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    "label": "[Operations of Billie Sol Estes, Report Prepared by the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, October 1964]",
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    "title": "[Operations of Billie Sol Estes, Report Prepared by the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, October 1964]",
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    "ocrText": "114\nOPERATIONS OF BILLIE SOL ESTES\nI have been giving an awful lot of thought to the above\naccount and without a doubt Mr. Estes is one great pro-\nmoter. * * *\nWe realize that it would be a terrific proposition to try to\nget any such information together for us before the February\n19, 1961, renewal of any bonds we might have, but I think\nwe are on a considerable amount of liability for a very small\npremium rate and that we should probably become adamant\neven though the agency in this has a terrific amount of\npremiums coming from that operation.\nI get a bit jittery on this business and of course I am not\ntoo worried about it as long as they have the excellent man\nin charge of the grain operations which they do have but we\nhave no way of keeping constant track whether or not the\nfellow is there and operating the operations. I wish\nyou\nwould give this a thought and discuss it with me when we\nare talking or write me a note.\nOn December 22, 1960, in accordance with Pitts' suggestion,\nL. L. Tarbell, of Aetna's Hartford office, notified Dallas that-\n*\n* I feel we should insist upon being furnished with\naudited CPA statements sometime during the year 1961\nand you should notify your agent that unless these state-\nments are forthcoming we will not continue on this business\nbeyond February of 1962.\nDespite its concern about Estes, Aetna renewed its $700,000 bond\ncoverage for an additional year, effective from February 24, 1961.\nContinuation of Bond Without Certified Audit\nIn August 1961 Aetna was informed of rumors of possible irregular-\nities in Billie Sol Estes' business dealings involving the South Plains\nGrain Co., a State-licensed warehouse at Levelland, Tex. However,\nthe rumors were explained by the M. O. Andrews Co. as being due\nprimarily to personal animosity between Estes and E. H. Patterson,\na former associate in the South Plains venture.\nLater in 1961, Aetna reminded the M. O. Andrews agency that it\nwould require a certified audit before renewing Estes' bond. On\nOctober 31, 1961, Claude Dickerson of the Andrews agency sent\nAetna's Dallas office a letter making the following comments:\nThe only way a bonding company would be called upon to\npay a claim under a grain warehouse bond is because of loss of\nquantity or loss of quality. We think a thorough discussion\nof both of these items might be helpful in your understanding\nof this particular grain warehouse business.\n*\n*\n*\nThis warehouseman has selected a capable, experienced\nman, whose integrity has never been questioned (Wayne\nCooper) as general superintendent of all grain storage\noperations. Mr. Cooper has complete control of hiring all\nemployees, including local warehouse managers. All the\nlocal managers selected by Mr. Cooper are men of long\nexperience in the storage of grain. Warehouse receipts are\nissued only by Mr. Cooper or certain designated employees"
}