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Mr. HAYS. Mrs. Dargans, I think the purpose of that question is one I am sure if you say you don't have any knowledge, you don't, but it is not meant to be an unfriendly question. It might be perfectly legitimate if the chairman were out of town and something needed to be signed and someone was sent to get it. Did you ever hear of that? The WITNESS. I don't recall.

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diely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully

duties office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

By Mr. TAYLER :

Q. If a staff member had been dispatched on such an errand, would you know or be aware of it, either before or after it happened? A. Not necessarily.

Q. You are familiar with Mr. Powell's signature, are you not?
A. Yes.

Q. I am going to show you a clerk-hire allowance form dated January 4, 1965, designating Y. Marjorie Flores for a change in salary as a member of his clerk-hire staff which purports to bear the signature of Mr. Powell. Would you examine that and tell us whether or not you can identify that as Mr. Powell's signature.

A. No. This is not Mr. Powell's signature.

Q. How do you know that?

A. It is my signature-it is my-I signed this for Mr. Powell. Q. Did you sign that particular form in question there at his direction?

A. Oh, yes.

Q. Did you have a discussion with him before you completed the form and signed his name to it and forwarded it to the Clerk of the House?

A. Yes. I would have to or else I would not have done it.

Mr. TAYLER. May that be marked "Dargans Exhibit 6" and admitted into the record at the appropriate place, Mr. Chairman?

Mr. HAYS. Without objection, it will be admitted at the appropriate place.

(The above-referred-to document was marked "Dargans Exhibit 6" and received in evidence.)

Mr. TAYLER. Could I have the Flores paychecks, please?

By Mr. TAYLER :

Q. Mrs. Dargans, I am going to hand you a series of checks, I believe there are 19 of them, marked as "Gray Exhibit No. 2," which are drawn on the Treasury to the order of Y. Marjorie Flores for various dates starting in Januray 1965 through July 1966. And I ask you to look in the reverse side of each of the copies of those checks and ask you if you can identify the handwriting on the endorsement. First of all, would you-for the benefit of the members of the committee would you read what the handwriting says on the back of the checks?

Mr. HAYS. Just on any one of them, I think.

Mr.TAYLER. Yes.

The WITNESS (reading):

Y. Marjorie Flores, Adam C. Powell.

By Mr. TAYLER:

Q. Now, those checks indicate they were deposited

A. You have the handwriting. The other is typed in:

For deposit only to the account of Honorable Adam C. Powell, Y. Marjorie Flores, Adam C. Powell.

Q. Do

you

know who endorsed Miss Flores' name on those checks and who endorsed Mr. Powell's signature on there?

A. Yes.

Q. Who was it?

A. I did.

Q. Would you examine all of them. Does your answer cover all of the checks that are contained in that exhibit? I see that you have separated them into, is it two groups?

A. Yes.

Q. So that we won't burden the record, which is the smaller group? Is that the group that you endorsed?

A. No. This is the group that I did not endorse.

Q. So I take it that you signed Miss Flores' name and Mr. Powell's name on all of the others?

A. Yes.

Q. Now would you give the dates of the ones that you didn't sign? A. A check dated December 20, 1965, November 30, 1965-as close as I can see, August 31, 1965.

Q. What was the first one again?

A. December 20.

Q. Do you recognize the handwriting on those three checks, on the endorsement?

A. I am not an expert, as you know, but it appears to be Chairman Powell's handwriting.

Q. Now, with respect to the balance of the checks that you say you signed on the reverse side

Mr. HAYS. Could I see those three checks?

By Mr. TAYLER (continuing):

Q. Would you tell us the circumstances under which you made the endorsements on those checks?

A. Yes. At the instructions of Chairman Powell who would send the check over to me, I would endorse them and deposit them to his

account.

Q. Now, when did you receive for the first time such an instruction from Chairman Powell?

A. I am sorry, I don't remember, it has been so long ago.

Q. Did you get the instruction prior to the 89th Congress? Does it go back before the 89th Congress convened?

A. I believe so; yes.

Q. And was the instruction ever renewed or did you simply follow his orders?

A. He would send the check to me each month, or with the exception of the checks that you have, whenever I got a check this was my instructions. I got the envelope with the check in it, "Max, deposit" or "Deposit" and it was sent over to me and this is what I did.

Q. Did you ever have any conversation with him about why he was depositing Miss Flores' paychecks in his account?

A. Miss Flores was Mrs. Powell.

Q. Yes.

A. Mr. Powell was my boss.

Q. I am asking you if you had any conversations with him about it. A. No, sir.

Mr. O'CONNOR. May I inject something here?

Br. Mr. O'CONNOR:

Q. I understood you to say you had a power of attorney from Mr. Powell.

A. Yes, sir.

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Q. Did you have a power of attorney from Miss Flores?
A. No.

Q. Did you have a power of attorney from Miss Huff?
A. No.

Q. Your endorsements of those checks then were at Congressman Powell's direction?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Not through any official authority that you had?

A. No.

Q. Did you have anything in writing from Mr. Powell instructing you to endorse the checks?

A. No.

By Mr. TAYLER:

Q. I believe you mentioned that you would get a little note with each check?

A. He would say deposit. Mr. O'Connor said endorse. But the note would say deposit and I would have to endorse it to deposit.

By Mr. O'CONNOR:

Q. You have a power of attorney on Mr. Powell's account at the Sergeant at Arms Bank?

A. Yes, I do.

Q. Do you have a power of attorney on any of his other bank accounts?

A. I have a power of attorney, period. I don't use them on any other bank account.

Q. Have you ever drawn any checks to Mrs. Flores from the Sergeant at Årms Bank?

A. I don't remember.

Q. Within the last 2 years you have no recollection?

A. I don't-no, I don't remember.

Q. You think you would have recalled if you ever exercised that power of attorney in favor of Miss Flores?

A. You are saying I would recall if I had drawn a check on Mr. Powell's account to Miss Flores?

Q. Yes.

A. I write a lot of checks for Mr. Powell. I really do not remember whether I have written any to Miss Flores in the past 2 years. Q. Could the committee assume from that answer that you have not?

A. I couldn't say; I would have to check the checkbook to find

out.

Q. Would you mind going back and checking the checkbook and reporting back to the committee by memorandum as to whether you have?

A. Since January 3, 1965?

Q. 1965, yes.

A. May I report this to you, Mr. Tayler, at the same time that I report

Q. Could you give us a little memorandum on this so that we can include it in the record?

A. Sure.

Q. Fine. We wouldn't want to be in the position of misquoting you. Mr. HAYS. Any further questions?

By Mr. TAYLER:

Q. Have you ever had any conversations with Mr. Powell about whether or not Mrs. Flores was receiving any of the funds represented by those checks?

A. No.

Q. Have you had any conversations with Miss Flores about whether she was getting any of those funds?

A. No.

Q. When was the last time you saw Miss Flores?

A. I saw her she was here

Mr. HAYS. Let me ask a supplemental question. When she was up here in August

The WITNESS. August.

Mr. HAYS (continuing). Complaining to the press, did you see her? The WITNESS. Yes; I saw her. When she was here I saw her briefly. By Mr. TAYLER:

Q. Are you acquainted with Mr. Powell's clerk-hire staff in his congressional office?

A. Yes; I am.

Q. Do you have frequent contact with the people over there from time to time?

A. No.

Q. Do you go to that office very often?

A. No. I am I find myself so busy around the corner, I don't have the opportunity.

Q. Do you know whether Miss Flores has been doing any work in that office during the 89th Congress?

A. No; I do not.

Q. If she was, you don't know about it; is that right?

A. No.

Q. Are you acquainted with a Malcolm La Place?

A. Yes.

Q. And what position did he hold on the committee staff?

A. He was a member of the staff of the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on the War on Poverty.

Q. Did he travel in connection with his duties?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you ever purchase airline tickets on your credit card for him? A. I may well have been asked to.

Q. Let me direct your attention specifically to January of this year. The records show that Mr. LaPlace made a trip to the west coast, California, from January 12 to January 26. Do you recall him going there at that time?

A. No. I wouldn't know. The poverty people traveled very extensively and I wouldn't know who went where at what time.

Q. I take it then that you didn't have any contact with these people when they were out on their trips; they wouldn't call in and report to you?

A. No.

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