The New Student's Reference Work/Tweed, William Marcy

Tweed, William Marcy, an American politician, was born at New York, April 3, 1823. He held the different offices of alderman, congressman, supervisor of the city of New York, school and street commissioner and state senator. While commissioner of public works in 1870, he and his followers, constituting the famous Tweed Ring, used large amounts of public funds for their own purposes. After several trials Tweed was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and the payment of $12,550 as a fine. He was confined at Blackwell's Island, but his imprisonment was declared illegal by the court of appeals. Several other suits had been brought against him, and he was again imprisoned for want of the $3,000,000 of bail required. He escaped to Spain, but was recaptured, and died in jail in New York City on April 12, 1878.