When ever we needed additional manpower, on a pole line project, we would call the Union Hall and they would send out whatever type of help that we needed. On this particular occasion it was a Journeyman Lineman that we needed . I called the Hall and was advised that they had a good man that had just been released from prison, and they would appreciate it if we could use him. I guess that I must have been feeling sympathetic that day, because I told them to send him out.

When I visited the crew, a few days later, the new lineman came down from the pole that he had been working on, and as he came down I could see that he knew how to handle himself, on a pole. He thanked me for giving him a job, but he had a problem. I was sure that he had a problem, but what was this one?

He assured me that he had gotten himself straightened out and that he would like to have a steady job, with us, but his problem was that he did not have transportation to get to and from work, on his own. He said that he had located a used car that he could afford, but he needed $300.00 for a down payment. I took him to my bank, arranged for the loan and co-signed the note with him.

About two months later the bank called me to report that he had made no payments on the note and if he did not respond immediately they would expect me, as co-signer, to make restitution. I went out to where to crew was working and was told that they hadn’t seen him all of that week, and as far as I was able to find out, no one ever saw him after that.