Al Benedict (c. 1929 – August 31, 2003) was an American politician who served as

Pennsylvania Auditor General The Pennsylvania auditor general is the chief fiscal officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1850. The current auditor general of Pennsylvania is Republican Timothy DeFoor. History The office of the auditor g ...

from 1977 to 1985. He was convicted on federal racketeering and tax fraud charges in 1988 and sentenced to six years in prison.

Life and career

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from

McKeesport McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela River, Monongahela and Youghiogheny River, Youghiogheny rivers and within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population ...

and a former

WSEE-TV WSEE-TV (channel 35) is a television station in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. It is the flagship television property of locally based Lilly Broadcasting, and is a sister station to NBC affiliate WICU-TV ...

anchor and

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

controller, Benedict was considered a top candidate for governor before his chief aide, John Kerr, pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges related to job-selling in 1984. Limited to two terms as auditor general, Benedict won the Democratic nomination for

Pennsylvania Treasurer The Pennsylvania State Treasurer is the head of the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, an independent department of state government. The state treasurer is elected every four years. Treasurers are limited to two consecutive terms. The Pennsylva ...

in 1984, defeating Lieutenant Governor

Catherine Baker Knoll Catherine Baker Knoll (September 3, 1930 – November 12, 2008) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. She was the 30th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, serving under Governor Ed Rendell from 2003 to 2008, when she die ...

. Benedict went on to lose the general election to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee

Budd Dwyer Robert Budd Dwyer (November 21, 1939 – January 22, 1987) was an American politician. He served from 1965 to 1971 as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and from 1971 to 1981 as a member of the Pennsylvania ...

, who was convicted on federal bribery charges two years later and committed suicide on television. In 1988, Benedict pleaded guilty to federal racketeering and tax fraud charges and served two years of a six-year prison sentence. After his release, he worked as a salesman and apartment manager and moved

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in 1994.

References

1930s births 2003 deaths People from McKeesport, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Democrats 20th-century American politicians Pennsylvania Auditors General Pennsylvania politicians convicted of corruption Politicians convicted of racketeering {{Pennsylvania-politician-stub