Show A Merry Merry- Go Round ROund o-ROund Ohio i Profits on Salary t i j I Kickback Racket j 3 n By Drew Pearson WASHINGTON While WASHINGTON While exposing th padded pay rolls of G 0 O P sin Parnell Thomas of New Jersey and Demo Dem Democrat Democrat 7 crat Victor Wickersham of Oklahoma Oklahoma- have overlooked another quiet in the congressional kickback circle He is Congressman Walter Valter Brehm Republican Republican Re Re Re- Ret t j publican of Millersville 0 O who has bee been n performing some lucrative sleight hand hand of with his office pay roll which the voter are entitled to know about j For three years Brehm carried an el ell derly deny lady Mrs Irs Clara on Uncle Sams Sam's pay roll requiring her to kick bac bac back F approximately one-half one her salary to hi him I Then when she broke her arne arm at the ag agaj J of 72 she was summarily Jy dismissed an ana C Clater l later the con congressman's ressman's son was hired hi hiher her place What secret salary arrangements arrange arrange- 1 ments exist between father and son cannot cannot can can- not be ascertained t Paid aid h by Taxpayers What Taxpayers What many vote voters 3 do not realize is that salaries paid to a congressman's staff are not paid by h m but by all the taxpayers They are paid paid for the thc purpose of helping helping- the congress congressman man handle the affairs of his constituents c answer mail and attend to different different- r problems put up to him by the people back home whom he represents I ITo To handle these matters each member member mem mem- ber ben of congress is given government money money to pay a large office staff And if he di diverts diverts diverts di- di verts this money to his own pocket it is Jin J s sin in effect cheating the government and the the- taxpayers This was why Parnell Thomas 1 was sent to jail and why Congressman 3 1 Wickersham of Oklahoma is being gated by the F FBI B I. I 1 Mrs Kicks Kick Back Congress Back Congress Congressman man Brehm on the other hand approached Mrs 1 in January 1915 and asked if she would like to work in his office for fork a month with ith the understanding that she kick back the balance of her Salar salary i ito to him Mrs was vas from Brehm's district back in Ohio so he felt such an arrangement would be safe She was was' was then working for the treasury but since fr r rhe he offered her a little more than she was waSE i making and since she did not realize that kickbacks were illegal she accepted r Mrs began work ork on Jan 10 I 1945 as a secondary clerk at a purported salary of a month On this total amount she paid a withhold withholding ng tax as well as a regular income tax However she shet kept only the agreed returning th the rest to Brehm i Sometimes she put this kickback money in an envelope after cashing her hercheck hercheck hercheck check from the taxpayers and delivered it directly to Brehm Sometimes the en envelope was delivered by a son Ray Soli- Soli day an of the interstate cons com com commerce commerce merce commission or a daughter also working in in- in Washington On one occasion occa occasion occa sion Mrs Irs transmitted the kickback by registered letter Didn't Get Raise Raise Raise-In In July 1946 Mrs salar salary was hiked to a month a net of after the with withholding withholding holding tax though she continued to re receive ref only returning the remainder to her boss In other words the spurious raise also went into Brehm's pocket 11 This arrangement continued until Mrs left the pay roll on Jan 31 1948 1918 four months after breaking her arm during during dur dur- ing a visit in Ohio Copyright 1950 Bell Syndicate Inc 1 |