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Show Rep. Thomas Drops Plea of Innocence WASHINGTON, Nov. JO l Rep. J. Parnell Thomas (R N. J.) Wednesday withdrew his plea of not guilty to charges of pay roll padding and threw himself en the mercy of the court. The M-year-old legislator changed hia plea to one of nolo contendere. That means he doea not contest the ' government's charges. With this startling development. Judge Alexander M. Holtsoff dismissed dis-missed a charge against Miss Helen Campbell, former secretary to Thomas. She waa accused of conspiring with Thomas to defraud de-fraud the government through padding of the lawmaker's office pay roll. Holtsoff said that, since Mias Campbell seemed to heve acted merely as an employe of Thomas, he would dlamias the , charges against her. John R. Fi tape trick, lawyer for Miss Campbell, hed contended at the outset of the trial on Monday that every act of Mias Campbell was under "compulsion" from Thomas due to their employe-employer relationship. - . . Fltzpa trick told the court then that It was true that Mtse Campbell Camp-bell had arranged for a niece, Myra Midklff, and her maid, Ar-nette Ar-nette Minor, to go on Thomas pay roll. The government contended that neither ever did any real work; that their salary checks were deposited to Miss Campbell's account Jn a bank here, and that Misa Campbell In turn transferred funds to Thomas' bank account st Allendale. N. J. Thomas' change of pleacame when the government waa ready to put Mias Midkiff and Miss Minor on the stand. |