Sara and tom pendergast biography

  • Sara and tom pendergast biography

    • Sara and tom pendergast biography

  • Sara and tom pendergast biography
  • Tom pendergast kansas city
  • The Story of Tom Pendergast - KC Yesterday
  • Boss Tom Pendergast: The Rise and Fall of Kansas City’s ...
  • World War I: Biographies (World War I Reference Library)

    • The Story of Tom Pendergast - KC Yesterday.

    Tom Pendergast

    American political boss (–)

    For the English footballer, see Tom Pendergast (footballer).

    Thomas Joseph Pendergast (July 22, – January 26, ), also known as T.&#;J.

    Pendergast, was an American political boss who controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri, from to

    Pendergast only briefly held elected office, as an alderman, but his capacity as chairman of the Jackson County Democratic Party allowed him to use his large network of Irish family and friends to help the election of politicians, in some cases by voter fraud, and to hand out government contracts and patronage jobs.

    He became wealthy in the process, but his addiction to gambling, especially horse racing, later led to a large accumulation of personal debts.

    In , he was convicted of income tax evasion and served 15 months in a federal prison.

    The Pendergast organization helped to launch the political career of future president Harry S. Truman, which caused Truman's early enemies to dub him "