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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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Charles F. Shilling —
of Decatur, Macon
County, Ill.
Mayor
of Decatur, Ill., 1901-04; Charged
with tolerating vice, including gambling, Sunday liquor sales,
slot machines, and immoral shows; tried in
1902 and acquitted.
Burial location unknown.
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William Warren Rose (1864-1931) —
also known as William W. Rose —
of Kansas City, Wyandotte
County, Kan.
Born in Oyster Bay, Nassau
County, Long Island, N.Y., March
12, 1864.
Architect;
mayor
of Kansas City, Kan., 1905-06, 1906; defeated, 1897 (Fusion),
1907 (Democratic); delegate to Democratic National Convention from
Kansas, 1908,
1920.
Member, Freemasons.
An ouster
lawsuit was filed against him in 1905 over his refusal to
enforce the state's liquor
prohibition law; fined
$1,000 for contempt
by the Kansas Supreme Court in 1907 for trying to hold office as
mayor.
Died May 4,
1931 (age 67 years, 53
days).
Interment at Woodlawn
Cemetery, Kansas City, Kan.
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John Looney (1865-1942) —
also known as Patrick John Looney —
of Rock Island, Rock
Island County, Ill.
Born in Ottawa, La Salle
County, Ill., October
5, 1865.
Lawyer;
newspaper
publisher; indicted
with others in 1897 over a scheme to defraud
the city of Rock Island in connection with a storm drain construction
project; convicted,
but the verdict was overturned on appeal; candidate for Illinois
state house of representatives, 1900; created and led a crime
syndicate in northwest Illinois, with interests in
gambling, prostitution, extortion,
and eventually bootlegging
and automobile
theft; indicted
in 1907 on 37 counts of bribery,
extortion,
and libel,
but acquitted; shot
and wounded by hidden snipers on two occasions in 1908; on February
22, 1909, he was shot
and wounded in a gunfight with business rival W. W. Wilmerton; on
March 22, 1912, after publishing
personal attacks on Rock Island Mayor Henry
M. Schriver, he was arrested,
brought to the police station, and severely
beaten by the mayor himself; subsequent rioting killed two men
and injured nine others; resumed control of the Rock Island rackets
in 1921; in 1922, he was indicted
for the murder
of saloon keeper William Gabel, who had provided evidence against
Looney to federal agents; arrested
in Belen, N.M., in 1924, and later convicted
of conspiracy and murder;
sentenced
to 5 years in prison
for conspiracy and 14 years for murder;
served 8 1/2 years.
Irish
ancestry.
Died, of tuberculosis,
in a sanitarium
at El Paso, El Paso
County, Tex., 1942
(age about
76 years).
Burial location unknown.
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Hiram Charles Gill (1866-1919) —
also known as Hiram C. Gill —
of Seattle, King
County, Wash.
Born July 23,
1866.
Republican. Mayor
of Seattle, Wash., 1910-11, 1914-18; recalled 1911; defeated,
1912.
Recalled
from office as mayor in 1911 over his permissive attitude
toward gambling and prostitution.
Died January
7, 1919 (age 52 years, 168
days).
Interment at Evergreen-Washelli
Memorial Park, Seattle, Wash.
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Edward Hull Crump (1874-1954) —
also known as Edward H. Crump; Ed Crump; "Boss
Crump" —
of Memphis, Shelby
County, Tenn.
Born near Holly Springs, Marshall
County, Miss., October
2, 1874.
Democrat. Head, E. H. Crump Buggy
Manufacturing Co.; president, E. H. Crump & Co. (involved in banking,
real
estate, and insurance);
mayor
of Memphis, Tenn., 1910-16, 1940; resigned 1916; proceedings were
brought for his ouster
as mayor in 1915-16, based on charges
that he failed to enforce state liquor
laws; when the ouster suit was upheld by the state supreme court,
he resigned;
Shelby
County Treasurer, 1917-23; delegate to Democratic National
Convention from Tennessee, 1924,
1928,
1932,
1936,
1940,
1944;
U.S.
Representative from Tennessee, 1931-35 (10th District 1931-33,
9th District 1933-35); member of Democratic
National Committee from Tennessee, 1936-45.
Died in Memphis, Shelby
County, Tenn., October
16, 1954 (age 80 years, 14
days).
Interment at Elmwood
Cemetery, Memphis, Tenn.
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Thomas A. McWhinney (c.1863-1933) —
of Lawrence, Nassau
County, Long Island, N.Y.; Atlantic Beach, Nassau
County, Long Island, N.Y.
Born in Brooklyn, Kings
County, N.Y., about 1863.
Republican. Served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War;
postmaster at Lawrence,
N.Y., 1901; automobile
dealer; member of New York
state assembly, 1915-23 (Nassau County 1915-17, Nassau County 1st
District 1918-23); indicted
in 1920 on charges
that he and others had tipped off gamblers to planned police
raids; tried
and found not guilty.
Member, Elks; Royal
Arcanum; United
Spanish War Veterans; Foresters;
Redmen;
Order
of Heptasophs; Order
of United American Mechanics.
Suffered a stroke,
and died, in Atlantic Beach, Nassau
County, Long Island, N.Y., November
25, 1933 (age about 70
years).
Burial location unknown.
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Relatives:
Married to Lidie Wright. |
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Robert V. Mundy (b. 1854) —
of Bay City, Bay
County, Mich.
Born in New Jersey, 1854.
Hardware
business; mayor
of Bay City, Mich., 1917-21.
In March, 1921, a grand jury charged
him with misfeasance
in office and neglect of duty, in his tolerance of vice
such as illegal liquor sales, prostitution, and gambling in Bay City,
and called for the common council to remove him from office. Mundy
disputed the grand jury's authority to make this kind of report, and
on his motion, it was stricken from the court record. Nonetheless,
his organization was defeated in the election shortly afterward.
Burial location unknown.
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Harry M. Schriver —
of Rock Island, Rock
Island County, Ill.
Mayor
of Rock Island, Ill., 1911-15, 1919-23; on March 22, 1912, angry
over personal attacks published by newspaper publisher and crime
syndicate boss John
Looney, he had Looney brought to the Rock Island police station
and gave him a severe
beating; during a riot on March 27, a sniper shot
at the mayor in his office; convicted
in 1923 on vice protection conspiracy charges.
Burial location unknown.
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Peter C. Jezewski (1883-1960) —
of Buffalo, Erie
County, N.Y.; Hamtramck, Wayne
County, Mich.
Born in New York, November
22, 1883.
Republican. Pharmacist;
member of New York
state assembly from Erie County 6th District, 1915-16; mayor
of Hamtramck, Mich., 1922-26, 1932-34; defeated, 1926, 1934.
Convicted
of bootlegging
and other vice crimes about 1926, and spent a year in
Leavenworth federal prison.
Died in Hamtramck, Wayne
County, Mich., December
1, 1960 (age 77 years, 9
days).
Interment at Mt.
Olivet Cemetery, Detroit, Mich.
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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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Raleigh P. Hale (1883-1931) —
of East Chicago, Lake
County, Ind.
Born in Columbia, Boone
County, Mo., June 6,
1883.
Republican. Served in the U.S. Army during World War I; physician;
mayor
of East Chicago, Ind., 1926-30; resigned 1930; in 1929, accused
of protecting vice as mayor, he and 18 others, including the
East Chicago police chief and the reputed business agent for gangster
Al Capone were charged
in federal court with conspiracy to violate liquor
prohibition laws; convicted
in January 1930, and sentenced
to two years in prison; on appeal, a new trial was ordered.
Member, American
Legion.
Died suddenly, from dilated
cardiomyopathy, in East Chicago, Lake
County, Ind., December
1, 1931 (age 48 years, 178
days).
Interment at Oak
Hill Cemetery, Hammond, Ind.
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Rudolph Gabriel Tenerowicz (1890-1963) —
also known as Rudolph G. Tenerowicz —
of Hamtramck, Wayne
County, Mich.
Born in Budapest, Hungary,
of Polish parents, June 14,
1890.
Physician;
served in the U.S. Army during World War I; mayor
of Hamtramck, Mich., 1928-32, 1936-39; defeated, 1932; resigned
1932; defeated, 1934; U.S.
Representative from Michigan 1st District, 1939-43; defeated,
1942 (Democratic primary), 1946 (Republican primary), 1948
(Republican), 1950 (Republican), 1952 (Republican), 1954 (Republican).
Polish
ancestry.
Tried
and convicted
on vice conspiracy charges
in 1932; freed from prison when pardoned
by Gov. William
A. Comstock.
Died in Hamtramck, Wayne
County, Mich., August
31, 1963 (age 73 years, 78
days).
Interment at Arlington
National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
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Samuel Davis Wilson (1881-1939) —
also known as S. Davis Wilson —
of Philadelphia, Philadelphia
County, Pa.
Born in Boston, Suffolk
County, Mass., August
31, 1881.
Mayor
of Philadelphia, Pa., 1936-39; died in office 1939; candidate in
Democratic primary for U.S.
Senator from Pennsylvania, 1938; twice indicted
by a grand jury in 1938-39 on charges
related to vice and gambling in Philadelphia; never tried.
Died, from cerebral
thrombosis and hypertension,
in Philadelphia, Philadelphia
County, Pa., August
19, 1939 (age 57 years, 353
days).
Cremated.
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Frank L. Shaw (1877-1958) —
of Los Angeles, Los
Angeles County, Calif.
Born near Warwick, Ontario,
February
1, 1877.
Republican. Mayor
of Los Angeles, Calif., 1933-38; recalled 1938; defeated, 1941; a
recall
campaign against him in 1938 charged that he was associated with
unspecified "racketeers"
and "underworld
characters", and that his administration tolerated vice in
the city; meanwhile, Harry J. Raymond, a private investigator nearly
killed in a January 1938 bombing, charged,
in a civil lawsuit for damages, that the mayor had been part of a
plot by gambling and vice interests to murder
him.
Died, from cancer,
in California Hospital,
Los Angeles, Los Angeles
County, Calif., January
24, 1958 (age 80 years, 357
days).
Interment at Inglewood
Park Cemetery, Inglewood, Calif.
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Walter L. Kanar (1901-1958) —
of Hamtramck, Wayne
County, Mich.
Born in Warsaw, Poland,
1901.
Republican. Member of Michigan
state house of representatives from Wayne County 3rd District,
1931-32; defeated, 1932; mayor
of Hamtramck, Mich., 1939-42.
Indicted,
but not convicted, on vice conspiracy charges
while he was mayor.
Died February
4, 1958 (age about 56
years).
Interment at Mt.
Olivet Cemetery, Detroit, Mich.
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William T. Michaelson —
of Cliffside Park, Bergen
County, N.J.
Mayor
of Cliffside Park, N.J., 1950-51; indicted
in 1951, and again in 1953, on charges
of failure to enforce gambling laws; the charges were dropped
in 1955.
Presumed deceased.
Burial location unknown.
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Charles A. Heft —
of Fort Lee, Bergen
County, N.J.
Republican. Mayor
of Fort Lee, N.J., 1940-51; defeated, 1951; indicted
in 1951, along with three other city officials, on charges
of failing to enforce gambling laws; the charges were dropped
in 1955.
Presumed deceased.
Burial location unknown.
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Joseph P. Luna —
of Lodi, Bergen
County, N.J.
Democrat. Mayor of
Lodi, N.J., 1944-51; defeated, 1951; indicted
in 1951 on charges
of failure to enforce gambling laws; the charges were dropped
in 1955; recalled
from office as borough councilman in 1960.
Presumed deceased.
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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Edward C. Peirce (c.1895-1955) —
of New Bedford, Bristol
County, Mass.
Born about 1895.
Democrat. Member of Massachusetts
state senate, 1930; delegate to Democratic National Convention
from Massachusetts, 1944,
1952;
mayor
of New Bedford, Mass., 1952-53; convicted
in 1953 on charges of conspiracy to protect gambling, and sentenced
to four years in prison;
served twenty months.
Died, of cancer,
in a nursing
home at New Bedford, Bristol
County, Mass., January
31, 1955 (age about 60
years).
Burial location unknown.
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Thomas W. Flatley (born c.1888) —
of Erie, Erie
County, Pa.
Born about 1888.
Democrat. Mayor of
Erie, Pa., 1952-54; resigned 1954; arrested
in October 1954 and charged
with taking part in a gambling racket; admitted
to receiving
payments and pleaded
guilty; sentenced
to one to two years in jail,
and fined
$1,000.
Burial location unknown.
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William W. Voisine (1897-1959) —
also known as Wilfred William Voisine —
of Ecorse, Wayne
County, Mich.
Born in Michigan, November
20, 1897.
Steel
executive; village
president of Ecorse, Michigan, 1936-37; members of a steelworker
terrorist group, the Black Legion, repeatedly attempted
to kill him in 1936; Jesse Pettijohn and Lawrence Madden were
later convicted of conspiracy to commit murder; mayor of
Ecorse, Mich., 1948-49, 1954-57.
French
Canadian ancestry.
Convicted
in April, 1950, of falsely
testifying to a Congressional committee in 1948 that he had
received only the regular price for steel; sentenced
to two years in federal prison.
In October, 1956, a warrant
was issued for his arrest,
along with several members of the city council, for knowingly
permitting illegal gambling in Ecorse, in return for bribes and
gratuities; Gov. G.
Mennen Williams initiated removal
proceedings against the officials.
Died in 1959
(age about
61 years).
Burial location unknown.
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Relatives: Son
of Abel Voisine and Eugenia Jennie (Blais) Voisine; married, August
1, 1918, to Helen Pearl O'Brien. |
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John T. Gregorio (1928-2013) —
also known as "The Lion of Linden" —
of Linden, Union
County, N.J.
Born in Staten Island, Richmond
County, N.Y., February
6, 1928.
Democrat. Florist;
mayor
of Linden, N.J., 1968-83, 1991-2006; defeated, 2006; shot
at in his car, in March 1968; two days later, his house was firebombed;
member of New
Jersey state house of assembly 21st District, 1974-77; indicted
in April 1975 on perjury
and fraud charges,
over his purchase of a vacant lot from Elizabethtown Gas Company,
while conspiring to falsify
documents to conceal
his involvement as buyer; later charged
with extorting
a $25,000 kickback
from a building contractor on a high school project; following jury
selection, the charges were dismissed in February 1976; member of New
Jersey state senate, 1978-83 (21st District 1978-81, 20th
District 1982-83); indicted
in September 1981 on charges
of income
tax evasion, concealing
his interest in two "go-go bars", and for failing to enforce
state alcohol laws; convicted
in December 1982 of conspiracy to commit official
misconduct, but found not guilty on other charges.
Died, from leukemia,
in Trinitas Hospital,
Elizabeth, Union
County, N.J., October
23, 2013 (age 85 years, 259
days).
Burial location unknown.
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John J. Peluso (b. 1923) —
also known as "Johnny TV" —
of Newport, Campbell
County, Ky.
Born June 1,
1923.
Mayor
of Newport, Ky., 1964-68, 1976-80; defeated, 1971, 1983.
Indicted
in 1973 on charges
of possession
of stolen bonds; later dismissed. Convicted
in 1983 of promoting gambling. Indicted
in 1984 on federal charges
of bribery
and conspiracy; pleaded
guilty to perjury
in 1985; sentenced
to ten years in prison;
released in 1989.
Presumed deceased.
Burial location unknown.
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Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua (1923-2012) —
also known as Anthony Bevilacqua —
of Philadelphia, Philadelphia
County, Pa.; Wynnewood, Montgomery
County, Pa.
Born in Brooklyn, Kings
County, N.Y., June 17,
1923.
Republican. Catholic
priest; bishop of Pittsburgh, 1983-88; archbishop of
Philadelphia, 1988-2003; cardinal from 1991; offered prayer, Republican National Convention,
2000 ; accused
in 2003-04 of protecting priests who were suspected of sexually
abusing children; later, it was found
that he had ordered a subordinate to destroy
a list of 35 abusive priests, and that he had punished
a priest who had raised concerns about possible abuse.
Catholic.
Italian
ancestry.
Died in Wynnewood, Montgomery
County, Pa., January
31, 2012 (age 88 years, 228
days).
Entombed at Cathedral
Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia, Pa.
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