These five members– Tamaya Dennard, Greg Landsman, Chris Seelbach, P.G. Since 2019 a number of City Council members have been accused of, or charged with crimes, including the so-called “Gang of Five” in Cincinnati.

This historical backdrop makes the recent corruption in Cincinnati seem like an all-too-familiar pattern. DeCourcy was found guilty and convicted of five misdemeanors. When “Friends of Joe” submitted their tax forms they were told by DeCourcy to mark their forms with the acronym “FOJ,” and they received special treatment. A decade later, in 1990, Joe DeCourcy (Hamilton County Auditor) was convicted of under-appraising his friend’s property, illegally. In the same year, Councilman Phil Collins Jr. In the 1980’s Mayor Tom Brush (1982-1983), a Charterite, was imprisoned for failing to file a tax return. Goodwin’s charges were eventually dropped. Flynt was alleged to have bribed police officers with money and sex parties. In the same year of the Chenault scandal, former Police Chief Carl Goodin was indicted and later convicted of perjury and tampering with evidence, in a scandal that involved the infamous Larry Flynt (of Hustler magazine fame). The year 1975 was a tough one for political scandal in the Queen City. Chenault was fined $2,000 and avoided any jail time. Chenault accepted a plea deal, and his two charges of “theft in office and embezzlement” were dropped convictions would have given him two felonies. In the same year that Springer was appointed mayor, Vice Mayor William Chenault pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges of falsifying city expense vouchers. After he publicly admitted guilt he was reelected and named mayor by fellow council members in 1975. Springer was caught and pleaded guilty to an embarrassing prostitution scandal, but he faced no charges. One of the most famous cases of corruption in Cincinnati government was when Jerry Springer had to resign from City Council in 1974. But destroying Cox’s political machine did not rid Cincinnati from corruption in government forever. The new city government under the charterites required non-partisan, at-large elections. Murray Seasongood (A Republican) changed the structure of the Cincinnati government when he became the first Mayor in 1925 under the newly established Charter Party, which he had established. It took fellow Republicans from Cox’s own party to dismantle his political machine. He would take promising officials under his wing, lavishing them with gifts and bribes.” In fact, Cincinnati’s “homegrown political party,” known as the Charter Party, was formed to fight the rampant corruption of George Cox’s political machine. Voting fraud was said to be rampant during his reign. Cox was notorious for paying off government leaders. In short, he was a kingmaker in the city for nearly two decades. He was elected to City Council at 24, but is more well known for the political machine he created. “It could be said that Cox singlehandedly stopped the Democratic party from controlling Cincinnati at the turn of the 20th century.

Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Cameron Knight in a Februarticle writes: A Republican and associate of William Howard Taft, Cox served on the Cincinnati City Council for two terms.

“Jerry Springer” show promotional photo from 1995.Ī historic figure who is the epitome of Cincinnati corruption is George Cox (1853-1916), otherwise known as Boss Cox. In this article we build upon the work from the Cincinnati Enquirer and continue to offer an analysis and history of the city of Cincinnati. Is this so-called culture of corruption an anomaly in our time or has there been a long history of foul play in Cincinnati politics? A recent article in the Cincinnati Enquirer titled Corruption in Cincinnati: A brief history… offers a short historical survey of city officials who had a run-in with the law due to legal improprieties in their capacity as public servants. But lately, an unfavorable designation has been ascribed to Cincinnati: a city with a “culture of corruption.” This description (of course) refers to all of the recent arrests, indictments and allegations against city officials. Our city goes by many nicknames, including Cincy, the ‘Nati, the Queen City, the Queen of the West, the Blue Chip City and the City of Seven Hills. (Cincinnati is positioned on the Ohio River, the southern boundary of a border state, next to Kentucky, a former slave state).Ĭincinnati’s Storied History of Corruption One of those exciting chapters is the prominent role the city played in the freedom struggle of the 19th century, being heavily involved in underground railroad and abolitionist activity. The city of Cincinnati has a rich and storied history.

Any corrupted city government