United States v. Bunting

• Decision Date: 21 September 1897
• Citation: 82 F. 883
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. BUNTING et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

82 F. 883

UNITED STATES v. BUNTING et al.

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

September 21, 1897

The defendants in this case were charged with conspiracy together to defraud the United States in making and presenting a false writing. The indictment was framed under Rev. St. U.S. Sec 5440, as amended by Act May 17, 1879 (21 Stat. 4), which in its amended form is as follows:

'If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States or to defraud the United States in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such parties do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy all the parties to such conspiracy shall be liable to a penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars, or to imprisonment for not more than two years or to both fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court.

The fraud upon the United States was alleged under Rev. St. U.S Sec. 5418, which provides as follows:

'Every person who falsely makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits any bid, proposal, guarantee, official bond, public record, affidavit, or other writing, for the purpose of defrauding the United States, or utters or publishes as true any false, forged, altered, or counterfeited bid, proposal, guarantee, official bond, public record, affidavit, or other writing, for such purpose, knowing the same to be false, forged, altered, or counterfeited, or transmits to or presents at the office of any officer of the United States any such false, forged, altered, or counterfeited bid, proposal, guarantee, official bond, public record, affidavit, or other writing, knowing the same to be false, forged, altered, or counterfeited, for such purpose, shall be imprisoned at hard labor for a period not more than ten years, or be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or be punished by both such fine and imprisonment.'

From the facts as set forth in the indictment and as developed at the trial it appeared that the defendant Bunting was an applicant for a position as clerk in the post-office service and on July 22, 1897, filed an application for examination before the United States civil service commissioners at an examination which was to be held at Philadelphia. This application blank was in the usual form, containing questions relative to the name, date and place of birth, citizenship, residence, occupation, etc., of the applicant, which the applicant was required to fill out and...