People v. Stafford

YORK, J.

The defendant was convicted oh the first count of an indictment, which first count charged him with the embezzlement of certain corporation stocks and Liberty bonds, “all of the aggregate value of $686.00.” A motion for a new trial was made and denied, and the defendant has appealed from the order denying motion for a new trial, and from a judgment of conviction on the verdict.

Appellant contends that he was given authority to sell the stocks and bonds by the complaining witness by a letter or power of attorney executed by her, and he claims that having been so authorized he was acting within the scope of his authority when he sold the bonds, and, hence, that there could have been no unlawful conversion of the property by him. But unfortunately for his contention, the letter or power of attorney executed by the complaining witness authorized him to act

for her and for her use and benefit,

and the jury could have found, and undoubtedly did find, that he obtained the possession of the property dishonestly, and obtained the power of attorney dishonestly, and did not intend to dispose of the property for her or for her use and benefit, but for himself and for his own use and benefit.

Reduced to plain terms, appellant’s contention in effect is that because by this power of attorney he was authorized to sell the bonds and stocks, he could not be convicted of embezzling that property (which is the charge against him), even though he might have been guilty of embezzling the money obtained by selling that property. But the evidence was sufficient to warrant the jury in determining that the stocks and bonds had been entrusted to him for no further

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púrpose than that he might use them as collateral in borrowing money for use in a certain business; that he promised to return said stocks and bonds to the owner, Mrs. Meagher, when they had served that specific purpose; that he obtained the power of attorney by pretending that it was needed to enable him to use the stocks and bonds for said stated purpose; that instead of using the property for the purpose and in the manner authorized by the owner, defendant sold said property outright and decamped with the money. Under such facts, it cannot be maintained that there was not an embezzlement of the property entrusted to the defendant, or that the embezzlement, if any, must have been embezzlement of the money and not of the stocks and bonds. The transaction, the fraud, the crime, was single and inseparable, and included the very property which had been entrusted to the defendant. (Pen. Code, sec. 507.)