Daniel Patrick "Dan" O'Connell (November 13, 1885 – February 28, 1977) was a longtime leader of the Democratic Party political machine in Albany County, New York. O'Connell was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

and dropped out of school in the fifth grade, finding work as a bricklayer and as a bartender. In 1919, he was elected County Assessor. A few years later left that position to become the chairman of the County Democratic Committee. In 1921, O'Connell was instrumental in the mayoral election victory of

William Stormont Hackett William Stormont Hackett (December 7, 1868 – March 4, 1926) was an American lawyer, banker, businessman and politician. A Democrat, he was most notable for serving as the 70th mayor of Albany, New York after winning an election in 1921 that ...

; Hackett's victory was a Democratic Party victory over a Republican political machine—led by William Barnes Jr.—that had been in power in Albany for over 20 years. During the 56 years that followed, O'Connell had undeniable power in the political life of Albany, determining patronage and essentially ruling the city during the administrations of mayors William Hackett, John Boyd Thacher II and most notably

Erastus Corning 2nd Erastus Corning 2nd (October 7, 1909 – May 28, 1983) was an American politician. A Democrat, Corning served as the 72nd mayor of Albany, New York from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last classic urban political ...

. According to author Paul Grondahl, O'Connell is suspected of having ordered the murder of gangster Legs Diamond in 1931. William Kennedy's 1975 novel '' Billy Phelan's Greatest Game'' is based on the attempted 1933 kidnapping of O'Connell's nephew, John O'Connell Jr. Kennedy's 2002 novel '' Roscoe'' is a fictionalized account of O'Connell's life.

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