One of the people you won’t find here is Richard Nixon. Despite his well known transgressions, Nixon didn’t line his own pockets.
1. William “Boss” Tweed. Boss headed Tammany Hall is NYC During the Civil War and was convicted in 1873 for his role in a corruption ring that stole at least $1 billion in today’s dollars and given a 12-year sentence.
2. Ray Blanton.
A former member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Blanton was elected Governor in 1975. He came under significant pressure after he pardoned a convicted double murderer whose father was later found to be a county chairman for Blanton.
Blanton pardoned 24 murderers and 28 other convicts for money.
3.Budd Dwyer.
A Republican politician from Pennsylvania, Budd Dwyer was a member of the state House of Representatives from 1965 to 1970 and spent the following decade in the state Senate. Dwyer was then elected state Treasurer.
Dwyer took a $300,000 bribe in exchange for a 400 million dollar contract.
Dwyer was also accused of five counts of mail fraud, four counts of inter-state transportation in aiding racketeering and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. Dwyer faced a maximum of 55 years in prison and a $300,000 fine.
At a press conference the morning of January 22, with TV cameras rolling and reporters watching, Dwyer pulled out a loaded .357 Magnum from a manila envelope and took his own life.
4.Edwin Edwards. A Democrat Governor from Louisiana, Edwards was found guilty of extortion, fraud, racketeering and conspiracy related to selling Riverboat Gambling Licenses.
5.Spiro Agnew. Agnew was Vice-President under Nixon.
After Nixon won re-election, Agnew was targeted by a U.S. Attorney investigation for tax fraud, bribery, extortion and conspiracy related to his earlier political career in Maryland. He was formally charged with accepting bribes of more than $100,000.
6.Carrol Hubbard.
Carroll Hubbard served in the Kentucky Senate from 1968 to 1974 before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the state’s 1st District. After a failed bid for Governor in 1979, Hubbard was re-elected to the House six more times before being defeated in the 1992 primary.
Hubbard was indicted for misusing government property and personnel as part of the 1992 Rubbergate House Banking Scandal, in which House members were found to have overdrawn their House checking accounts. Hubbard’s wife was also put on probation for five years for illegally using the congressman’s aides for her own failed run for Congress.
To lessen his punishment, Hubbard worked as an FBI informant with the name “Elmer Fudd” although he ultimately proved useless to the agency. In 1993 Hubbard complained about this job to the Washington Post and certain news programs. The following year he pled guilty to three felony charges of violating federal campaign spending rules, conversion of federal property, theft and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to three years in federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas and fined $153,794.
7. George Ryan.Ryan was a Governor of Illinois who was involved in the Licenses For Bribes Scandal. He is in prison for racketeering, bribery, money laundering, extortion and tax fraud.
8. James Traficant. A Democrat Ohio Congressman who was convicted of ten felonies including bribery, tax evasion and racketeering.
9. Randy Cunningham. Cunningham took 2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. The former Republican Congressman is still in prison.
10. Huey Long, the “Kingfish”. Long was Governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932. Long had a long history of corruption and was known to extort anyone he could.
Long was known to intimidate his opponents by firing their relatives from state jobs. He sought to establish a tax on newspapers to forbid them from publishing material he deemed slanderous. In 1934 Long sought further control of Louisiana state government by nearly eliminating local government, giving himself the power to choose all state employees.
Long was shot in the Louisiana Capitol in September 1935—one month after announcing his candidacy for president.
My only question is, which one of these corrupt politicians will have to be removed from the Top Ten List to make room for Barack Hussein Obama?