William Langer: breaking away

William Langer and his wife Lydia vote in the 1940 election (Source)

Often described as one of the most colorful characters in North Dakota politics, it would perhaps be more fitting to say that William Langer is one of the more colorful characters in United States political history as a whole. Throughout every step of his career, from state judicial offices to the U.S. Senate, Langer was dogged with accusations of overstepping his power and ignoring the rule of law. At the same time, he was an immensely popular figure credited with looking out for the interests of the downtrodden at the height of the Great Depression.

Langer was born on a farm in Everest Township, near Casselton, North Dakota, on September 30, 1886. He attended the local schools and graduated as valedictorian of Casselton High School's Class of 1904. He completed his studies in the law department of the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks in two years, graduating in 1906. Although he passed the bar exam in this year, the state did not allow people to begin practicing until they were 21 years old.

Rather than waiting out the extra time, Langer decided to travel to New York City to further his education at Columbia University. He again graduated at the top of his class in 1910 after serving as the class president. Despite an offer of employment at a New York firm, he decided to return to his home state. He was admitted to the bar in 1911 and began a practice in the city of Mandan, a neighbor to the capital of Bismarck.

After serving as assistant state's attorney of Morton County in 1914, Langer was appointed as state's attorney in the same year. He lost no time in aggressively pursuing a number of causes, namely enforcing North Dakota's ban on alcohol. He reportedly swore out 167 arrest warrants against liquor dealers and vice operators on his first day in office. He filed suit against the Northern Pacific Railway, charging them with underpaying their state taxes, and managed to recoup $1.25 million; similar suits were filed against Standard Oil and the Occident Elevator Company.

Langer also went after parents whose children were not abiding by the state's compulsory 16-year school attendance law. As a result, 800 parents received letters saying they were in violation of this statute because their children were not in class. In addition, Langer advocated for a number of improvements to the school system, including transportation for any students who lived more than two-and-a-half miles from their school and fire guards at the school buildings.

In pursuing justice, Langer's zeal sometimes extended outside the limits of the law. This would prove to be a persistent habit, one which would give his critics plenty of ammunition in later years. After easily winning election as North Dakota's attorney general in 1916, carrying every county in the state and earning 58,000 more votes than his nearest competitor, he continued his campaign against prostitution and bootleg liquor. On the evening of May 7, 1917, he made the questionable decision to have deputies take over the Northern Telephone Company in advance of a series of raids on vice dens. His rationale was that silencing the phone lines would prevent anyone from warning the targeted establishments. Tensions quickly arose between the lawmen and the telephone workers, and an attorney for the company was accused of pointing a gun at one of the deputies.

A number of charges were filed in the wake of the excitement. Langer and two deputies were charged with obstruction of justice and inciting a riot. The attorney, L.J. Palda, was charged with assault with the intent to kill. The cases eventually petered out, in part due to the entry of the United States into World War I. Langer would serve as the legal adviser for the Council of Defense during the war, and one of the deputies charged in the incident traveled overseas to assist in the assembly of tractors for the French government. The charges against Palda were dismissed, and Langer was tried and acquitted on the inciting a riot charge.

In the midst of this clamor, the Nonpartisan League—a faction of the Republican Party—declared its support for Langer's actions in a unanimously adopted resolution. Langer won re-election as attorney general in 1918, running on the Nonpartisan League ticket while endorsed by the Progressive Republicans. Among his other actions in office was the censure of 275 schools in the state for failing to display the American flag.

Despite his popularity, Langer was nearly ousted from office during his second term. He split from the Nonpartisan League in April of 1919, saying to party founder Arthur C. Townley, "You and your hirelings have lied to and are deceiving the farmers of North Dakota." In November, Langer and state auditor Carl Kositsky began distributing a magazine entitled The Red Flame, which described the NPL as being a Communist organization. A month later, as the NPL targeted the budgets of Langer and his allies while removing them from certain boards where they held power, a formal request to remove Langer from office alleged that he had "betrayed the farmers of this state" and tried to undermine banks friendly to farmers. The accusation also said he had described Governor Lynn Frazier and the state supreme court justices as "crooks and conspirators." An attempt in the legislature to impeach Langer fell short by a single vote.

On March 23,1920, Langer announced that he would seek the nomination for governor of North Dakota. He had the support of the Progressive Republicans as well as the Independent Voters Association, a bipartisan group opposed to NPL influence in state politics. After losing the Republican primary by fewer than 5,000 votes, Langer returned to private practice and moved his business to Bismarck. Although he later reconciled with the NPL, he lost an attempt to be nominated for attorney general in 1928.

In 1932, Langer was elected as governor of North Dakota on the NPL ticket. The incumbent Republican governor, George F. Shafer, made a bad misstep when he threw his support behind President Herbert Hoover. Although Hoover and Shafer shared the same political party, Shafer had also expressed his opposition to any government relief to alleviate the hardships of the Great Depression - a platform championed by Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt. Thousands of suffering North Dakota voters threw Shafer out of office, and the state (and an overwhelming electoral vote) went to Roosevelt in the presidential election.

When he took office in January of 1933, Langer sought to take whatever steps possible to counter the effects of the Great Depression in North Dakota. He cut state appropriations in every department except education and declared a moratorium on foreclosures, going so far as to call out the National Guard to stop sheriff's sales. In an effort to support farmers in the state, he declared an embargo on shipments of wheat and beef out of North Dakota until the prices rose to a satisfactory point. He again used the National Guard to support this action, which a federal court later declared unconstitutional.

Though these actions earned Langer high standing in the minds of the general populace, especially the farmers, they made him plenty of enemies elsewhere. The railroads, grain syndicates, and electricity companies were all irked that the governor had forced them to lower their rates. Langer was also an unabashed loyalist, clearing out several executive departments and replacing their employees with people who had supported him. He was a strong critic of the New Deal, accepting the federal relief effort but criticizing its programs as not doing enough to help the poor.

Divisions again developed in the NPL during Langer's first year in office, and the party's executive committee was soon at odds with the governor over the distribution of state patronage jobs. Because of this split, there would be rumors that Langer was the target of a conspiracy to oust him. In addition to his enemies in the NPL, it was suggested that Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes and federal relief administrator Harry Hopkins were eager to get Langer out of office. No matter what the origin of the investigation against him, Langer soon found himself in trouble over a fundraising scheme he had concocted.

After he became governor, Langer revived the Leader, an NPL newspaper which had folded in 1932, as a publication to represent both the party and his administration. Many farmers in the state were already paying a membership fee to be part of the NPL, and the reintroduction of the paper simply meant that they would get a subscription to the Leader as part of their dues. Langer caused more controversy when he began to ask the members of his administration who owed their jobs to his 1932 election to contribute five percent of their salaries toward a Leader subscription. By soliciting donations from people who were working in the state relief offices and receiving part of their salary from the United States government, the activity passed from a state matter to a federal one.

In the spring of 1934, Langer was indicted by a federal grand jury for "soliciting and collecting money for political purposes from federal employees and of conspiring to obstruct the orderly operation of an act of Congress." Eight others were indicted alongside him, including state highway commissioner Frank A. Vogel, relief secretary R.A. Kinzel, and Leader publisher Oscar Chaput.

Langer and his supporters denounced the indictment as being "politically inspired," as the charges happened to arrive just a few months before the primary for the 1934 election. The defense pointed out that one grand jury had declined to indict Langer and his co-defendants, and that the charges only came down after a second grand jury was handpicked to include an overwhelming number of people opposed to the NPL. The judge in the case, Andrew Miller, was also a former political opponent of Langer's.

During the trial, the defense maintained that no one had contributed a portion of their salary unless they wanted to. The request for donations had been clearly published in the paper, and anyone who didn't contribute had not been punished in any way. The prosecution showed that six employees out of 30 employees had donated a portion of their salary, accounting for a sum of less than $200. However, the records also indicated that $12,000 had been transferred from the Leader's books to Langer's personal bank account.

Taking the stand in his own defense, Langer admitted that he had received $19,000 through solicitations. However, Miller refused to admit testimony arguing that these funds were a repayment for a loan Langer made to the NPL. Langer said he had made the $12,000 transfer to his own account only to prevent its attachment by a hostile NPL executive committee. He also claimed that he had no role in the distribution of relief funds or taking funds from these salaried employees, since he had delegated relief responsibilities to a five-man commission of 1933.

After a month-long trial, Langer, Chaput, Kinzel, and Vogel were found guilty on June 17. Five days later, Hopkins removed Langer as head of federal relief activities in the state. The verdict had no effect on the primary. On June 27, Langer easily won the Republican nomination. He carried 48 of the 53 counties in North Dakota and tallied 65,646 more votes than the nearest candidate.

Two days later, Langer was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison and pay a $10,000 fine. Each of the three co-defendants received a 13-month sentence and $3,000 fine. Harold McDonald, who had actually solicited the donations, would be sentenced to only four months in prison. Langer's bond was set at $20,000, and a sympathetic farmer offered this sum to keep the governor out of prison as his appeal proceeded.

The conviction set the stage for a titanic power struggle in North Dakota. Lieutenant Governor Ole H. Olson contended that Langer had been disqualified from holding office, meaning Olson would have to take over as governor. He promptly took the oath of office and filed it with the secretary of state, but North Dakota Attorney General P.O. Sathre said Langer would remain in power at least until his sentencing. Supporters of Olson countered by appealing to the state supreme court, which also said they would not make a decision until after the sentencing.

The situation further split the NPL, with some members rallying behind Langer and other supporting Olson. Some members of Langer's administration bolted immediately after his conviction, saying they would refuse to abide by any of his executive decisions until the courts clarified the issue. These officials included Robert Bryne, the secretary of state; John Husby, the labor and agricultural commissioner; and Alfred Dale, the treasurer.

Langer was not about to give up his position easily. He stationed sheriff's deputies around his office, instructing them to bar entry to anyone who did not have his permission. On July 12, Langer asked the state legislature to convene in exactly one week. Only they had the power to investigate him, he declared; if they found him guilty of any crime, they could remove him by impeachment. The statement provided an impetus for the North Dakota supreme court to finally rule on the issue, since they needed to decide whether Langer still had the authority to call a meeting of the legislature. On July 17, in a 4-1 decision along party lines, the justices announced that Langer's conviction on federal charges had disqualified him from office.

Langer took a heavy-handed response. He declared martial law, ordering troops to be stationed around the state capitol. Ostensibly, calling out the National Guard was a way to prevent disorder by his supporters, who had been demonstrating in Bismarck. This was also the reason Langer gave for sending soldiers to surround Olson's hotel, since there were rumors that angry pro-Langer farmers were going to march on the city and uphold Langer's legitimacy by force if need be. However, declaring martial law also had the effect of prolonging Langer's rule since the military authority of the National Guard would supersede the civil authority of the courts.

An hour before declaring martial law, Langer had taken an even more drastic approach to staying in office. Holing up in the governor's mansion, he drew up a declaration of independence for the state of North Dakota. If the issue was that federal charges had made him unfit to govern the state, he reasoned, he could make this issue null and void by simply seceding from the United States. Twenty-six of his closest supporters signed the document with him. Once the state supreme court justices heard of this would-be defection, they visited Langer personally and managed to convince him of the absurdity of this strategy.

The next morning, a peaceful transition of power took place. The state adjutant general announced that he accepted the court's ruling and that the National Guard troops called by Langer would no longer answer to him. Olson, who now had a stronger claim to the governor's office, immediately canceled the order of martial law and called off the special legislative session scheduled for the next day. On July 19, accompanied by soldiers with the National Guard, he walked into the governor's office for his first full day on the job.

The drama was not yet over, however. At the urging of the ousted governor, the state legislature defied Olson's order and assembled later in the day. Several legislators were out for revenge, threatening to impeach any state officials—including Olson and the state supreme court justices—who had not stood by Langer.

The effort fell short, since several anti-Langer state senators abided by Olson's cancellation order and never showed up. Their absence left the chamber five members short of a quorum. The pro-Langer senators tried to strong-arm a meeting by ordering the sergeant at arms to compel these senators to attend by force; the first man was described as giving physical and verbal resistance as he was literally dragged to the legislature. Though Langer's advocates considered bringing the other recalcitrant senators into the chamber in the same way, they realized that the plan would be unpopular and abandoned it. The legislature was forced to recess on July 24, having done little more than adopt a resolution saying that they had met legally and that they had authorized the speaker to appoint an investigating committee to consider the impeachment of state officials.

Olson, meanwhile, ran into similar resistance as he tried to expunge Langer's appointees from his administration. When he named a new highway commissioner, Vogel refused to vacate his office and said he could only be removed for cause. Unsurprisingly, Olson was not keen to remain in office in the face of such confusion and hostility; he would fulfill the remainder of Langer's term, but would not be a candidate in the general election in the fall.

Though Langer had won the GOP nomination fair and square, he knew that his felony conviction and loss of citizenship rights would set him up for a challenge if he won the election. He opted to step aside in favor of his wife, Lydia. As several commentators pointed out, the strategy was similar to that taken by Texas governor James Ferguson; after his impeachment and removal from office, his wife Miriam "Ma" Ferguson had successfully won the Democratic nomination and subsequent gubernatorial election.

Olson and other NPL officials threw their weight behind Thomas H. Moodie, the Democratic candidate, in a three-way race for governor. Although Moodie succeeded in winning the 1934 election, he was soon forced out of office after it was discovered that he hadn't lived in North Dakota for five years as required. The legislature swiftly began an impeachment effort, but it was halted after Moodie agreed to step down in favor of Lieutenant Governor Walter Welford.

Despite the continuing effects of the Depression, supporters from all over North Dakota contributed to a legal defense fund for Langer's appeal. The renowned civil rights attorney Clarence Darrow agreed to take his case, though other lawyers had to take over after Darrow fell ill. On May 7, 1935, Langer won his first victory when the Circuit Court of Appeals reversed his conviction.

However, District Attorney P.W. Lanier convened another grand jury soon after and again managed to indict the former governor. Langer and his co-defendants also had a perjury charge levied against them after they accused Miller of being biased against them. This was an unprecedented use of the perjury charge, and Langer would later joke that he was the only person who had been charged with the crime for filing an affidavit of prejudice.

Langer was seriously injured in a car accident in July, but survived to attend a new trial in October. The jury deadlocked, 10-2 in favor of conviction. Another trial in December covered both the conspiracy and perjury charges. This time, Langer was found not guilty. The proceedings also acquitted Chaput, Kinzel, and Vogel.

In in the interim, Welford had built up his own prestige and further cleared the state offices of Langer appointees. The acquittal cleared the path for Langer to again seek nomination for the governor's office, and he directly challenged Welford for the Republican nomination in 1936. After losing this bid by about 500 votes, Langer instead joined the race as the NPL candidate against Welford and Democratic candidate John Moses. He was not nearly as popular as he had been in earlier races, earning only 36 percent of the vote, but it was enough to win in the three-way race.

In his second term, Langer successfully convinced the state legislature to appropriate $6 million for child welfare, old age pensions, and general relief programs. The appropriation was more than what had been made in the entire period between 1933 and 1935. He also directed the State Mill and Elevator company to pay above market price for wheat. In a move criticized by the students, alumni, and faculty in the state college system, Langer dismissed seven deans and instructors; some had been employed in the system for 35 years and received only a few hours' notice to leave. The dismissals prompted a brief recall effort, but the mood in the state was somewhat assuaged when Langer introduced a student aid fund.

There were lingering corruption allegations during Langer's second term as governor. Three of his friends were found to have purchased county bonds at a discounted price before selling them back to the Bank of North Dakota. In 1938, an investigation determined that an attorney for the Great Northern Railroad had received $25,000 in stock from Langer; the transaction occurred as part of a $3 million reduction in the assessment on the railroad.

Langer did not seek re-election in 1938, instead opting to run for the U.S. Senate. He lost the GOP primary to Gerald P. Nye, thanks in part to the persistent rumors about improprieties in his administration, and was an unsuccessful candidate in the general election.

Two years later, Langer was again a Senate candidate in a race that featured a bizarre tangle of alliances. William Lemke abandoned his bid to run for re-election to the House of Representatives, instead opting to run an independent campaign against Langer in the Senate race. He hoped to strike a deal with Charles Vogel, the Democratic candidate, where Vogel would not campaign for the seat. Lemke had arranged a similar bargain in 1938, joining Nye in supporting Democratic candidate John Moses; in exchange, Moses convinced Democratic candidate Jess Nygaard to not campaign in the Senate race, thereby avoiding a split in the anti-Langer votes.

However, since Roosevelt was seeking a third term in the White House, Vogel feared that such a deal would compromise the vote for the President in North Dakota. He continued his campaign, causing the anti-Langer vote to split between Lemke and Vogel. Langer, running on the Republican ticket, won the Senate race by more than 100,000 votes.

Anti-Langer residents in North Dakota gathered signatures for a petition seeking to block the candidate's seating in the Senate. The document outlined the numerous excesses during Langer's time in the state, accusing him of everything from bribery in leasing government property to accepting kickbacks and fees for fictitious services and converting the proceeds from legal settlements. Senate Majority Leader Alben Barkley, a Kentucky Democrat, asked that Langer be seated without prejudice while the issue was referred to the Committee on Elections and Privileges in January of 1941. Putting the task to the committee also meant that the Senate could expel Langer by a simple majority vote rather than a two-thirds majority when the question returned to the chamber.

The committee did not begin full hearings until November, and it did not issue its findings until January of 1942. By a vote of 13-3, the committee had decided that Langer was not fit to be a senator and should be expelled. The majority report declared that Langer had exhibited a "continuous, contemptuous, and shameful disregard for the high concepts of public duty" during his time in the North Dakota state offices. "He would defy the highest court of his state with force," the report stated. "[Langer] throughout his career had little use for law and order, but in attempting to prevent and suspend civil process upon himself he reached the high point in his continuous belief that might is superior to right."

The majority summarized some of Langer's misbehavior as including "gross impropriety, lawlessness, shotgun law enforcement, jail breaking, violation of oath as an attorney, rabble rousing, breach of the peace, obstruction of the administration of justice, and tampering with court officials." He was criticized for the raids he organized as state's attorney as well as his declaration of martial law and attempt to secede after his 1934 conviction.

One of the most bizarre incidents related to Langer's time as a private attorney. He was accused of kidnapping his own client from jail, taking him and his ex-wife across the state line, and persuading her to remarry him so she could not be compelled to testify against the client in a murder trial. Langer had promised to arrange for a divorce without fees once the case had been settled. However, when the woman tried to remarry nine years later she found that Langer had failed to keep his word.

Langer himself admitted that he had paid the son of the judge who had presided over his second and third trials in the Leader matter as well as an associate of the judge named Chet Leedom. The majority report determined that he had taken $56,800 in compensation for his approval of questionable bond issues in order to allow a broker named Gregory Brunk to net $300,000 in profits in 1937 and 1938. It also revived the accusation that Langer had received $25,000 for selling stock to the Great Northern Railway Company as part of the railroad's effort to reduce its taxes. Though several of the accusations had been publicized before the report, the majority felt that North Dakota voters hadn't been adequately aware of Langer's tumultuous past and that denying him a seat in the Senate was a proper action.

The minority report was just as strongly worded, saying the majority's conclusions about Langer's culpability had been based more on hearsay and gossip than on fact. It was the first time a member of the Senate had been the target of such a pointed investigation, the three minority members said. They accused the committee's investigation of being sloppy and one-sided, focusing on evidence against Langer without taking any that could exonerate him and allowing the process to be "swept away by a barrage of slander." Morever, the minority said the voters in North Dakota were well aware of Langer's lively personality since the same accusations had come up in the 1940 campaign.

"[T]he petitioners have evidently adopted the view that if you say enough things about an individual and extend the period of time sufficiently long, and use sufficiently abusive phraseology, those who try the case will finally lose patience in tracking down one false trail after another and give up in sheer exhaustion," one part of the minority report said.

Floor debate in the Senate opened on March 9 and continued for two weeks. Langer's supporters said they should not add morality requirements to those outlined in the Constitution when considering whether a member was fit to serve in Congress. Ellison "Cotton Ed" Smith, a Democrat from South Carolina, remarked, "I don't like this business of going back 25 or 30 years into the life of a senator. If we did that for every senator, we couldn't get a quorum here."

The Senate first repudiated the idea that Langer could be expelled by majority vote rather than a two-thirds majority, then rejected the majority report on Langer's fitness for office. Fifty-two senators were opposed to his expulsion, while 30 were in favor. In September of 1942, the Senate approved $16,500 to compensate Langer for the legal costs he had incurred during the committee hearings.

As a senator, Langer distinguished himself as having an independent streak that often put him in opposition with his own party. Though he supported the declaration of war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was strongly isolationist. In the lead-up to the war, he opposed the Lend-Lease Act, Destroyer Deal, and expansion of the Selective Service Act to peacetime. After the conclusion of World War II, he was one of only two senators to vote against the United Nations charter.

Langer's isolationism continued in the years after the war, as the United States became increasingly involved in international affairs in the Cold War against the Soviet Union. He opposed the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, all foreign aid, and the extension of conscription laws. Though he had kind words for Harry Truman's capability as President, he was against two of Truman's signature policies: the Marshall Plan to assist the postwar recovery in Europe and the Truman Doctrine to promote the containment of Communism.

This attitude earned Langer some criticism when he publicly expressed his disdain for former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on a few occasions. In 1949, critics called Langer out for his erroneous statements claiming that Churchill had fought against the United States in the Spanish-American War. In advance of Churchill's visit to the U.S. in 1951, Langer asked the pastor at the Old North Church in Boston to hang two lanterns in the steeple to indicate that the British were coming.

Langer's firm opposition against internationalism was balanced by efforts to improve everyday life for the average person. He supported measures to bring electricity and telephone service to rural areas, and he was also in favor of efforts to make health care more affordable to citizens. He served for a time as chairman of the Judicial Committee, and was always recognizable by his longtime habit of chewing on cigars without removing the wrapper.

Langer remained popular in North Dakota, winning re-election in 1946 and 1952. Though he did not drop out of the race in 1958, the Republican Party chose another candidate and Langer never made a campaign speech since he refused to leave his ailing wife's side. Nevertheless, he won re-election in this year as well.

Langer continued to serve in the Senate until his death on November 8, 1959. He lay in state in the Senate for his funeral, which took place two days later. He would be the last senator to have this kind of funeral until 2010, when similar proceedings were scheduled following the death of Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia.

Thanks to James A. Davis of the State Historical Society of North Dakota for his assistance with this entry.

Sources: The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, The Mandan Historical Society, State Historical Society of North Dakota, The William Langer Papers at the University of North Dakota, "The Expulsion Case of William Langer of North Dakota" at Senate.gov, "William Langer and the Themes of North Dakota History" by Daniel Rylance for the South Dakota Historical Society, "Langer and the Dirty Thirties" in the January through spring of 1978 editions of Prairies, "Political Pulse: The NPL's Road to Ruin" in North Dakota Studies, "Wild Bill" at Senate.gov, "Impeachment of State Officials" report to the Connecticut General Assembly on Feb. 9 2004, "N.P. Solons in Attempt to Oust Atty-General" in the Prescott Journal-Miner on Dec. 12 1919, "Indict Governor Langer of North Dakota" in the Spartanburg Herald on Apr. 17 1934, "Six Bolt From Langer Cabinet in North Dakota, Joining Olson" in the Tuscaloosa News on Jun. 24 1934, "Langer Receives Prison Sentence" in the Spartanburg Herald on Jun. 30 1934, "Civil War Feared Between Factions in North Dakota" in the Evening Independent on Jul. 19 1934, "Olson Tightening Control of State" in the Lawrence Daily Journal-World on Jul. 21 1934, "Struggle Turns to Legislature in North Dakota Fight" in the Tuscaloosa News on Jul. 23 1934, "North Dakota Senate Fails to Get Action" in the Deseret News on Jul. 23 1942, "Wife of Deposed Governor Heads North Dakota Ticket" in the Gettysburg Times on Aug. 2 1934, "Ex-Governor Langer in Critical Condition" in the Lewiston Evening Journal on Jul. 23 1935, "Langer of North Dakota to be Retried Tuesday" in the Milwaukee Journal on Oct. 27 1935, "A Federal Jury Acquits Langer" in the Lawrence Daily Journal-World on Dec. 19 1935, "North Dakota Politics Boil Up Again; Of Course About Langer" in the Milwaukee Journal on Oct. 17 1937, "Oust Langer, Senate Urged" in the Milwaukee Journal on Jan. 29 1942, "Senate Asked to Oust Langer" in the Pittsburgh Press on Jan. 29 1942, "Three Clear Sen. Langer" in the Reading Eagle on Mar. 2 1942, "Senate Votes For Langer" in the Milwaukee Journal on Mar. 31 1942, "North Dakota Senator Has Wild and Wooly Career" in the Victoria Advocate on Mar. 7 1954, "Sensational Raid Made on Large Number of Places Last Night" in the Minot Daily News on Oct. 1 2008, "North Dakota Secedes from the U.S." in the Prairie Public Broadcasting's Dakota Notebook on Jul. 17 2013, Declarations of Independence: Encyclopedia of American Autonomous and Secessionist Movements by James L. Erwin, Establishing Justice in Middle America: A History of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit by Jeffrey Brandon Morris

Otto Kerner: tainted reputation

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Otto Kerner, Jr. would be far from the first politician accused of financial misconduct who fought his conviction and accused the court of besmirching his name. But when Kerner complained that the jury's finding of guilty had "deeply and irreparably tainted the good reputation that [he] cherished," he had a significant legacy to defend. Until his day in court, Kerner was best known for having delivered one of the most progressive opinions on race relations by the United States government.

Born in Chicago in August of 1908, Kerner earned a bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1930, attended Trinity College at Cambridge University in England from 1930 to 1931, and earned a Juris Doctorate from the Northwestern University School of Law in 1934. He enlisted in the National Guard after graduation and transferred to field artillery two years later. With the outbreak of World War II, he served in both the European and Pacific theaters. When he retired from the service in 1954, Kerner was a major general with a Soldier's Medal, Bronze Star, and Army Commendation Ribbon.

Kerner entered politics soon after, becoming the U.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. He held this position from 1947 to 1955 before serving as a Cook County judge from 1955 to 1960. During his time in these positions, Kerner led an effort to reform adoption procedures. Running on the Democratic ticket, Kerner was elected governor of Illinois in 1960. He was re-elected four years later. Kerner served on the National Governors' Conference Executive Committee from 1967 to 1968, and he chaired the Midwestern Governors' Conference that same year. There was a minor scandal in December of 1964 when Theodore J. Isaacs, Kerner's former campaign manager, was charged with misconduct and conspiracy for allegedly receiving fees from two envelope companies. The charges blew over, but it wouldn't be the last time that Isaacs appeared before a judge.

Kerner was perhaps best known for his role as chairman of an 11-member bipartisan committee convened in the summer of 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. A series of devastating race riots had broken out across the country in recent years, and Johnson wanted to know why. Officially known as the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, the group was nicknamed the "Kerner Commission" due to Kerner's leadership role and progressive record as the Illinois governor; he had worked to integrate the National Guard, and although Chicago had not been exempt from the riots the disruptions had been much less severe than those in Detroit and elsewhere. For several months, the committee members met with civic leaders, police officers, politicians, and social scientists to discuss the racial situation in the country.

The result was a groundbreaking report in March of 1968 identifying a number of deep-seated problems and recommending several sweeping reforms. It confirmed the assertions of many civil rights leaders and was a general indictment of the degradation of race relations, blaming "white racism" as the crux of the problem. The report also said racism had become institutionalized, with racist policies not only leading to the creation of black ghettos but keeping them intact and rationalizing their existence. As a result, black citizens had poorer access to education and health facilities and were more susceptible to poverty and unemployment than white citizens. The report also accused police departments of having confrontational tactics when policing the ghettos and contributing to the severity of the riots by responding too slowly to the disruptions. Some members of the media were accused of being irresponsible in reports that could "seed the thoughts of riots."

The findings included the ominous finding that "our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white - separate and unequal." It recommended an immediate effort to improve ghetto conditions by better access to jobs and housing, including 550,000 new jobs and 600,000 new housing units in 1968 alone. Members also suggested a need for welfare reform, guaranteed income for every American family, and full-year schooling for children. Shortly before it disbanded, the commission released a supplemental report in July of 1968 saying more ghetto residents than expected - 18 percent - had joined in the riots and that the participants were not just criminals or "riff-raff" but a large number of urban youth.

This secondary report was likely in response to a complaint accusing the commission of not placing responsibility for the riots on the rioters themselves. Richard Nixon, running on a "law and order" platform in 1968, accused the Kerner Commission report of blaming "everybody for the riots except the perpetrators." The report may have illuminated a number of issues, but the scale of the recommendations (and belief that the riots were more the fault of conspirators than a release of outrage about social conditions) meant that it did little else.

A year after the release of the report, an independent study by the nonprofit organizations Urban America Inc. and The Urban Coalition found that little progress had been made in race relations. It borrowed a line from the Kerner Commission in concluding, "A year later we are a year closer to being two societies, black and white, increasingly separate and scarcely less unequal." Testifying before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee in May of 1971, Kerner said he thought police tactics had improved since the riots but that underlying racial issues had not been addressed.

Kerner decided not to run for a third term due to a "deep concern for the health and happiness" of his family." He resigned his governorship early, handing over the reins to Lieutenant Governor Samuel Shapiro in May of 1968. However, Kerner soon accepted a presidential appointment as a federal appeals court judge in Chicago.

In December of 1969, an investigation began into the allegation that Kerner received $50,000 in bank stock shortly before ordering the dismissal of a second indictment against organized crime figure Joseph Amabile, who had been sentenced to 15 years in prison on extortion conviction. Although nothing came of this inquiry, Kerner would land in hot water less than two years late on a similar accusation.

In July of 1971, investigators questioned Kerner about a hefty profit he made in racetrack stock while serving as governor. Five months later, a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of bribery, mail fraud, tax evasion, perjury, and conspiracy. The jury also indicted three former administration officials and one of their secretaries: Isaacs, who had served as state director of revenue between 1961 and 1963; William S. Miller, chairman of Illinois Racing Board from 1961 to 1967; Joseph Knight, director of state institutions between 1962 and 1968; and Faith McInturf, Miller's former secretary and business associate.

The charges alleged that Kerner conspired to acquire $356,000 in racetrack stock for the bargain price of $70,158, and that this amounted to a bribe since it intended to influence his decisions on horse racing matters. Prosecutors also charged that Kerner evaded $84,129 in taxes by false reports to the Internal Revenue Service.

Kerner promptly took leave of his post but did not resign. The case zeroed in on him and Isaacs, since Knight was too old and ill to stand trial and the charges against McInturf eventually evaporated. The state dropped the charges against Miller when he agreed to testify against his co-defendants.

The trial against Kerner and Isaacs began in January of 1971 and lasted for seven weeks; the state called 40 witnesses, the defense 31. Majorie Everett, a former head of Chicago Thoroughbred Enterprises, said she made stock available to Kerner and Isaacs in 1962 and contributed $45,000 to the governor's campaign. Miller said Kerner knew the contributions were made with the intent that he would favor Everett's interests with his decisions; he said Kerner accepted simply by saying, "Well, that's very nice of Marj." The government also asserted that Kerner and Isaacs went through a complex system of hiding the assets and avoiding taxes on them. On the stand, Kerner denied that he ever interpreted the stock and contribution as a bribe.

The jury disagreed; they found Kerner guilty of a total of 17 charges and Isaacs guilty of 15. It was the first time a sitting federal judge was convicted of criminal charges. Kerner vowed to fight the conviction and refused to give up his post, meaning he could only be removed by impeachment. In April of 1973, he and Isaacs were each sentenced to three years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Kerner complained, "My real punishment, deserved or not, has already been inflicted...I was never tainted, and I was never bought."

His argument about the interpretation of the stock and campaign donation held some merit during the appeals process. An appeals court agreed to dismiss the bribery charge, but upheld the other convictions. In June of 1974, the Supreme Court denied a review of the cases; Kerner's argument, in part, was that he could not be indicted while a sitting judge. Some members of Congress were getting tired of this particular ambiguity. In July, Kerner finally resigned from the judge's position as efforts to impeach him gained momentum. He started serving his sentence the same month.

Kerner remained imprisoned until March of 1975. By that time, his health had declined precipitously. Although he had kicked the habit, Kerner had formerly been a longtime smoker; surgeons removed a tumor from his lung and gave him a 50-50 chance of survival. Kerner's poor health sped up his release from prison, and he accepted a job consulting with Lewis University-Chicago's special services center to improve the mental attitudes of prisoners.

President Gerald Ford received a request to pardon Kerner in October of 1975, but rejected it. Kerner was again under consideration for a pardon in May of 1976, but was already fighting a losing battle against resurgent lung cancer at this point. He died the same month and, due to his military service, was buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

Sources: National Governors Association, "Advisers Map Plans to Fight Discrimination" in the Ocala Star-Banner on May 30 1963, "Wild Scene as Governor Orders Illinois Adjournment" in the Telegraph-Herald on Jun. 27 1963, "Nine Public Officials Indicted on Charges of Malfeasance" in the Reading Eagle on Dec.17 1964, "Illinois Governor to Quit Politics" in the Spokane Daily Chronicle on Feb. 7 1968, "Anti-Riot Panel Urges Major National Effort" in the Beaver County Times on Mar. 4 1968, "Armed Cops Not Answer - Kerner" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Mar. 13 1968, "Riot Commission Calls For Action on Report" in the St. Petersburg Times on Apr. 10 1968, "Illinois Governor Resigns" in the Press-Courier on May 21 1968, "Riot Commission Report is Challenged" in the Sumter Daily Item on July 27 1968, "One Year Later: The Nation Still Drifts Toward a Racial Upheaval" in the Lewiston Morning Tribune on Mar. 2 1969, "Kerner Silent on Charge" in the Southeast Missourian on Dec. 3 1969, "Judge Kerner Testifies For Senate Group" in the Gettysburg Times on May 26 1971, "Kerner Gain in Racetrack Stock Cited" in the Milwaukee Sentinel on Jul. 30 1971, "U.S. Jury Indicts Judge Kerner" in the Milwaukee Sentinel on Dec. 16 1971, "Kerner Pledges Battle to Erase Conviction" in the Toledo Blade on Feb. 20 1973, "Indictments Against Miller, Aide Dropped" in the Chicago Tribune on Mar. 3 1973, "Kerner Gets Three Years, $50,000 Fine" in the Ellensburg Daily Record on Apr. 20 1973, "Kerner Free of Bribery Conviction" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb. 20 1974, "Kerner: Honor Dearer Than Life" in the Ellensburg Daily Record on Feb. 20 1974, "High Court Refuses to Review Kerner Case" in the Portsmouth Times on Jun. 17 1974, "Kerner Quits Bench, Faces Prison Term" in the Beaver County Times on Jul. 25 1974, "Lung Tumor Removed From Former Governor" in the Beaver County Times on Mar. 12 1975, "Kerner to Work With Inmates" in the Free Lance-Star on May 22 1975, "Ford Reject Pardon for Former Governor" in the Virgin Islands Daily News on Oct.18 1975, "Pardon Eyed For Kerner" in the Spokesman-Review on May 7 1976, "Otto Kerner Dies; Paroled Year Ago" in the Schenectady Gazette on May 10 1976, Encyclopedia of American Race Riots edited by Walter C. Rucker and James N. Upton, Crime and Punishment: A History of the Criminal Justice System by Mitchel P. Roth

Nelson G. Gross: regular contributor

Image from the Evening News

Nelson G. Gross was the type of politician who, though deeply influential in government, worked more out of the public eye than as an official. The closest he came to being an elected member of the national government was a failed Senate bid, and he undertook that effort with experience limited mostly to campaigns and party positions. Though he drew some controversy during his work in politics, the incident which would garner more attention was the senseless manner in which his life ended. 

Born in Saddle River, New Jersey in 1932, Gross went from being a lawyer to a close involvement with the state's Republican Party. He was a member of the state house of assembly in 1962, but his major breakthrough came six years later as a delegate to the Republican National Convention. Among the New Jersey Republicans, the hope was that the presidential nod could go to "favorite son" candidate Clifford P. Case, who had been in the Senate since 1955. 

To the chagrin of some party members, however, Gross led an effort to support former Vice President Richard Nixon and persuaded 18 of the state's 40 delegates to change their vote. When Nixon captured the nomination, Gross led his campaign in New Jersey, where Nixon triumphed by about 60,000 votes on his way to the White House in the 1968 election. Despite the breakaway from Case, Gross's relationship with the state Republicans were still strong enough that he chaired the state party in 1969. 

In April of the next year, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Frederick Lacey announced that Gross was under investigation for ties to a labor union allegedly dominated by the Mafia. No charges came out of the matter, and only a week after the announcement Gross announced that he was resigning as chairman to enter the 1970 Senate race. He easily won the GOP primary against two opponents. 

A month before the election, he was pummeled by political columnist Jack Anderson. "Nelson Gross, the Republican candidate for the Senate in New Jersey, has made a big show of opening up his records for public inspection. But apparently we are the only ones who have bothered to inspect them. What we found may make Gross wish he had kept his records hidden." Anderson claimed that Gross had charged numerous personal expenses to failing companies he controlled, including bouquets for his wife, vacations, and tickets to the Moscow Circus visit to Madison Square Garden. 

Anderson said that when confronted with the charges, Gross claimed that the court had thrown the suit out. Anderson countered that a $25,000 settlement had been involved in the resolution. Gross failed to dislodge the incumbent Democratic, Senator Harrison A. Williams, in the general election. Williams, who had served in the Senate since 1959, earned about 250,000 more votes than Gross. Case got in a dig at Gross, commenting that his close ties to the Nixon Administration may have hurt him. "Nelson had some excellent position papers. It is a real tragedy that he and his media people did not choose to emphasize them--that his media campaign chose to emphasize the negative side." 

The ties to the President did help him to secure employment after the loss, however. In August of 1971, he began working for the State Department as a senior adviser and coordinator on international narcotics matters. Then in May of 1973, Gross was indicted on fraud charges. The charges said Gross issued false invoices to the Stop and Save Stamp Corporation, a subsidiary of Grand Union Co., in order to make a $5,000 contribution to the 1969 campaign of New Jersey Governor William T. Cahill and make it appear to be tax deductible. Gross was also accused of encouraging William H. Preis, president of the Stop and Save Stamp Corporation, to make false statements to the grand jury; Preis pleaded guilty the same month to perjury. 

U.S. Attorney Herbert Stern said there was no evidence to suggest that Cahill knew about the illegality of the contribution, but the damage was done. The scandal was one factor playing into Cahill's defeat in the 1973 Republican primary, where the gubernatorial nomination went to Representative Charles Sandman. To the charges, Gross said, "I am astounded that anyone could conceivably believe that I would be in a position to counsel or did counsel one of the largest retailing supermarket chains in the country as to the manner in which it should complete and file federal income tax returns." 

 The trial happened in March of 1974. Among the 28 witnesses to testify over the course of five weeks was Bernard Striar, owner of a Maine textile company. Striar said Gross arranged for him to make a $2,000 contribution to Gross's Senate campaign and illegally deduct it. Gross took the stand in his own defense, not only claiming innocence but accusing the U.S. Attorney's Office of trying to topple his law firm. Gross's father also took the stand, testifying that Gross actually advised Preis to tell the truth to the grand jury rather than lie. When the jury returned a verdict, it found Gross guilty of tax evasion and perjury. 

Gross's lawyers made a curious argument for a new trial, arguing that wealthy people were excluded from the jury. In June of 1974, Gross was sentenced to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine; a week later, Preis received the same sentence, but with the jail term suspended. Gross remained a free man while he ground his way through the appeals process. In December of 1974, he asked the three-judge Federal Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to overturn his conviction; they upheld the verdict in February of 1975. In November of that year, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the conviction as well. Finally, in June of 1976, Gross began serving his sentence after first trying to turn himself in at the federal prison in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He ended up serving six months. 

 In a surprising turn of events, it was revealed a couple of years later that the marshals at the trial had taken a far more active role at the trial than was allowed. Leon Harvey Stacey said he and his fellow officers seduced some of the female jurors, persuading them that the prosecution's case was sound and capitalizing on the increasing dissatisfaction with Nixon. "We all knew Nelson Gross was part of the Nixon administration. It was therefore easy to allude to a general disenchantment with politicians," Stacey said. "In other words, as part of the romancing of the jurors, my reference to politicians was always in a negative attitude." 

With this revelation, Gross tried to reopen the case and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in New York granted a hearing in November of 1978. It is unclear how this turned out, but if subsequent developments are any indication it was not very successful. In June of 1981, he was disbarred from practicing law in federal courts due to his conviction and his failure to show up at a hearing. An ethical board later disbarred him from the state courts for three years after finding that he had committed "unethical conduct." 

Despite his legal troubles, Gross was still financially successful through his investments in real estate development and restaurants. He was a millionaire in September of 1997, stopping in at a floating restaurant he owned in Edgewater, New Jersey every day for a meal. Then he disappeared. Gross was last seen taking $20,000 from a bank near the restaurant, a transaction not unusual due to his frequent large withdrawals. His wife and son reportedly saw him getting into his BMW with two men, and his son called his cell phone to see if everything was all right. "It's business. It's just business," Gross replied before hanging up. 

A search for Gross began, and first found his car abandoned about 15 blocks south of the George Washington Bridge in Manhattan. His family offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to his return. Gross's body was finally found on the wooded bank of the Hudson River; he had been stabbed to death. 

It didn't take long for police to implicate three youths in the crime. Arrested were 18-year-old Anthony "Alex" Esteves and 17-year-olds Christian Velez and Miguel "Papo" Grullon. They had used the money to buy two used cars, a motorcycle, and jewelry and a bystander reported them to the authorities after overhearing them openly talking about the murder. Velez, who had worked as a busboy at the floating restaurant, was arrested and implicated his two friends. It seemed they had conspired to rob the wealthy businessman, but had not thought the plan through; when they realized that Gross would report the robbery to the police, they took his life as well. 

A death notice taken out by Gross's family in the New York Times did not mince words. It said Gross had died after "succumbing to an unprovoked vicious attack by three thugs who inflicted multiple stab wounds to his chest and back." 

Ultimately, Estevez entered an agreement to testify against his co-defendants if the cases went to trial and Velez and Grullon pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murder. Describing the crime as "cruel and heinous" and a "truly senseless thing," Estevez was sentenced to 17-and-a-half years in prison without parole. His two co-defendants received 30 years in prison, also without parole. 

Sources: The Political Graveyard, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "Lacey Says Ties of Gross to Union Are Under Inquiry" in the New York Times on Apr. 2 1970, "Gross Quits as GOP Chairman in Jersey to Run for the Senate" in the New York Times Apr. 9 1970, "Wallace Triumphs in Alabama Run-Off" in the Schenectady Gazette on Jun. 3 1970, "Williams Recovering From Bad Start in N.J." in the Park City Daily News on Oct. 25 1970, "Gross Squeezes Companies" in the Free Lance Star on Oct. 24 1970, "Says Nixon Campaign Wrong" in the Virgin Island Daily News on Nov. 7 1970, "Coordinator" in the Evening News on Aug. 13 1971, "N.J. Republican Pleads Innocent In Funds Case" in The Journal on May 23 1973, "Gov. Cahill Defeated in N.J. GOP Primary" in the Los Angeles Times on Jun. 6 1973, "Illegally Deducted Gift, Magnate Says" in the Bangor Daily News on Mar. 3 1974, "Father Supports Gross Testimony" in the New York Times on Mar. 21 1974, "Gross Accuses U.S. of Harrying Firm" in the New York Times on Mar. 23 1974, "Federal Jury Begins Its Deliberations in Campaign Fraud Case Against Gross" in the New York Times on Mar. 29 1974, "Gross, Citing Jury, Seeks a New Trial" in the New York Times on Apr. 20 1974, "Gross is Sentenced to 2 Years in Jail" in the New York Times on Jun. 15 1974, "Preis is Fined, Term Suspended" in the New York Times on Jun. 22 1974, "New Jersey Briefs" in the New York Times on Dec. 11 1974, "New Jersey Briefs" in the New York Times on Feb. 20 1975, "Supreme Court Upholds 2 Convictions of Gross" in the New York Times on Nov. 4 1975, "Gross Wins Stay of Sentence" in the Argus-Press on Dec. 5 1975, "Nelson Gross Off To Prison" in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on Jun. 3 1976, "Candidate's Husband to Try to Reopen Old Case" in the Lakeland Ledger on Feb. 3 1978, "Marshals, Jurors May Have Tainted N.J. Verdict" in the Deseret News on Feb. 10 1978, "New Hearing OK'd in Tax Fraud Case" in the Milwaukee Journal on Nov. 10 1978, "Ex-Jersey GOP Chief is Barred by U.S. Judge" in the New York Times on Jun. 28 1981, "Car of Missing New Jersey Developer is Found" in the New York Times on Sep. 21 1997, "Youths Accused of Killing New Jersey Millionaire" in the New York Times on Sep. 25 1997, "Police: Slain Millionaire Victim of Botched Plot" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sep. 26 1997, "Gross, Nelson Gerard" in the New York Times on Sept. 27 1997, "Prison For Tycoon Slay" in the New York Daily News on Oct. 8 1998, "2 Are Given up to 30 Years in Murder of Millionaire" in the New York Times on Oct. 8 1998.

Herman Methfessel: the racketeer housewives of Staten Island

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For most of his career, Herman Methfessel stayed out of the news. In the midst of his career as a New York City prosecutor, he made the syndicated column "Dizzy Doings in the News" in a 1942 account of fishing tales. Without noting Methfessel's profession, it took his claim that he caught two 14-inch bass on the same plug and cast with a grain of salt. Nine years later, Methfessel's own handling of questionable tales would end his career in the Empire State.

Born somewhere in the vicinity of 1901, Methfessel worked as a newspaper reporter before becoming an attorney. He was elected to the New York state assembly as a Democrat and served there between 1935 and 1938. From there, he went on to become the second assistant district attorney of Richmond County, and was promoted to the first assistant district attorney at the end of 1944. Three years later, he was elected to be district attorney of the county with backing from the Republican Party. In April of 1949, he witnessed the shooting of former Republican representative Ellsworth B. Buck outside his office by Charles van Newkirk, 57-year-old former marine engineer who confessed that it was retaliation for Buck heading a congressional committee that returned decision against him; Buck survived his injuries.

Methfessel's time in office ended ignominiously in September of 1951. As the New York State Crime Commission investigated rackets in Staten Island, 36-year-old housewife Anna Wentworth testified that she had seen Methfessel in a gambling den run by the D'Alessio brothers, known to be key players in gambling and racketeering operations in Richmond County. Wentworth served as their maid, and said the district attorney was at a roulette party there; the implication was that Methfessel was protecting vice. Methfessel responded by having her arrested for perjury.

The action appalled other members of the commission and New York government. Wentworth said she was terrified that the officers might not be legit, and said they refused to allow any of her six children to call a lawyer. Methfessel, along with commission chairman Joseph M. Proskauer, asked that a special prosecutor be used for testimony related to Wenworth.

At the request of the Crime Commission, however, Governor Thomas E. Dewey ordered that a special prosecutor would supersede Methfessel in all matters related to the investigation. Dewey added that the officers admitted they didn't have a warrant for Wentworth's arrest and left her with black and blue marks after dragging her from her home. "On the basis of the facts before me, it is clear that the district attorney in using the power of his office to direct the arrest and questioning of a person who testified against him personally was a gross abuse of power," said Dewey. "The use of a district attorney for personal or political purposes is intolerable." Dewey appointed William B. Herlands, a former New York City commissioner of education, to replace Methfessel.

Methfessel was unapologetic when speaking before the commission on the incident. Wentworth, he said, had been an "unqualified liar" in her testimony; he also contended that she was seeking publicity and wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. He didn't meet with much sympathy. When he said the officers had followed a regular routine in the arrest, Proskauer replied, "Well, if this happens in every police station it's time we found out. This is America, not Russia."

John M. Harlan, chief counsel for the commission, said Wentworth's arrest amounted to intimidation. In September of 1951, gambler Michael D'Alessio admitted that he made thousands of dollars that were never subject to tax. He had contributed to the GOP, but also was on friendly terms with Methfessel. The scandal resulted in an easy defeat in the 1951 election, as voters chose Republican-Liberal candidate Sidney O. Simonson to replace him.

Methfessel's ouster didn't quite close the book on the matter. He was charged, along with an assistant named Irving Rivkin, with official misconduct. The case went before a disciplinary trial in June of 1952, but both men were acquitted at the recommendation of Supreme Court referee Peter P. Smith on the basis of insufficient evidence. Herlands tried to get the case reopened, but was denied by an appellate court. Wentworth, meanwhile, sued the city for $100,500 in December of 1951 after charging false arrest. A magistrate dismissed the perjury charge against her in February of 1952. The civil charge didn't come to trial until 1958, by which point the damages had ballooned to $1,175,000 sought from Methfessel and the two detectives involved in her arrest; the case ultimately settled for a mere $3,500.

Methfessel moved to Miami, Florida to become a private attorney. He resurfaced briefly when John M. Harlan, who acted as counsel for the crime commission, was considered to be a Supreme Court justice in 1954. Before Congress, Methfessel accused Harlan of springing Wentworth as a surprise witness during the crime commission investigation and never allowed him to cross-examine her or introduce witnesses to dispute her testimony. Methfessel claimed that the debacle led to his re-election defeat despite the fact that he was never formally implicated. He told the congressmen that Harlan's "attitude toward cross-examination and toward a right of a person to defend himself is not the attitude that I feel should be carried into the Supreme Court." Despite Methfessel's opposition, Harlan was confirmed by the Senate and served on the high bench until 1971.

Methfessel continued working as a lawyer until July of 1963, when he suffered a fatal heart attack while driving along the North-South Expressway.

Sources: The Political Graveyard, "Dizzy Doings in the News" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jul. 16 1942, "Named Assistant Prosecutor" in the New York Times on Dec. 31 1944, "Says Shooting 'Spite Job'" in the Ottawa Evening Citizen on Apr. 6 1949, "DA Faces Quiz on 'Intimidation'" in the Pittsburgh Press on Sep. 21 1951, "District Attorney Barred by Governor in N.Y. Crime Case" in the Wilmington Morning Star on Sep. 22 1951, "Gambler Admits Making Untaxed Fortune" in the Milwaukee Sentinel on Sep. 25 1951, "William B. Herlands" in the Wilmington News on Sep. 27 1951, "Corruption, Racketeering Issues in Several Elections Today" in the Reading Eagle on Nov. 6 1951, "City Sued for $100,500" in the New York Times on Dec. 23 1951, "Mrs. Wentworth Cleared" in the New York Times on Feb. 29 1952, "Methfessel Case Goes to Referee" in the New York Times on Jun. 6 1952, "Hear Methfessel Motion" in the New York Times on Nov. 15 1952, "Methfessel Is Cleared" in the New York Times on Dec. 9 1952, "Herland Reopens Methfessel Case" in the New York Times on Jan. 18 1953, "State Loses Appeal in Methfessel Case" in the New York Times on Mar. 6 1953, "Oppenheimer Pal Wins Solons' Approval" in the Spokesman-Review on Feb. 25 1955, "False Suit Settled for $3,500" in the New York Times on Jun. 13 1958, "Motorist Died of Heart Attack" in the Miami News on Jul. 12 1963, John Marshall Harlan: Great Dissenter of the Warren Court by Tinsley Y. Yarbrough

Evan Mecham: the faux pas factory

Image from sonoranalliance.com

Governor Evan Mecham's legacy, such as it is, seems mostly to be his ability to offend any state resident who wasn't a white, straight, conservative male. While these embarrassments started his decline, it was a financial scandal that removed him from office.

Mecham was born in Duchesne, Utah in 1924, and attended the Utah State Agricultural College. He left school before graduation to join the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, and became a fighter pilot. He survived being shot down on one occasion and was held prisoner for 22 days; he was later awarded a Purple Heart and Air Medal for his service.

In 1947, Mecham returned to school, this time at Arizona State University. Once again, he left early, this time to open up a car dealership in Ajo. It was successful enough that he moved to Glendale later on to open another one, and the business made him a millionaire. Less successful were several short-lived newspapers Mecham launched.

In 1952, Mecham took his first stab at politics with a run for the state house of representatives. In 1960, he was elected as a Republican to the state senate and served one term. In 1962, Mecham won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate on a platform critical of the United Nations and a recent Supreme Court decision limiting prayer in public schools. However, he failed to gain enough support from the party to succeed in the general election. Mecham also made four unsuccessful bids for governor in 1964, 1974, 1978, and 1982.

It took a third party to help Mecham win the gubernatorial race in 1986. In that year, independent candidate Bill Schulz split the Democratic vote and brought Mecham into office despite the lack of a clear majority. Mecham ran on a platform of tax relief and political reform, and urged such measures as lowering taxes, encouraging economic development, establishing a 50-year plan to address the state's water needs, investing in solar power, decreasing state spending, and phasing out state offices that were not needed. While in office, he established an Arizona trade and tourism office in Taiwan, supported legislation allowing the governor to choose pro-tem judges to handle drug cases, and advocated raising the highway speed limit from 55 to 65 miles per hour.

Mecham's most well-known and infamous decision was announced at his first State of the State address in January of 1987: he declared Martin Luther King, Jr. Day canceled as a state holiday. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan had signed a bill declaring the third Monday in January a national holiday to honor the late civil rights leader. However, the decision followed three years of debate in Congress, and the holiday did not officially go into effect until 1986. Mecham said he had been advised that the state could be sued for the $3.5 million in lost productivity from the new holiday if it remained in place. He further contended that his predecessor, Democratic Governor Bruce Babbitt, had illegally created the state holiday by executive order after the state legislature had rejected the measure by one vote.

The result was a boycott of Arizona by civil rights and other groups, with 45 conventions choosing to cancel arrangements they had made in the state. These groups included the National Newspaper Publishers Association, which represented 134 black-owned newspapers and canceled a convention in Arizona; the Democratic Party, which moved a finance council meeting from Tucson to California; and the National Black Nurses Association, which also moved its convention out of Arizona. Looking back on the debacle, Time reported that Mecham's attempt to save $3.5 million had resulted in $25 million in lost business due to the boycotts.

Mecham was also criticized for nominating people with problematic backgrounds for state positions. There was a liquor commissioner suspected of involvement in a murder in Mexico, a special assistant who left upon being charged with extortion, a tax commissioner who had not filed his own state taxes, and a state investigator twice court-martialed while a Marine. Receiving the most attention was an education commissioner who said teachers should not contradict the beliefs of a student, even if the student believed the world was flat.

As Mecham's term progressed and more troubles befell him, newspaper articles noted the increasing number of groups he offended with off-color remarks or other actions. The list included blacks, women, gays, liberals, Jews, Japanese-Americans, and Catholics. He suggested that Jews should face up to the fact that they were living in a Christian nation; that working women led to increased divorce rates; and that the eyes of visiting Japanese businessmen "went round" when they heard of the country's golf courses. He defended himself against charges of racism, stemming from his decision over Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and his support of a textbook that made a reference to black children as "pickaninnies." Time referred to him as a "veritable faux pas factory." A joke book began circulating with such quips as, "What do Mecham's political appointees have in common? Parole officers." Across Arizona, motorists sported bumper stickers reading, "Pickaninny: what we did for Governor."

With the questionable appointments and offensive statements as its basis, a recall effort began within the first year of Mecham's term. Political leaders, including former Republican Senator Barry Goldwater, Democratic Congressman Morris Udal, and ex-Governor Babbitt joined in the cry for his resignation. Mecham dismissed the recall effort, saying it was doomed to fail because the person who started it, Republican businessman Ed Buck, was gay. He also said he enjoyed the support of former Republican Governors Jack Williams and Paul Fannin, then a U.S. senator.

Nevertheless, the recall signatures swelled to 350,000 by November of 1987: 6,000 more than the number of votes Mecham received in the general election and 130,000 over the minimum limit needed to certify the petition and establish a recall election in May of 1988. Adding insult to injury was the "Evan Mecham Eco-Terrorist International Conspiracy," a group named for the governor that made its debut act in late 1987 by sabotaging ski lifts at a resort in Flagstaff. Despite his rising unpopularity, Mecham declared, "These people don't have a prayer of getting me out of this office because the people are with me."

The recall had been well underway, but it was spurred on in October of 1987 when it was revealed that Mecham had not reported a $350,000 loan to his campaign by developer and lawyer Barry Wolfson. State law required elected officials to report any debt of $1,000 or more, together with the identity of the lender. The money had been loaned in 14 promissory notes, and it was questioned whether Wolfson's support had influenced two appointments to the State Housing Finance Review Board. The board's duties included awarding bids of industrial development bonds for low-income housing, and at the time Wolfson was being sued for fraud and racketeering in the alleged misuse of $368 million in such bonds. In January of 1988, Mecham was criminally indicted on six counts of perjury, fraud, and filing a false campaign report.

Both the house of representatives and senate in the state legislature were dominated by Republicans, but the legislators had had enough. In February of 1988, the house of representatives voted 46-14 to impeach Mecham on the basis of the $350,000 loan. The house also charged him with inhibiting an investigation into a death threat against a former lobbyist who testified before the grand jury about the loan, as well as an illegal loan of $80,000 of state money to buoy up his car dealership. Mecham was removed from office, Democratic Secretary of State Rose Mofford was named acting governor of Arizona, and the recall election (now a moot point) was called off.

In April, the state senate voted 21 to 9 to convict Mecham on charges related to obstruction of justice and the illegal loan. It dismissed the charge related to the $350,000 so as not to inhibit the upcoming criminal trial on that issue. Mecham was officially removed from office, the first governor to be impeached in 59 years, on the anniversary of Dr. King's assassination. However, a senate vote to prevent him from running for political office again failed to achieve the two-thirds majority necessary to pass. The senate also approved payment of about $202,000 to compensate Mecham for the legal fees he incurred while governor.

Mecham had claimed that the failure to report the $350,000 loan had been an innocent mistake on the part of his brother and campaign manager, Willard Mecham. The prosecution argued that Mecham had been willingly trying to conceal the funds, but a jury acquitted him of all criminal charges. The loan itself had been repaid in full by the end of 1987.

Though Mecham's decision to cancel the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday is seen as one of his biggest blunders, the issue over the holiday was not quite over. Three months after impeaching Mecham, the senate rejected a bill to establish the day as a state holiday by two votes, with some legislators complaining that Democratic efforts to create the holiday were heavy-handed. The holiday was finally ratified in Arizona in September of 1989 when Mofford signed it into law; at that point, Arizona was the 47th state to recognize the holiday.

Mecham tried unsuccessfully to run for governor once more in 1990, and also failed to take the Republican nomination for the Senate from the incumbent, John McCain, in 1992. Three years later, he became the chairman of the Constitutionalist Networking Center, an organization advocating the election of people who were strict constructionists in regards to the U.S. Constitution. He spent much of his time saying that he had been the victim of conspiracy, working for a time as a radio talk show host and newspaper columnist. In 1999, he published a book entitled Impeachment: The Arizona Conspiracy, where he said his impeachment was "pure and simple raw political power exercised by those who wanted to remain in control."

Besides the joke books and bumper stickers, Mecham's brief term also sparked an amendment to the Arizona constitution that required a runoff election in the event that no majority winner emerges, as was the case in Mecham's gubernatorial contest. In 2008, Mecham died in Phoenix after suffering for several years from Alzheimer's disease.

Sources: The American Presidency Project, National Governor's Association, "ML King: Slain Civil Rights Activist Is Finally Honored With National Holiday" in the Daily Collegian on Jan. 17 1986, "The GOP's Silver Lining" in Time on Nov. 17 1986, "Headliners: A Holiday Dispute" in the New York Times on Dec. 28 1986, "Newspaper Group Calls Off Meeting in Arizona as Protest" in the New York Times on Jan. 22 1987, "Black Nurses Shun Arizona" in the New York Times on Mar. 7 1987, "Mecham Campaign Loan Subject of Inquiry" in the New York Times on Oct. 22 1987, "Recall Backers Have The Signatures, But Mecham Just Scoffs" in the Deseret News on Oct. 25 1987, "Mecham Not 'Knowingly Guilty'" in the Deseret News on Oct. 26 1987, "Evan Mecham, Please Go Home" in Time on Nov. 9 1987, "Mecham Repays Controversial Loan" in the Washington Post on Dec. 13 1987, "House Impeaches Arizona Governor" in the New York Times on Feb. 6 1988, "Arizona Senate Ousts Governor, Voting Him Guilty of Misconduct" in the New York Times on Apr. 5 1988, "Senators in Arizona Vote to Pay Fees For Ousted Governor" in the New York Times on Apr. 7 1988, "Mecham Cleared of Concealing Loan" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jun. 17 1988, "Arizona 47th State to Honor Dr. King With Holiday" in the Los Angeles Times on Sep. 23 1989, "Evan Mecham, Ousted Governor, Dies at 83" in the New York Times on Feb. 23 2008, "King Holiday Loses Again in Arizona" in the St. Petersburg Times on Jul. 2 1988, "Evan Mecham, Ousted Governor, Dies at 83" in the New York Times on Feb. 23 2008, "Evan Mecham, 83; Was Removed as Arizona Governor" in the Washington Post on Feb. 23 2008, Encyclopedia of Terrorism by Harvey W. Kushner, Biographical Dictionary of American Newspaper Columnists by Sam G. Riley

Jack P.F. Gremillion: the den of iniquity

Entertainer Jimmy Durante, at left, with Jack P.F. Gremillion. Image from sos.louisiana.gov.

First coming to trouble for criticizing a court proceedings as unjust, Lousiana's Attorney General, Jack Paul Faustin Gremillion, was to face justice twice during his 16 years in office.

Gremillion was born in 1914 in Donaldsville, Louisiana. He graduated from the law school at Louisiana State University in 1937 and worked in the local district attorney's office. Gremillion served in the Army during World War II, then returned to work as a prosecutor.

He was elected as a Democrat to serve as the state's Attorney General in 1956, and soon established himself as a staunch advocate of segregation. He led an effort to shut down the activities of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, forcing the organization to suspend its operations in the state for a time. Gremillion also helped draft a state statute allowing the state legislature to determine the racial demographics of the New Orleans schools rather than the Orleans Parish School Board. The move was a way of undermining a court order to desegregate the schools. It was upheld by a state court, as was a suit he filed to have the schools disregard the order. However, this victory came only a month before the first incident to throw the Attorney General into the national spotlight.

In the fall of 1960, Governor Jimmie Davis seized control of the New Orleans elementary schools to block a federal integration order. The move was contested by the NAACP and others, and the matter went before a hearing in federal court. During the testimony, Gremillion contested a decision to place some facts into the record by affidavit rather than by witness testimony. Saying he hadn't received the affidavits, Gremilion asked for a five day postponement in the hearing and was denied. Not long after that, he stormed out of the room, denouncing the proceedings as a "den of iniquity" and "kangaroo court."

The panel of three federal judges declared state laws state laws related to segregation unconstitutional, ordered state officials to cease interfering with integration, and returned control of the New Orleans schools to the school board, of which four of the five members supported integration. In addition, Gremillion was cited for contempt of court and later brought up on a criminal charge of the same. He was given a 60-day jail sentence, which was fully suspended, as well as 18 months of probation.

Gremillion was described as a colorful character. Among other things, he defended his right to not only bar convicted felons from voting but also the mothers of illegitimate children, whom he referred to as "bastardizing females." When two black men were freed from prison and escaped the death penalty after 13 years when they were found to have received an unfair trial on rape charges, Gremillion said he would appeal the decision and take it to the Supreme Court if necessary. "It looks like the court wants to give them a medal for staying in prison," he said. Protesting a Supreme Court ruling upholding the Voting Rights Act of 1965 after he and representatives from five other Southern states said that it was unconstitutional, Gremillion bemoaned it as "another step in the total destruction of the rights of states to regulate their internal affairs" that would "also will undoubtedly lead to universal suffrage." Governor Earl Long, who served from 1956 to 1960, declared, "If you want to hide something from Jack Gremillion, put it in a law book."

In 1969, Gremillion was indicted on charges of fraud and conspiracy along with four other men involved with the Louisiana Loan and Thrift Corporation. They were charged with issuing bond investment certificates and lying to potential investors to increase the sale of the certificates. The company went bankrupt in 1968, owing its depositors about $2.5 million.

Gremillion was also indicted in 1970 on perjury charges stating that he lied to a grand jury by denying having a financial involvement in the company, owned stock in the company, and granted a proxy for his shares at a 1967 shareholders' meeting. He was acquitted at trial in 1971 on the fraud and conspiracy charges. Later in the year, however, he was convicted of five counts of perjury.

Gremillion was still able to show a bit of bravado in the face of these troubles. After his conviction, Governor John McKeithen declared, "I'm awfully embarrassed by our Attorney General. I don't know of anything else to do but shoot him." Gremillion responded by heading over to the steps of the Capitol and offering himself up as a target.

In 1972, Gremillion was sentenced to a three-year prison sentence. Federal circuit court judge Fred J. Cassibry declared, "In the United States no man is so small as to be disregarded by the law. Neither is any man so great as to be above it." The conviction doomed Gremillion's chances of winning the Democratic nomination for Attorney General, which went to William Guste Jr. (who went on to serve the next 20 years in Gremillion's place).

Gremillion served 15 months of the sentence before being released. In 1976, he was pardoned by Governor Edwin W. Edwards. Returning to law work, he died in 2001.

Sources: The Political Graveyard, the Federal Judicial Center, Louisiana Knights of Columbus, "Judges Order Integration in New Orleans" in the St. Petersburg Times on Aug. 28 1960, "Desegregation Prospects" in Time on Sept. 5 1960, "Challenge from the South" in Time on Jan. 28 1966, "Some Needed Nudges" in Time on Mar. 18 1966, "In the Shadow of the Chair" in Time on Aug. 26 1966, "Louisiana's Attorney General is Indicted on Fraud Count" in the St. Petersburg Times on Feb. 15 1969, "Grand Jury Indicts La. Attorney General" in the St. Petersburg Times on Jul. 7 1970, "Louisiana Attorney General Convicted" in the New York Times on Sept. 26 1971, "'Shoot Away, Big John'" in the St. Petersburg Times on Nov. 25 1971, "Attorney General Gets Three Years - Lied to Jury" in the Desert News on Jan. 6 1972, "Jack P.F. Gremillion; Louisiana Attorney General, 86" in the New York Times on March 6 2001, Fifty-eight Lonely Men: Southern Federal Judges and School Desegregation by Jack Walter Peltason

Daniel J. Flood: the dapper briber

Image from bioguide.congress.gov

An expert at bringing federal money into his district, Daniel John Flood's longstanding career was shattered when he ended up getting ahold of those funds the wrong way.

Flood was born in 1903 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania and graduated from Syracuse University in New York in 1924. He initially made his career as a Shakespearean actor; in his later troubles, news reports found it irresistible to comment on this aspect of his life, along with his distinctive waxed mustache. Flood went on to attend Harvard University and the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1929. He was admitted to the bar the next year.

In the following years, Flood held numerous Pennsylvania state positions. He was the deputy attorney general and counsel to the Liquor Control Board from 1935 to 1939, and director of the Bureau of Public Assistance Disbursements and executive assistant to the state treasurer from 1941 to 1944.

In 1944, Flood was elected to Congress as a Democrat. He lost the next election, won two after that, lost again in 1952, and was re-elected in 1954 in the first of 13 returns to office. From 1967 to 1979, he chaired the subcommittee on Labor, Health, Education, and Welfare, part of the House Appropriations Committee.

Hailing from a depressed anthracite-producing region, Flood's popularity in his district was likely due to his ability to secure federal funds for a variety of projects. After Hurricane Agnes flooded parts of northeastern Pennsylvania in 1972, Flood was able to facilitate about $100 million in direct aid. He was also able to pressure the U.S. Army to accept coal from his district to heat their European bases. He encouraged federal loans and guarantees for industries to come to the area, military contracts during the Vietnam War, and the rerouting of a highway to run through the district. Other federal funding went toward an elementary school, rural health center, industrial park, and elderly center, all of which were named for Flood.

In 1978, a former aide of "Dapper Dan" brought into question the way the funds were obtained. Steve Elko, who had started working for Flood in 1970, left that role in 1976 after he was convicted of accepting kickbacks from favors from constituents and others who were seeking federal money. Elko was sentenced to serve two years in prison. In 1978, he began to cooperate with federal investigators, saying some of the money had gone to Flood. He quoted Flood as saying, "This is a business. Get all you can while you can get it." The state's Crime Commission suggested that Flood may have helped out a local contractor with ties to Russell Bufalino, head of a Mafia family. The scandal also roped in Joshua Eilberg, Democratic congressman from Philadelphia, to whom Flood had directed administrators of Hahnemann Medical College when they were looking to secure federal construction money. Eilberg was later convicted of his own set of crimes.

Flood was indicted in September 1978 on charges of bribery and perjury during the period Elko worked for him. He was accused of taking at least $50,000 in illegal payments and lying about the payments while under oath. While the indictment dented his momentum in the election year, Flood still won that year's election against Republican candidate Robert P. Hudock with 58 percent of the vote. The approach of criminal proceedings did lead Flood to give up his chairmanship of the HEW subcommittee in 1979.

During a 13-day trial in early 1979, several witnesses took the stand on behalf of the prosecution. Of the 21 witnesses called by the prosecution, three businessmen, a lobbyist, and a rabbi said they had paid bribes to Flood; another witness said he had given Flood 100 shares of bank stock. The defense called 37 witnesses, but Flood never took the stand.

The case took a surprising twist when the jury deadlocked with a single juror refusing to find Flood guilty of the five counts of bribery and three counts of perjury. The sole dissenter, retired Navy cook William Cash, said that he had heard from independent sources that Elko and three prosecution witnesses took $176,000 from Flood and were guiltier than the congressman. Indeed, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported during the trial that the rabbi was imprisoned, the lobbyist was living under a new identity after winning immunity from prosecution, one businessman had done two years for tax fraud and bribery, and another had been the subject of a fraud investigation and testified under the condition of immunity. Of the witnesses the Gazette listed that said they had given bribes to Flood, only banker and retired state legislator T. Newell Wood did not have a qualifier noting a criminal history.

Cash should not have been hearing anything from "independent sources," however, and he was subject to a jury tampering investigation immediately after a mistrial was declared. He failed two polygraph tests during the investigation, but it was determined that Cash had not deliberately tried to throw the verdict. Meanwhile, a second trial was delayed as Flood was hospitalized several times. In November of 1979, he announced that he would resign from Congress at the end of January 1980, citing the strain the criminal proceedings were having on his health.

Flood's lawyers said that he had become addicted to barbiturates, but he was found competent to stand a second trial in December 1979. In February of 1980, Flood pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate federal campaign laws by taking payoffs from the five accusers. He said he was entering the plea because he felt a jury could find him guilty. In April, a special election to fill the vacancy in the Congress chose Democratic state legislator Raphael Musto to fill the remainder of Flood's term.

Following the conviction, Flood disappeared into relative obscurity. He died in 1994 of pneumonia.

Sources: The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "Theatrical Flood: Curtain Closing?" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb. 27 1978, "Flood's Election May Be His Last Hurrah" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Oct. 28 1978, "Flood to Testify in Bribery Trial" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jan. 29 1979, "Defense Rests Case Without Calling on Flood" in the Daily Collegian on Feb. 1 1979,"Flood Jury Retires, No Verdict Issued" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb. 2 1979, "The Twelfth Man Hangs a Jury" in Time on Feb. 19 1979, "Flood Juror Fails 2 Polygraph Tests" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on June 4 1979, "Rep. Flood Resigns from House" in the Daily Collegian on Nov. 8 1979, "Doctors Judge Flood Competent for Retrial" in the Daily Collegian on Dec. 4 1979, "Flood Pleads Guilty in Conspiracy, Judge Gives Him Year's Probation" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb. 27 1980, "Democrat Wins Election to Rest of Flood's Term" in the New York Times on April 10 1980, "Daniel Flood, 90, Who Quit Congress in Disgrace, Is Dead" in the New York Times on May 29 1994, Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth by Randall M. Miller and William Pencak, Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment, Volume 3 edited by David Levinson