During the annual Ghost Walk at Woodlawn Cemetery, sponsored by the Chemung County Historical Society in 2019, the gravesite of Frank E. Bundy was a stop.
His ghost spoke to the visitors, “It’s been 84 years since my death, and I still have a bad reputation in this city.It’s not fair … at the tail end of the 19th century, I was a rising star. My father was a grocer, but I had ambition.I was going places.I was a businessman, entrepreneur, politicianand popular man-about-town.The 1890’s were my decade. Then it all came crashing down around me, and it’s just not fair.”
The Elmira Daily Gazette of Feb. 5, 1900 reported,“The Democratic city convention which was held at the city hall Saturday evening, was one of the most enthusiastic and harmonious ever held in this city … The mention of the name of City Chamberlain (Treasurer) Frank E. Bundy as the nominee for mayor of our beautiful citywas greeted with tremendous applause … in fact it looked for a time as if the delegates and their friends would never get through cheering.Mr. Bundy’s nomination was unanimous.He is a young man of the most sterling business principles.”
A little over a month later, on March 28,the paper noted,“Mr. Bundy presents the appearance of a man who has just risen from an attack of the most severe fever of many months duration.He is a wrecked man … As Mr. Bundy walked to his seat on the prisoner’s bench several people remarked that he looked like a condemned man walking to the death chair.”
What happened?
His ghost was not sure when the trouble started.He had not wanted to join the family business.
“I dabbled in several business ventures: manufacturing, real estate, insurance, publishing, even groceries.The problem is, in order to start your own business, you need some start-up capital.To get that, you need rich friends.”
Frank became a man-about-town.He was selected Eminent Commander of the Elmira Encampment No. 51 Knights of St. John and Malta;president of the KanaweolaCycle Club; and was active in a variety of other organizations.
In 1898, the Frank E. Bundy Manufacturing Co. was formed, with Bundy as treasurer. The Daily Gazette of Oct. 27reported the company would be conducted on a large scale.It “made acetylene gas lamps of all kinds such as bicycle lamps, carriage and hack lamps,table lamps, street lamps, physician lamps, fire department lamps and engineers torches.”
Bundy entertained on a high scale and maintained a high cost of living.
At age 31, he was appointed assistant city chamberlain for 1892 and '93.He became city chamberlain in 1894, serving until 1900.He soon began reaping the benefits. His ghost explains it best:“I swear I never set out to embezzle.I couldn’t help it.I was just too easy.
“Here’s how I did it.People would pay their property taxes, and I would mark all the payments down in my personal ledger, noting which payments I’d taken for myself. Generally, the ones who had paid in cash.In another ledger, the official ledger, I would put only some of them down as being paid and write off my take as unpaid taxes. Sometimes to make up the difference, I’d issue a second tax bill to the city’s biggest companies, and they’d just pay it as a matter of course.Every year, the city’s wealthiest set would put up bonds to help cover any tax shortfalls, so no one ever really felt the impact.
"And then it all went wrong.Fred Fox, treasurer from the Lackawanna Railroad, noticed that his company was being double billed for taxes.He brought it to the City Council, and the jig was up.”
The Council began an investigation that very afternoon.“I confessed to my friend and lawyer, former mayor Fred Collin … I'dembezzled $84,495 in city funds. That’s about $2.5 million today.”
The April 17, 1900Daily Gazette reported that after confessing his guilt to his attorney, Bundy “went home, and it was reported that he is under the care of Dr. Theron A. Wales, who was compelled to administer morphine to his patient.”
Bundy would be indicted on two counts, “grand larceny in the first degree” and “misappropriation of city funds and the falsification of accounts” (Daily Gazette, April 26).
Bundy was convicted and sentenced to six and a half years in the Auburn prison. According to the Auburn Advertizer, “a determined effort was made by friends of Bundy to get him placed in an easy position in the prison.Nearly every man in the force of prison employers who ever lived in Elmira has been approached by people from that city on behalf of Bundy.For several days past, Elmirans have beenin the city using their influence to get Bundy in a soft place.”He was assigned to the shop.
After serving his sentence in Auburn, Bundy relocated to New York City.He reappeared in the newspaper (Star-Gazette,Dec. 27, 1906) when it was reported that Bundy “requested an Elmira attorney to bring an action in the courts to force his wife to turn over to his possession certain personal property which she is alleged to be keeping.”
His family had stood by him throughout his trial and prison term, but apparently upon his release, there had been little contact.
A Gazette reporter reached out to Mrs. Bundy, but“she declined to discuss the prospective action, though it was apparent that she was not surprised.”
Frank E. Bundy died on Jan. 3, 1935 after an extended illness.He was 75.
The voice of Frank’s ghost in the Ghost Walk was Rachel Dworkin, archivist at the Chemung County Historical Museum.
Jim Hare is a former history teacher and mayor of the City of Elmira. His column appears monthly in the Star-Gazette.
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