The Treasurer’s Shadow
A local businessman on trial for graft testifies that he wasn't exploiting the city treasury, but merely acting as a 'friend' by borrowing city money at interest.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Fuhrman trial, entering its fifth day, saw the defendant take the stand to explain his web of financial transactions with City Treasurer Krug. Fuhrman, a real estate man, testified that he began buying city salary warrants to help the city pay its employees when the market was weak. As his involvement grew, he admitted to borrowing tens of thousands of dollars from the city treasury, using the warrants as collateral. He insisted these transactions were 'above board' and that he paid 6 percent interest to the treasury, believing he was simply doing for the city what local banks did. Under intense cross-examination, Fuhrman conceded he had probably drawn $60,000 at different times, though he maintained he never intended to act unlawfully. Fuhrman concluded his testimony by expressing regret: 'I think I made a mistake now in borrowing the money from Krug as city treasurer. If I had known then that there was a penalty for doing so I would not have borrowed it.'
“I think I made a mistake now in borrowing the money from Krug as city treasurer. If I had known then that there was a penalty for doing so I would not have borrowed it.”
This trial highlights the persistent Seattle anxiety over 'crony capitalism' and the intersection of private profit with municipal coffers. Much like today’s debates over public-private partnerships, the central conflict remains whether a 'market-maker' providing liquidity to the city is a savior or a parasite.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.