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See the trouble and
disgrace main page, as well as the FAQ and the Political
Graveyard privacy policy, for important explanations and
disclaimers.
in chronological order
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Edward T. Noland (d. 1926) —
of Jackson
County, Mo.
Democrat. Missouri
state treasurer, 1889-90; resigned 1890.
In March 1890, following reports of his drunkenness
and gambling, his accounts were investigated;
a shortage
of about $32,000 was discovered; suspended
from office as state treasurer, and resigned
a few days later; arrested
soon after, and charged with embezzlement;
tried in 1891, and ultimately convicted
and sentenced to two years in prison.
Died June 26,
1926.
Burial location unknown.
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Thomas Francis Grady (1853-1912) —
also known as Thomas F. Grady; Tom Grady;
"Silver-Tongued Grady" —
of New York, New York
County, N.Y.
Born in New York, New York
County, N.Y., November
29, 1853.
Democrat. Lawyer;
member of New York
state assembly from New York County 2nd District, 1877-79; member
of New
York state senate, 1882-83, 1889, 1896-1912 (6th District
1882-83, 1889, 14th District 1896-1912); died in office 1912;
Independent Democratic candidate for U.S.
Representative from New York 8th District, 1886; delegate to
Democratic National Convention from New York, 1896,
1900,
1904
(chair, Committee
on Rules and Order of Business; speaker).
Member, Tammany
Hall.
In 1883, then-Gov. Grover
Cleveland wrote to Tammany leader John
Kelly to request that Grady not be renominated to the State
Senate; Kelly complied with the Governor's request. In 1908, a
police raid on a poolroom revealed
betting slips showing that Grady had bet on a horse named
Azelina; this detail became a running joke in political cartoons
about Mr. Grady.
Died in 1912
(age about
58 years).
Burial location unknown.
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Image source:
New York Red Book 1907 |
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Frank Frankel (1886-1975) —
of Long Beach, Nassau
County, Long Island, N.Y.; Houston, Harris
County, Tex.; Beverly Hills, Los
Angeles County, Calif.
Born October
2, 1886.
Mayor
of Long Beach, N.Y., 1924, 1930-33; defeated, 1925 (Democratic
primary), 1925 (Republican), 1929 (Democratic primary); founder of
Long Beach Memorial Hospital
indicted
in September 1927 on charges
of maintaining a gambling place; the charges were later
dropped; in December 1929, his right to take office as mayor was
unsuccessfully challenged
by the Long Beach police chief, based on vote
fraud (for which many had been arrested and prosecuted) and the
expectation that Frankel would tolerate
gambling in the city; indicted
in January 1933 for fraud
over his transfer of $90,000 in city funds to the Long Beach Trust
Company, which subsequently closed; the indictment was dismissed in
February; indicted
again in May 1933, along with two city council members, over the
diversion of $750,000 of state and county tax revenue to city
projects; pleaded not guilty; no trial was held; the indictment was
dismissed in 1937; oil
producer.
Died, in a hospital
at Los Angeles, Los Angeles
County, Calif., June 12,
1975 (age 88 years, 253
days).
Interment somewhere
in Houston, Tex.
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Thomas Joseph O'Brien (1878-1964) —
also known as Thomas J. O'Brien; "Blind
Tom" —
of Chicago, Cook
County, Ill.
Born in Chicago, Cook
County, Ill., April
30, 1878.
Democrat. Accountant;
member of Illinois
state house of representatives, 1907-10, 1929-32; U.S.
Representative from Illinois 6th District, 1933-39, 1943-64; died
in office 1964; arrested
in a police raid on a gambling establishment, 1935; Cook
County Sheriff, 1939-42; delegate to Democratic National
Convention from Illinois, 1960.
Catholic.
Member, Knights
of Columbus.
Died in Bethesda, Montgomery
County, Md., April
14, 1964 (age 85 years, 350
days).
Interment at Queen
of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Ill.
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Lawrence J. Murray Jr. (1910-2000) —
of Haverstraw, Rockland
County, N.Y.; Pearl River, Rockland
County, N.Y.; Nyack, Rockland
County, N.Y.
Born in New York, June 20,
1910.
Democrat. Lawyer;
member of New York
state assembly from Rockland County, 1938-40; removed 1940; charged,
in January 1940, with embezzling
$49,102 from Miss May Dunnigan, his mentally incompetent law client
(also sister-in-law to U.S. Postmaster General James
A. Farley); the money was lost in gambling on horse races;
tried,
convicted
on all counts, and hence automatically disbarred
and removed from
office; sentenced
to five to ten years in prison;
his sentence was commuted in 1942; arrested
in 1952, along with other bookmakers, for illegally taking
bets.
Irish
ancestry.
Died March
15, 2000 (age 89 years, 269
days).
Burial location unknown.
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Relatives: Son
of Lawrence J. Murray and Emma (Brennan) Murray. |
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Edwin J. Szarzynski (born c.1907) —
of St.
Louis, Mo.
Born in East St. Louis, St. Clair
County, Ill., about 1907.
Republican. Credit
manager; charged
in 1937 with embezzlement
of $2,553 from his employer; pleaded
guilty to a reduced charge, and sentenced
to six months in the workhouse; served three and a half months; arrested
in 1942 in a raid on a gambling operation; fined
$15; dock
worker; candidate for Missouri
state senate 5th District, 1960.
Burial location unknown.
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Herman Methfessel (1900-1963) —
of Staten Island, Richmond
County, N.Y.; Miami, Dade County (now Miami-Dade
County), Fla.
Born in Manhattan, New York
County, N.Y., November
23, 1900.
Democrat. Newspaper
reporter; lawyer;
member of New York
state assembly from Richmond County 2nd District, 1935-38; Richmond
County District Attorney, 1948-51.
In September 1951, the New York State Crime Commission, investigating
rackets on the Staten Island waterfront, heard testimony from Mrs.
Anna Wentworth that she had seen District Attorney Methfessel in a
gambling house, which implied that he was protecting
vice; in response, he ordered her arrest and charged her with
perjury. At the request of the Crime Commission, citing abuse
of power, Gov. Thomas
E. Dewey superseded him from all cases related to the
investigation; in the meantime, he was defeated for re-election. In
1952, he and a subordinate were charged
with official
misconduct, but found not guilty.
Injured in a one-car
accident, and died the next day, in North Shore Hospital,
Miami, Dade County (now Miami-Dade
County), Fla., July 7,
1963 (age 62 years, 226
days).
Burial location unknown.
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Joseph E. Venuti (born c.1915) —
of Tuckahoe, Westchester
County, N.Y.
Born about 1915.
Democrat. Plumber;
candidate for U.S.
Representative from New York 27th District, 1944.
Italian
ancestry.
He and two others were indicted
in July 1951, and charged with conspiring to violate gambling
laws; the trial was delayed while he was hospitalized with a stomach
ailment; arrested
in his hospital bed and transferred to jail;
the other two co-defendants were tried separately and convicted;
later, the convictions were reversed, and the indictment of Mr.
Venuti was dismissed.
Presumed deceased.
Burial location unknown.
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Relatives: Son
of Joseph Venuti and Pauline Venuti. |
| | | Cross-reference: Milton
A. Gibbons |
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Milton A. Gibbons (born c.1900) —
of Tuckahoe, Westchester
County, N.Y.
Born about 1900.
Democrat. Police
officer; mayor
of Tuckahoe, N.Y., 1949-65; defeated (Republican), 1965; he and
two others, including Joseph
Venuti, were indicted
in July 1951, and charged with conspiring to violate gambling
laws; tried
and convicted;
sentenced
to three months in jail,
but released on bail a week later, pending appeal; in January 1953,
the appellate court unanimously reversed his conviction and dismissed
the indictment.; in 1962, he started a petition drive for a
Constitutional amendment to allow prayer in public schools.
Burial location unknown.
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Relatives:
Married to Elisa Cuyar. |
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William John Bennett (b. 1943) —
also known as Bill Bennett —
Born in Brooklyn, Kings
County, N.Y., July 3,
1943.
U.S.
Secretary of Education, 1985-88; director, U.S. Office of
National Drug Control Policy ("Drug Czar"), 1989-91; radio show
host; television
commentator.
Catholic.
Member, Kappa
Alpha Society.
In 2003, news media reported that Bennett had lost millions
gambling in Las Vegas, a minor scandal
in light of his advocacy for self-discipline and other virtues; he acknowledged
that he had done "too much gambling" and that it "set a bad example".
Still living as of 2010.
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