William C. Brennan (October 11, 1918 – May 8, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was born on October 11, 1918, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He attended Junior High School No. 125. He graduated from Newtown High School.Hurley, Ed (December 3, 1978).
Historic Newtown High: An Honor Roll of Notables
. ''Daily News'' (New York, New York). p. QX4. Then he became a traffic patrolman. In 1941, he married Gloria M. Lauer, and they had two children. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in the

U.S. Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. He graduated from

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

in 1948, and practiced law in New York City. He also entered politics as a

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 ...

. Brennan was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

(Queens Co., 2nd D.) from 1955 to 1964, sitting in the 170th, 171st, 172nd, 173rd and

174th New York State Legislature The 174th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 9, 1963, to December 30, 1964, during the fifth and sixth years of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany. Ba ...

s. On July 2, 1964, he was appointed by Mayor

Robert F. Wagner, Jr. The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

to the

New York City Criminal Court The Criminal Court of the City of New York is a court of the Judiciary of New York (state), State Unified Court System in New York City that handles misdemeanors (generally, criminal law, crimes punishable by fine or imprisonment of up to one yea ...

. Brennan left the bench when the new Mayor

John V. Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

did not re-appoint him in January 1966. Brennan was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(12th D.) in 1967 and 1968. In November 1968, he was elected to the

New York City Civil Court The Civil Court of the City of New York is a civil court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $25,000 and includes a small claims part (small claims court) for cases in ...

and returned to the bench in January 1969. In November 1969, he was elected to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

and served from 1970 to 1985. On July 25, 1985, he was indicted by a federal grand jury for taking $47,000 in bribes to fix cases in his court. On July 31, he was arraigned before Justice

Jack B. Weinstein Jack Bertrand Weinstein (August 10, 1921 – June 15, 2021) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Until his entry into inactive senior status on February 10, 2020, he mainta ...

in the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, S ...

, and pleaded not guilty. On December 12, Brennan was convicted of taking bribes and several related charges. He then resigned from the bench. On February 3, 1986, he was sentenced to five years in prison, and fined $209,000. On February 11, he was denied bail while appealing, and was ordered to go to jail on March 10. Brennan served 26 months of his sentence, and was released on parole from

Allenwood Federal Prison The Federal Correctional Complex, Allenwood (FCC Allenwood) is a United States federal prison complex for male inmates in Pennsylvania. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The pri ...

on May 13, 1988. On the same day, his appeal was judged: nine of the original 26 charges were dismissed, and his fine was reduced to $9,000, but the prison sentence was upheld. He died on May 8, 2000."BRENNAN, WILLIAM C."
at Social Security Info

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, William C. 1918 births 2000 deaths Politicians from Queens, New York Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Democratic Party New York (state) state senators New York Supreme Court Justices New York University School of Law alumni American politicians convicted of bribery Newtown High School alumni New York (state) politicians convicted of crimes 20th-century American judges 20th-century American legislators United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II