JOHN P. HAYES AND THE ESTATE OF EDWARD P. McCORMACK FEBRUARY 9, 1945.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. KEOGH, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 844] The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 844) for the relief of John P. Hayes and the estate of Edward P. McCormack, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. A similar bill was favorably reported by this committee and passed the House in the Seventy-eighth Congress, but no action taken in the Senate before final adjournment of Congress. The facts will be found fully set forth in House Report No. 1346, Seventy-eighth Congress, which is appended hereto and made a part of this report. [H. Rept. No. 1346, 78th Cong., 2d sess.] The purpose of the proposed legislation is to authorize the Comptroller General to credit the account of John P. Hayes, postmaster at Albany, N. Y., the sum of $5,685.53; and to credit the account of the estate of Edward P. McCormack, former postmaster at Albany, N. Y., the sum of $5,189.87. The sureties of the former postmaster and the postmaster at Albany, N. Y., shall be released from any liability to refund to the United States the whole or any part of such sums. STATEMENT OF FACTS It appears that George Koutzaroff, a clerk in the Albany post office under Mr. McCormack and Mr. Hayes embezzled the sum of $16,176.97, of which $9,436.99 was embezzled during the term of Mr. McCormack as acting postmaster and postmaster. After collections made by the chief inspector from Koutzaroff's sureties and his retirement money, the amount of $5,189.87 still remained unpaid. This is the amount which is charged against the estate of Edward P. McCormack, former postmaster. The sum of $5,685.53 is charged to John P. Hayes, postmaster. The Postmaster General feels that there was negligence on the part of the claimants. However, neither Mr. Hayes nor Mr. McCormack received any personal benefits from these embezzlements and it is the opinion of your committee that they should be relieved and that the sureties should be relieved from any liability to refund the United States the amounts set forth in this bill. Your committee recommend favorable consideration to the bill, as amended. . Reports from the office of the Postmaster General are appended hereto and made a part of this report. Hon. DAN R. McGEHEE, Chairman, Committee on Claims, POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., February 7, 1944. House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. MCGEHEE: Reference is made to your request for a report upon H. R. 3388, a bill for the relief of John P. Hayes, postmaster at Albany, N. Y. The terms of Mr. Hayes as acting postmaster and later as postmaster covered the period from April 16, 1940, to October 22, 1942. During this time large sums of money deposited for postage were embezzled by George Koutzaroff, a former clerk in the Albany post office. The total amount embezzled by him was $16,176.97, of which $6,027.08 was embezzled during the terms of Mr. Hayes as acting postmaster and postmaster. The latter sum is greater than the amount of the bonds of Koutzaroff's sureties. After collections made by the chief inspector from Koutzaroff's sureties and his retirement money, the amount stated in the bill, $5,685.53 still remains unpaid. The embezzlements of Koutzaroff were made possible because of lax supervision in the Albany post office. Under the two-division plan, which has been in effect at Albany since 1929, the employees accepting mailings of nonmetered permit matter are not permitted to accept funds in payment of postage thereon. Nevertheless, Koutzaroff frequently accepted both mailings and money, embezzling the latter. While various supervisors at the Albany post office were partly responsible for the lax supervision, the postmaster was the official finally responsible, and under section 245, Postal Laws and Regulations, shall be charged with and held accountable for the postage which he has neglected to collect, the same as if he had collected it. While it is our belief that negligence upon the part of this claimant facilitated the embezzlement of George Koutzaroff, nevertheless we would have no objection to the enactment of this bill should it be the judgment of Congress that the liability assessed against this claimant constitutes too heavy a penalty for his failure to exercise proper care. It has been ascertained from the Bureau of the Budget that this report is in accord with the program of the President. Very truly yours, Hon. DAN R. MCGEHEE, Chairman, Committee on Claims, FRANK C. WAlker, POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., February 15, 1944. House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. MCGEHEE: Reference is made to your request for a report upon H. R. 3478, a bill for the relief of the estate of Edward P. McCormack, former postmaster at Albany, N. Y. The terms of Mr. McCormack as acting postmaster and later as postmaster, covered the period from December 11, 1935, to April 15, 1940. During this time large sums of money deposited for postage were embezzled by George Koutzaroff, a former clerk in the Albany post office. The total amount embezzled by him was $16.176.97, of which $9,436.99 was embezzled during the terms of Mr. McCormack as acting postmaster and postmaster. The latter sum is greater than the amount of bonds of Koutzaroff's sureties. After collections made by the chief inspector from Koutzaroff's sureties and his retirement money, the amount stated in the bill, $5,189.87, still remains unpaid. The embezzlements of Koutzaroff were made possible because of lax supervision in the Albany post office. Under the two-division plan, which has been in effect at Albany since 1929, the employees accepting mailings of nonmetered permit matter are not permitted to accept funds in payment of postage thereon. Nevertheless, Koutzaroff frequently accepted both mailings and money, embezzling the latter. While various supervisors at the Albany post office were partly responsible for the lax supervision, the postmaster was the official finally responsible, and under section 245, Postal Laws and Regulations, shall be charged with and held accountable for the postage which he has neglected to collect, the same as if he had collected it. While it is our belief that negligence upon the part of Mr. McCormack facilitated the embezzlement of George Koutzaroff, nevertheless we would have no objection to the enactment of this bill should it be the judgment of Congress that the liability assessed against the estate of Mr. McCormack constitutes too heavy a penalty for his failure to exercise proper care. It has been ascertained from the Bureau of the Budget that this report is in accord with the program of the President. Very truly yours, FRANK C. WALKER, Postmaster General. AFFIDAVIT OF WILLIAM G. VANCOTT STATE OF NEW YORK, County of Albany, ss: I, William G. VanCott, assistant postmaster, Albany, N. Y., post office, do hereby swear that the following statements are true: That I have been employed in the Albany, N. Y., post office, since August 1, 1892, and since August 29, 1911, have been assistant postmaster. That George Koutzaroff was employed in the Albany, N. Y., post office, as regular clerk, being assigned to duty in the superintendent of mails' office on second-class and permit mail matters; That in 1942 post-office inspectors found that he had embezzled Government funds during the period from 1933 to 1942 in the amount of $16,176.97, during the respective terms as postmasters, of Pearla S. Kling, Edward P. McCormack, and John P. Hayes; That said former clerk George Koutzaroff was convicted of said embezzlement in Federal court in the northern district of New York and is now serving sentence therefor in Federal penitentiary. WILLIAM G. VANCOTT. AGNES D. BUCHANAN, Notary Public. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 22d day of October 1943. [SEAL] My commission expires March 30, 1944. UNITED STATES POST OFFICE, I, Patrick J. Nolan, superintendent of mails, post office, Albany, N. Y., certify that to my knowledge, Mr. George Koutzaroff was employed as a postoffice clerk in the office of the superintendent of mails, Albany, N. Y., during the period of April 1932 to the fall of 1942. Among other duties which were assigned to him, was the computation of matter mailed at second-class rates of postage, and third-class matter, mailed without stamps affixed, and the entering of these computations and moneys collected in the ledgers. In October 1942, he was apprehended by postal inspectors, and later pleaded guilty in Federal court at Albany, N. Y., of making fraudulent entries and embezzling postal funds, to the extent of $16,176.97. He was sentenced to the Federal prison at Lewisburg, Pa., where I understand he is confined at the present time. The embezzlements were understood to have taken place during the years 1933 up to the period when he was apprehended in 1942, in the terms of Postmasters Kling, McCormack, and Hayes. STATE OF NEW YORK, PATRICK J. NOLAN, Superintendent of Mails, Post Office, Albany, N. Y. County of Albany, 88: On this 22d day of October 1943, in the year 1943, before me, the subscriber, personally appeared same person described in and who executed the foregoing instrument, and he acknowledged to me that he executed the same. [SEAL] My commission expires March 30, 1944. AGNES D. BUCHANAN, STATE OF NEW YORK, AFFIDAVIT OF THOMAS J. MCCONNELL County of Albany, ss: I, Thomas J. McConnell, senior assistant superintendent of mails, Albany, N. Y., post office, do hereby swear that the following statements are true: That I have been employed in the Albany, N. Y., post office since June 20, 1921, and since August 1, 1941, have been senior assistant superintendent of mails; That George Koutzaroff was employed in the Albany, N. Y., post office as regular clerk, assigned to second-class and permit-mail matters in the superintendent of mails' office; That it was found by post-office inspectors in 1942 that he had embezzled Government funds during the period from 1933 to 1942 in the amount of $16,176.97; That he was convicted of said embezzlement and is serving sentence therefor in Federal penitentiary. THOMAS J. MCCONNELL. AGNES D. BUCHANAN, Notary Public. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 22d day of October 1943. [SEAL] My commission expires March 30, 1944. UNITED STATES POST OFFICE, I, Henry W. Clas, assistant superintendent of mails, post office, Albany, N. Y., certify that to my knowledge Mr. George Koutzaroff was employed as a post office clerk in the office of the superintendent of mails, Albany, N. Y., during the period of April 1932 to the fall of 1942. Among other duties which were assigned to him was the computation of matter mailed at second-class rates of postage, and third-class matter, mailed without stamps affixed, and the entering of these computations and moneys collected in the ledgers. In October 1942, he was apprehended by postal inspectors, and later pleaded guilty in Federal court at Albany, N. Y., of making fraudulent entries and embezzling postal funds, to the extent of $16,176.97. He was sentenced to the Federal prison at Lewisburg, Pa., where I understand he is confined at the present time. The embezzlements were understood to have taken place during the years 1933 up to the period when he was apprehended in 1942, in the terms of Postmasters Kling, McCormack, and Hayes. HENRY W. CLAS, Assistant Superintendent of Mails, Subscribed and sworn to before me this 22d day of October 1943. AGNES D. BUCHANAN, Notary Public. My commission expires March 30, 1944. O MRS. LUTHER S. SYKES FEBRUARY 9, 1945.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. McGEHEE, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 845] The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 845) for the relief of Mrs. Luther S. Sykes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. A similar bill was favorably reported by this committee in the Seventy-eighth Congress, but was objected to and recommitted to this committee. The facts will be found fully set forth in House Report No. 1788, Seventy-eighth Congress, which is appended hereto and made a part of this report. [H. Rept. No. 1788, 78th Cong., 2d sess.] The purpose of the proposed legislation is to appropriate the sum of $4,900 to Mrs. Luther S. Sykes, of Dade County, Fla., in full settlement of all claims against the United States as compensation for the death of her husband, Luther Sexton Sykes, who died as the result of injuries sustained by him when he was struck by a United States Navy station wagon at the naval air base, Opa Locka, Fla., on January 30, 1941. STATEMENT OF FACTS The only witness to this accident was Mr. T. L. Drawdy, who makes the following statement: "While hauling fill at the Navy air base job at Opa Locka on January 30 about 8:10 a. m. I was driving my employer's truck on the road leading from LeJeune Road to the hangars; I was approaching a curve in this road when a station wagon belonging to the United States Navy passed me on my left, just before I got to this curve. I was going about 18 or 20 miles an hour; as this station wagon passed me it was going 35 or 40 miles an hour, and evidently could not negotiate the curve and went off on the right shoulder of the road. I know this because I saw the marks in the sand after the accident. The station wagon stopped, when I got up to it the left wheels were just on the edge of the pavement and there was a man lying about 18 feet to the right of the road and the driver |