Toward a Return to Society, Mr. K. Commits Welfare Fraud
This episode of Toward a Return to Society follows a Mr. K., arrested for opening a fraudulent bank account to conceal funds when applying for Home Relief (welfare).
Mr. K. recounts being laid off from his job in public transit when he fails to pass an exam to drive a bus. Originally a trolley car driver for 21 years, he finds it difficult to acquire this new skill at age 55. He is unable to find a new job and, as a single Father with only $4200 in savings, he decides to move the money to the bank under a different name so that he can apply for Home Relief.
His daughter is taken into foster care and eventually cuts off all contact with him. "I didn't look for work no more, not for a long time. What for? Learn to do a job, and somebody come along and invent a machine to put you out of work? Everything was going to be done by electricity, sure I read it in the papers."
The police discover his bank book when they arrest him for getting into an argument with a police officer during an air raid drill.
Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection
WNYC archives id: 150489
Municipal archives id: LT3201
