Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace: Alcohol (original) (raw)
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
| | 
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 ousterlawsuit was filed against him in 1905 over his refusal to enforce the state's liquor prohibition law; fined$1,000 for contemptby 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. | |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| | 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 ousteras mayor in 1915-16, based on chargesthat 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. | |
| | 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; indictedwith others in 1897 over a scheme to defraudthe 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; indictedin 1907 on 37 counts of bribery,extortion, and libel, but acquitted; shotand wounded by hidden snipers on two occasions in 1908; on February 22, 1909, he was shotand 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 indictedfor the murderof saloon keeper William Gabel, who had provided evidence against Looney to federal agents; arrestedin Belen, N.M., in 1924, and later convictedof conspiracy and murder;sentencedto 5 years in prisonfor conspiracy and 14 years for murder; served 8 1/2 years.Irishancestry. Died, of tuberculosis, in a sanitariumat El Paso, El Paso County, Tex., 1942(age about 76 years). Burial location unknown. | |
| | John Wesley Langley (1868-1932) — also known as John W. Langley — of Prestonsburg, Floyd County, Ky.; Pikeville, Pike County, Ky. Born in Floyd County, Ky., January 14, 1868. Republican. Member of Kentucky state house of representatives, 1886-90; delegate to Republican National Convention from Kentucky, 1888,1900,1916;U.S. Representative from Kentucky 10th District, 1907-26; defeated, 1896; resigned 1926.Convictedin 1924 of conspiracy to transport and sell liquor re-elected while his appeal was pending, but resignedfrom Congress in 1926; sentencedto a term in federal prison. Granted clemency by President Calvin Coolidge. Died, of pneumonia, in Pikeville, Pike County, Ky., January 17, 1932 (age 64 years, 3 days). Interment at Langley Cemetery, Middle Creek, Ky. | |
| | 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.Convictedof 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. | |
| | Magne Alfred Michaelson (1878-1949) — also known as M. Alfred Michaelson; M. A. Michaelson — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Kristiansand, Norway,September 7, 1878. Republican. Delegate to Illinois state constitutional convention 25th District, 1920-22; U.S. Representative from Illinois 7th District, 1921-31; defeated, 1918, 1932.Indictedin 1928 on charges of violating the National Prohibition Act. Died in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., October 26, 1949 (age 71 years, 49 days). Interment at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Chicago, Ill. | |
| | 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 chargedin federal court with conspiracy to violate liquor prohibition laws; convictedin January 1930, and sentencedto 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. | |
| | Edward James Dennis (1877-1930) — also known as E. J. Dennis — of Berkeley County, S.C. Born in Macbeth, Berkeley County, S.C., September 23, 1877.Lawyer; member of South Carolina state house of representatives from Berkeley County, 1900-04, 1916-18; member of South Carolina state senate from Berkeley County, 1904-06, 1910-14, 1918-22, 1926-30; died in office 1930.Methodist.Triedand acquitted in 1929 for conspiracy to violate the alcohol prohibition law.Shotand mortally wounded by Webster Lee 'Sporty' Thornley, on the street in front of the post office in Moncks Corner, S.C., and died the next day in a hospitalat Charleston, Charleston County, S.C., July 25, 1930 (age 52 years, 305 days). Thornley was tried and convicted of murder; Glenn D. McKnight, who allegedly hired Thornley to murder Dennis, was tried and not convicted. Interment at St. John's Baptist Churchyard, Pinopolis, S.C. 
Relatives: Son of Edward James Dennis (1844-1904) and Adelaide (Markley) Dennis; married to Ella Mae Coney; father of Rembert Coney Dennis. Political family: Dennis family of Macbeth and Pinopolis, South Carolina. Epitaph: "Father - Leader - Statesman." See also Find-A-Grave memorial | |
| | Manuel Herrick (1876-1952) — also known as Emanuel Herrick — of Perry, Noble County, Okla.; Plumas County, Calif. Born in Perry Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, September 20, 1876. Republican. U.S. Representative from Oklahoma 8th District, 1921-23; defeated, 1918 (Independent), 1922 (primary), 1924 (primary), 1926 (primary), 1928 (primary), 1930 (primary); on August 6, 1930, he was caughtby prohibition agents near Great Mills, Maryland, while filling and fueling an illegal still; he fled the scene, but was soon apprehended; he claimed he was an undercover agent, but that was not taken seriously; arraignedin federal court on charges of manufacturing and possessing alcohol; in October, 1930, he was triedand convicted;sentencedto six months in jail; candidate for U.S. Representative from California, 1948. While on a trip to his mining claim; he died, probably from exposure, during a Sierra blizzard, near Quincy, Plumas County, Calif., January 11, 1952 (age 75 years, 113 days). His body was found in a snowbank, six weeks later.Cremated; ashes interred at Quincy Cemetery, Quincy, Calif. | |
| 
| Julius S. Berg (1895-1938) — of Bronx, Bronx County, N.Y. Born in New York, New York County, N.Y., July 15, 1895. Democrat. Lawyer; served in the U.S. Army during World War I; injured in combat and lost a leg; member of New York state assembly from Bronx County 3rd District, 1923-30; member ofNew York state senate 22nd District, 1931-38; died in office 1938.Jewish. Member, American Legion; Jewish War Veterans; Veterans of Foreign Wars; Disabled American Veterans; Freemasons;Elks; Knights of Pythias.Indictedon chargesof receiving money for his aid in procuring liquor licenses and arranging for concessions at the New York World's Fair; that same day, he killed himself by gunshot, in his law office, Manhattan, New York County, N.Y., July 20, 1938 (age 43 years, 5 days). Interment at Mt. Ararat Cemetery, East Farmingdale, Long Island, N.Y. |
| | William H. McKeighan — of Flint, Genesee County, Mich. Republican. Political boss; mayor of Flint, Mich., 1915-16, 1922-23, 1927-28, 1931-33; defeated, 1923; candidate for Governor of Michigan, 1932; delegate to Republican National Convention from Michigan, 1940; political ally of Frank D. McKay; chargedin 1945, along with McKay, with conspiracy to violate state liquor laws; tried; the judge directed a verdict of not guilty. Burial location unknown. | |
| 
| Frank D. McKay (1883-1965) — of Grand Rapids, Kent County, Mich. Born in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Mich., November 4, 1883. Republican. Financier; political boss who dominated Republican politics in Michigan for years; delegate to Republican National Convention from Michigan, 1920,1928,1932(alternate), 1936,1940,1944;Michigan state treasurer, 1925-30; investigatedby a grand jury in 1931 over his handling of state funds while Treasurer; member of Republican National Committee from Michigan, 1940-44; subject of three federal grand jury investigationsin 1940 over alleged fraud,extortionand kickbacks;indictedin 1944 for briberyof state legislators; hired a Purple Gang figure to murderthe star witness, State Sen. Warren G. Hooper, and the case collapsed; chargedin 1945, along with William McKeighan, with conspiracy to violate state liquor laws;triedin 1946; the judge directed a verdict of not guilty. Died in Miami Beach, Dade County (now Miami-Dade County), Fla., January 12, 1965 (age 81 years, 69 days). Entombed at Greenwood Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Mich. Relatives: Son of James D. McKay and Ellen (Zimmerman) McKay; married, May 31, 1906, to Agnes Christine Hermansen. Cross-reference: Edward N. Barnard — William Green See also Find-A-Grave memorial Image source: Michigan Manual 1927 |
**The Political Graveyard**is a web site about U.S. political history and cemeteries. Founded in 1996, it is the Internet's most comprehensive free source for American political biography, listing 320,919 politicians, living and dead.
The coverage of this site includes (1) the President, Vice President, members of Congress, elected state and territorial officeholders in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories; and the chief elected official, typically the mayor, of qualifying municipalities; (2) candidates at election, including primaries, for any of the above; (3) all federal judges and all state appellate judges; (4) certain federal officials, including the federal cabinet, diplomatic chiefs of mission, consuls, U.S. district attorneys, collectors of customs and internal revenue, members of major federal commissions; and political appointee (pre-1969) postmasters of qualifying communities; (5) state and national political party officials, including delegates, alternate delegates, and other participants in national party nominating conventions; (6) Americans who served as "honorary" consuls for other nations before 1950. Note: municipalities or communities "qualify", for Political Graveyard purposes, if they have at least half a million person-years of history, inclusive of predecessor, successor, and merged entities.
The listings are incomplete; development of the database is a continually ongoing project.
Information on this page — and on all other pages of this site — is believed to be accurate, but is notguaranteed. Users are advised to check with other sources before relying on any information here.
The official URL for this page is: https://politicalgraveyard.com/trouble/alcohol-crimes.html.
Links to this or any other Political Graveyard page are welcome, but specific page addresses may sometimes change as the site develops.
If you are searching for a specific named individual, try thealphabetical index of politicians.
Copyright notices: (1) Facts are not subject to copyright; see Feist v. Rural Telephone. (2) Politician portraits displayed on this site are 70-pixel-wide monochrome thumbnail images, which I believe to constitute fair use under applicable copyright law. Where possible, each image is linked to its online source. However, requests from owners of copyrighted images to delete them from this site are honored. (3) Original material, programming, selection and arrangement are © 1996-2023 Lawrence Kestenbaum. (4) This work is also licensed for free non-commercial re-use, with attribution, under a Creative Commons License.
Site information: The Political Graveyard is created and maintained by Lawrence Kestenbaum, who is solely responsible for its structure and content. — The mailing address is The Political Graveyard, P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106. — This site is hosted by HDL. — The Political Graveyard opened on July 1, 1996; the last full revision was done onMarch 8, 2023.