Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 57, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 March 1919 — PROMINENT BENTON MAN INDICTED FOR FRAUD [ARTICLE]

PROMINENT BENTON MAN INDICTED FOR FRAUD

Wallace Evans, twice treasurer of Benton county, and one of its prominent business men for years, was arrested last week on a grand jury indictment charging him with making false affidavits in a gravel road case. Evans & VanNatta let the contract, which they had bid in, to a sub-contractor and in making the final claims for the money Mr. Evans signed the sworn statements as to the work being done properly. The county became suspicious and expert engineers were called in and the road was found to ibe short of the proper specifications by an amount exceeding SB,OOO. We understand that there is no claim on Evans’ part that the road was properly built, but his plea is that he left the work to the sub-con-tractor and had no real knowledge of the facts in the case.—Brook Reporter.