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Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace

Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace: Arizona

in chronological order

  David King Udall (1851-1938) — of St. Johns, Apache County, Ariz. Born in St. Louis, Mo., September 7, 1851. Member of Arizona territorial legislature, 1899. Mormon. Indicted in 1884 on charges of polygamy and unlawful cohabitation; not convicted because his second wife Ida could not be found to testify against him. Convicted in 1885 of perjury in connection with a land claim, and sentenced to three years in prison. On December 12, 1885, he received a "full and unconditional pardon" from President Grover Cleveland, and was released from prison. Died, as a result of an accidental fall and myocardial insufficiency, in St. Johns, Apache County, Ariz., February 18, 1938 (age 86 years, 164 days). Interment at St. Johns Cemetery, St. Johns, Ariz.
  Relatives: Son of Eliza (King) Udall and David Udall; brother of Mary Ann Udall (who married William Thomas Stewart (1853-1935)); married, February 1, 1875, to Eliza Luella Stewart (sister of William Thomas Stewart (1853-1935)); married, May 25, 1882, to Ida Frances Hunt (granddaughter of Jefferson Hunt); married, April 9, 1903, to Mary Ann (Linton) Morgan (widow of John Hamilton Morgan); father of John Hunt Udall, Levi Stewart Udall, Jesse Addison Udall and Don Taylor Udall; grandfather of John Nicholas Udall, Stewart Lee Udall, Morris King Udall and Lee Kenyon Udall; great-grandfather of Milan Dale Smith Jr., Thomas Stewart Udall, Mark E. Udall and Gordon Harold Smith.
  Political family: Udall family of Arizona.
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Charles E. MacMillin (1888-1941) — of Pinal County, Ariz. Born in Marengo, Iowa County, Iowa, January 21, 1888. Democrat. Pharmacist; served in the U.S. Army during World War I; Speaker of the Arizona State House of Representatives, 1925. Member, American Legion. Convicted of forgery in 1934; sentenced to prison. Died March 2, 1941 (age 53 years, 40 days). Burial location unknown.
Richard G. Kleindienst Richard Gordon Kleindienst (1923-2000) — also known as Richard G. Kleindienst — of Phoenix, Maricopa County, Ariz. Born in Winslow, Navajo County, Ariz., August 5, 1923. Republican. Served in the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II; lawyer; member of Arizona state house of representatives, 1953-54; Arizona Republican state chair, 1956-60, 1962-63; member of Republican National Committee from Arizona, 1956-60, 1962-63; delegate to Republican National Convention from Arizona, 1960, 1964; candidate for Governor of Arizona, 1964; U.S. Attorney General, 1972-73. Episcopalian. Member, American Bar Association; Elks; American Legion; Veterans of Foreign Wars. Pleaded guilty in 1974 to failing to testify fully in Senate investigation of favoritism toward ITT Corporation; the sentence was suspended. Tried and found not guilty of perjury in 1981, but his license to practice law was suspended for a year. Died, of lung cancer, in Prescott, Yavapai County, Ariz., February 3, 2000 (age 76 years, 182 days). Interment somewhere in Phoenix, Ariz.
  Relatives: Son of Alfred Kleindienst.
  See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile
  Books by Richard Kleindienst: Justice: The Memoirs of Attorney General Richard Kleindienst (1985)
  Image source: Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
  Evan Mecham (1924-2008) — of Ajo, Pima County, Ariz.; Glendale, Maricopa County, Ariz. Born in Duchesne, Duchesne County, Utah, May 12, 1924. Republican. Served in the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II; automobile dealer; newspaper publisher; candidate for Arizona state house of representatives, 1952; member of Arizona state senate, 1960-62; candidate for U.S. Senator from Arizona, 1962 (Republican), 1992 (Independent); Governor of Arizona, 1987-88; defeated, 1964, 1974, 1978, 1982. Mormon. Member, John Birch Society. Indicted in 1988 on six felony counts of perjury and filing a false campaign report, specifically of failing to report a $350,000 loan to his campaign by Barry Wolfson, a real estate developer; later acquitted of these charges. Impeached by the Arizona House of Representatives on February 5, 1988, on charges of obstructing justice and illegally lending state money to his business; convicted and removed from office by the Arizona Senate on April 4, 1988. A recall election was scheduled against him, but it was cancelled by the Arizona Supreme Court. Died, from complications of Alzheimer's disease, in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Ariz., February 22, 2008 (age 83 years, 286 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Married 1945 to Florence Lambert.
  See also National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
  John Fife Symington III (b. 1945) — also known as Fife Symington III — of Arizona. Born in New York, New York County, N.Y., August 12, 1945. Republican. Served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War; Governor of Arizona, 1991-97; resigned 1997. Episcopalian. Convicted on seven counts of bank fraud in federal court, September 3, 1997; forced to resign as governor; sentenced to prison and fined in February 1998; his conviction was overturned on appeal in June 1999; pardoned by President Bill Clinton in 2001. Still living as of 2017.
  Relatives: Son of John Fife Symington Jr. and Martha Howard (Frick) Symington; great-grandson of Henry Clay Frick; first cousin once removed of William Stuart Symington; second cousin of James Wadsworth Symington.
  Political family: Wadsworth-Whitney-Symington family of New York (subset of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
  Joseph Michael Joe Arpaio (b. 1932) — also known as Joe Arpaio; "America's Toughest Sheriff" — of Fountain Hills, Maricopa County, Ariz. Born in Springfield, Hampden County, Mass., June 14, 1932. Republican. Police officer; Maricopa County Sheriff, 1993-2016; Republican Presidential Elector for Arizona, 2000 (voted for George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney); convicted in July 2017 on federal contempt charges, over his violation of court orders regarding racial profiling; pardoned in August 2017 by President Donald Trump. Italian ancestry. Still living as of 2018.
  See also Wikipedia article — Encyclopedia of American Loons
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