On or about May 24, 1935, an employee in the Placer County Treasurer’s Office discovered a mysterious letter from George West, Placer County Treasurer, who passed away the previous February. The letter was tucked under a piece of carpet in a safe in the Treasurer’s Office. The May 30, 1935, Auburn Journal referred to it as a “letter from the grave” and it described a discrepancy in funds West discovered. He believed the county treasury was short approximately $6,000. He called it a “leak” and blamed the merging of the Treasurer’s Office with the Tax Collector’s Office by the Board of Supervisors as the root cause.
West also blamed himself for not catching it sooner and was fearful to bring the discrepancy to anyone’s attention. He wrote the letter in failing health and with the knowledge that death was imminent. Soon after his death in February, his replacement, Sam Duton, reported a discrepancy of a little over $4,200.00 to the district attorney and the Board of Supervisors. His office was conducting a search for any sign of the missing money when the letter was discovered.
Three insurance companies eventually shared the burden of reimbursing the county and it is unclear if they tried to collect from the estate of George West.
When he was a young man, George West, who was born in Todd Valley, moved his family to Indian Springs, which was later renamed Westville for his family. They ran the Westville Hotel for several years. In 1911, he was elected Placer County Treasurer, a position he held until his death on Feb. 12, 1935. He is buried in the Old Auburn Cemetery and may be featured in an upcoming cemetery tour.
Photo: George West, c. 1932
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