By the Associated Press
Wilmington, N.C., Feb. 1—The report of the grand jury on charges preferred against Lieutenant Governor W.B. Cooper, Thomas E. Cooper and Clyde Lassiter growing out of the failure of the Commercial National Bank of Wilmington will be made before Judge Henry G. Connor in United States district court here tomorrow morning. The Coopers were officers and Lassiter was a patron of the bank.
Court will convene at 10 o’clock tomorrow morning with the report of the grand jury as the only business before it, and, if indictments are brough in, trial of the defendants will begin Monday afternoon.
Noah W. Cooper of Nashville, Tenn., a brother of the lieutenant governor and Thomas E. Cooper, arrived here this afternoon, but expects to leave Washington tomorrow, according to Thomas E. Cooper.
The grand jury marked time today while awaiting the return of Judge Connor from his home at Wilson, where he was called by the death of his wife. The jurors met as scheduled at noon but were at once dismissed until tomorrow morning by the district attorney. When the remaining witnesses were dismissed yesterday, the impression prevailed that the jury had reached a decision, but Mr. Tucker did not admit until this morning that the report was ready.
Charges on which indictments against the Coopers were asked by the district attorney include conspiracy to defraud embezzlement, misapplication of funds and false entry on the books of the defunct bank. Lassiter was charged with aiding and abetting the misapplication of funds. The maximum penalty for these offenses is five years imprisonment, or payment of a fine of $5,000, or both.
From the front page of the Durham Morning Herald, Saturday, Feb. 2, 1924
No comments:
Post a Comment