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| {{short description|American politician}} | |||
| {{Infobox officeholder | {{Infobox officeholder | ||
| |name = Fred Richmond | |name = Fred Richmond | ||
Revision as of 20:57, 12 January 2020
American politician| Fred Richmond | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 14th district | |
| In office January 3, 1975 – August 25, 1982 | |
| Preceded by | John J. Rooney |
| Succeeded by | Guy Molinari |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frederick William Richmond (1923-11-15)November 15, 1923 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | December 28, 2019(2019-12-28) (aged 96) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Boston University (BA) |
Frederick William Richmond (November 15, 1923 – December 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.
Early life
Richmond was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He served in the United States Navy from 1943 until 1945. Richmond graduated from Boston University in 1945. He engaged in a wide array of civic and charitable activities in New York. In college, he supported himself by playing the piano and forming the Freddie Richmond Swing Band.
Politics
He served as deputy finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1958 until 1960 and was a delegate to the 1964 Democratic National Convention. He was also member of the New York City Council from 1973 until 1974 when he was elected to the US Congress in 1974 and represented New York's 14th congressional district from January 3, 1975, until August 25, 1982.
Upon his election, Richmond joined the House Agriculture Committee where he spent many years to develop new support for federally funded inner city gardens which he hoped would spread across the nation. Due to his work, and with help from House veterans in Congress like Jamie Whitten, the Urban Gardening Program (UGP) was created.
Business
From the 1950s to the 1980s he built a conglomerate, incorporated in 1960 as Walco National, buying up and usually improving the operations of a diverse group of smaller operating companies. His business career was not without notoriety. Richmond was also known as an opportunist who skirted ethics. In one instance, he was accused of involvement in greenmail, the purchase of strategic blocks of shares for resale back to a target for a profit.
Personal
In April 1978, Richmond was arrested in Washington for soliciting sex from a 16-year-old boy.
In 1982, Richmond was convicted on federal corruption charges, which included possession of marijuana and payment of an illegal gratuity to a Brooklyn Navy Yard employee. He resigned his seat and was found guilty of making illegal payments to a government employee and marijuana possession. He was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison and fined $20,000. He served nine months in prison.
With a personal fortune estimated at $32 million, Richmond was one of the wealthiest members of Congress.
Richmond died on December 28, 2019 at a nursing home in Manhattan from pneumonia, aged 96.
See also
- List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes
- List of federal political scandals in the United States
- List of federal political sex scandals in the United States
- List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
References
- Malakoff, David (1994). "Final Harvest". Community Greening Review: 1–2.
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/congress.htm
- "CongressionalBadBoys". Archived from the original on 2012-08-10. Retrieved 2006-10-04.
- "The Foley Follies", by John W. Dean, FindLaw, October 6, 2006
- "Frederick Richmond, 96, Dies; Congressman Undone by Corruption". The New York Times. January 9, 2020.
External links
- United States Congress. "Fred Richmond (id: R000232)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2009-05-19.
- "What's Really Wrong with Fred Richmond?", Jim Sleeper, Village Voice, March 30, 1982.
- "The Rise and Fall of Fred Richmond", Pete Hamill and Denis Hamill, New York Magazine, November 22, 1982.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byLeonard Scholnick | Member of the New York City Council from the 18th district 1973 |
Succeeded byMorton Povman |
| Preceded byMario Merola | Member of the New York City Council from the 29th district 1974 |
Succeeded byAbraham Gerges |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded byJohn J. Rooney | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 14th congressional district 1975–1982 |
Succeeded byGuy Molinari |
- 1923 births
- 2019 deaths
- 20th-century American politicians
- American businesspeople convicted of crimes
- American naval personnel of World War II
- American people convicted of drug offenses
- American people convicted of tax crimes
- American politicians convicted of bribery
- Boston University alumni
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
- Military personnel from Massachusetts
- New York (state) Democrats
- New York (state) politicians convicted of crimes
- New York City Council members
- Politicians from Boston