Boss Toss

 

William Magear Tweed (1823-1878), also known as "Boss" Tweed, was the head of Tammany Hall, the most powerful political machine in the history of New York and possibly the country. Tweed bragged openly about how much power he bought  with huge bribes and scoffed at reformers, who couldn't touch his organization no matter how much noise they made.  "As long as I count the votes", he said to one  do-gooder,  "what are you going to do about it?"

Tweed treated the press with the same contempt telling them to print all the disclosures they wanted, but one activity of the press did concern him. Tweed was incensed by the caricatures of him drawn by Thomas Nast supplied by Harpers Weekly.  "My constituents can't read", he said, "but they can see pictures!"

Eventually, Tweed was arrested, charged, convicted of bribery, and subsequently sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. However, his influence was so  great that he was allowed to visit home everyday till one day he simply slipped away. 

He escaped to Spain where he was certain he could conceal himself from the prying eyes of the press. However, within months he was identified and extradited to the USA to complete his sentence. His downfall? Someone recognized him from a Nast caricature.

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