that before he honored these Corrigan checks he made inquiry of Graham, Davis and others as to the financial standing of Corrigan & Co. and found that it was rated as financially good. It is admitted, however, that it went into bankruptcy shortly after these checks were protested.

There is evidence tending to show that, while these checks were being deposited, between September 27, 1924, and October 31, 1924, Drury, while in the office of Corrigan & Co., received from it at different times various sums amounting to $2,350. With the exception of two instances when checks were delivered to Drury these amounts were paid by Corrigan & Co. to Drury in cash. On September 27, 1924, Corrigan & Co. drew a check payable to Arthur F. Rensland for $700. Rensland was an office boy employed by Corrigan. He was directed by Corrigan to take the check to the bank, draw the cash, and return with it to the office. This was done and Corrigan gave the money to Drury. This procedure was repeated on September 30 for $100, on October 2 for $400, on October 13 for $50, on October 16 for $100, on October 18 for $600, and on October 29 for $150. The check of October 18 was payable to Williams, another employee in the office. On October 31 two checks, each for $125, were drawn, payable to Drury and bore his indorsement. All of these checks were introduced in evidence and show that at the time the six original Corrigan & Co. checks were protested and payment stopped Corrigan & Co. had funds on deposit in the Grand Rapids Savings Bank. Drury offered to prove by Irwin H. Leiphart that these various amounts were paid to Drury for the purpose of paying fees of attorneys and engineers employed by the Arizona Power & Water Company, but the court sustained an objection to this proof.

After these transactions the record contains considerable evidence as to meetings, telephone calls, and correspondence between Drury, Crawford, and Corrigan with reference to these protested checks. Crawford testified that about October 6, 1924, he met Corrigan at Terre Haute, Ind., with reference to the protested checks; that Corrigan called his office by telephone and ordered a check for $5,000 sent to Crawford, but the check never arrived; that Corrigan called Davis and told him to send a check for $5,000 to Crawford and the check arrived the next day; and that Corrigan gave Crawford certain notes and stock to hold for a few days until the protested checks could be settled. On October 22, 1924, the auditor of public accounts wrote a letter to Crawford in which he stated that there seemed to be some uneasiness in the community relative to the operations of certain parties interested in the Arizona Power & Water Company, and Crawford was asked to inform the department whether or not Drury or his company, or any one connected with it in any official capacity, was indebted,directly or indirectly, to the bank. Crawford testified that after receiving this letter from the auditor he had no communication with Drury before his answer to the letter was sent. However, there is in the record a letter dated October 25, 1924, from Crawford to Drury, as follows: ‘I received a letter from the State Auditor last evening asking if C. H. Drury, or anyone connected with the Arizona Power and Water Company, was in any way indebted to this bank. This letter must be answered at once, yet I cannot inform them that these people owe me over $12,765 and you $1,900. This is far above our loan limit, * * * and I cannot hold this letter longer than Monday or Tuesday to make reply. It should go out from here Monday evening. They [meaning the Continental and Commercial Bank of Chicago, the correspondent of the Hindsboro State Bank at that time,] are off this Grand Rapids affair and don't mince words telling me so. You know their cashier called on me Wednesday of this week. They have a good line on this deal. The cashier of the Grand Rapids Trust and Savings Bank was in to see the Continental and Commercial Bank a few days ago, and from him, I judge they gleaned a good lot of information. Of course, not knowing any of the details of your project, they look upon it with a critical eye, and cannot understand how we, a small country bank in Illinois, could get mixed with this affair...