J. Arthur Kemp Absents Himself From Home—Embezzles SIO,OOO Of His Office Funds
Item
- Title
-
J. Arthur Kemp Absents Himself
From Home—Embezzles SIO,OOO
Of His Office Funds - Source
- Montgomery County Sentinel (MD)
- Date
- 7/12/07
- page
- 3
- Identifier
- https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83016209/1907-07-12/ed-1/?sp=3&q=embezzlement&st=text&r=-0.031,-0.055,0.462,0.552,0
- Crime
- Theft
- Subject
- Embezzelment
- Race of alleged offender
- White
- Gender of alleged offender
- Male alleged offender
- Stage of the Legal System
- No arrest made, the alleged offender left his home and had not been seen since
- Location
- In state/ out of state, Rockville MD/DC
- Length of story
- 673
- Description
-
J. Arthur Kemp Absents Himself
From Home—Embezzles SIO,OOO
Of His Office Funds
Mr. J. Arthur Kemp left his home, about
one mile west of Rockville, on Wednesday
morning of last week for his office in Wash-
ington City as was his daily custom, except
ing on that morning he left here on a car
probably two hours earlier. lie has not
been seen by his family since. Whether he
is dead or alive no one knows. Some surmise
one and 9ome the other. About seventeen
years ago Mr. Kemp located in this county
with his family upon tho James Ben
son farm, which he purchased and then
later purchased the old Charles Spates farm
adjoining, making in all a tract of land of
three hundred acres, which he improved
and cultivated with much skill. He wa9
an excellent neighbor and citizen, and his
popular manners gained for him the respect
and confidence of all whom he met. He
left behind him a wife and a son, the latter
of whom is now filling a government office
at Washington, and his wife’s aged father
and mother, who are mourning his absence.
in his office at Washington, where he
performed the duties of chief clerk and pro-
perty clerk of the Metropolitan Police De-
partment, he remaned but a short time after
reaching there. His unusual absence crea-
ted a suspicion on the part of his superior
officer, Major Sylvester. Ilia book accounts
were investigated at once and he was found
to be a defaulter. He had been entrusted
with several funds, which enabled him to
embezzle a large sum of money. Tholatost
total amount of embezzlement reported from
there is SIO,OOO. He had filled the position
for twenty-five years, and was held in high
esteem for his efficiency and honesty. The
office paid a salary of $2,500.
On Saturday last, upon the part of many
creditors of this county and Washington
City, a large number of attachments were
issued from the Court; here against him as an
absconding debtor and placed in the sheriff's
hand for execution. An appraisement of
the property on the same day valued his eu
lire holdings at $20,000.
ills entire indebtedness is estimated to ex-
ceed the appraisement by several thousand
dollars and to be $23,000, which includes
several farm mortgages of $5,000.
The cause of his financial collapse is vari-
ously accounted for by the public. Somo
attribute it to speculation of several kinds
and others to dissipation. Yet no definite
cause has been assigned and is as mysterious
as his whereabouts.
Major Sylvester, Superintendent of Police,
has sent to every free-delivery city aud to
the principal police stations in every large
city in the United States, cards containing j
a picture and a minute description of Kemp. i
Copies have also been sent to cities in Mex-
ico, South America, Canada and in Europe, i
At headquarters the opinion is expressed
that it will take a long search to locate i
Kemp, as his knowledge of police methods
will probably enable him to elude detec-
tives. Kemp evidently had little money
with him when he left, possibly less than
SSOO, as if he had any considerable sum, it
la believed, he would have met the payment
of $350 due Mrs. Flynn, a policeman’s wid
ow, and deferred bis departure or attempted
to make up the shortage. It was Kemp’s
failure to keep an engagement with Mrs.
Flynn and pay her money due her as in
surancc from the policemen’s association
that led to the first knowledge that the chief
clerk was an embezzler. The investigation
of his accounts develops the fact that specu-
lation has been indulged in by Kemp for five
or six years in the past.
At the instance of the attorneys of Mrs.
Mary W. Kemp the two farms of her bus
band, J. A. Kemp, are advertised in this
issue to be sold on the Gth of August next
by the law firm of Bouic Bouic, assignees-
