State v. White

Defendant, a bookkeeper for a farmers’ cooperative, appeals a 16-count conviction of embezzlement. She worked for Inland Farmers, Inc., which maintained both a store and feed department in Spokane. Because it bought feed and sold farm supplies, frequently to or from the same individuals through more or less interchangeable departments, Inland Farmers’ bookkeeping system—to a layman, at least—would appear quite complicated.

A special audit for the year 1965 by a certified public accountant revealed that $18,000 in accounts payable had been withheld from the accounting figures. When the…