James Joseph Hines (December 18, 1876 – March 26, 1957) was a Democratic Party politician and one of the most powerful leaders of

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

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 ...

Biography

In his early years, Hines acted as a caretaker to residents in New York's Eleventh Assembly District. This helped him win support and influence over the area's residents. In the 1920s and 1930s, Hines maintained "absolute power" over his district and was arguably the most powerful political boss in

. Jimmy Walker's election as Mayor of New York City would also firmly establish Hines' influence over the local political scene As boss of Tammany Hall's Eleventh Assembly District in uptown Manhattan, Hines had access to various sources of wealth and developed close ties with many mobsters such as

Lucky Luciano Charles "Lucky" Luciano (, ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian-born gangster who operated mainly in the United States. Luciano started his criminal career in the Five Points gang and was instrumen ...

, leader of the city's dominant Luciano crime family. In 1932, New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for President and wanted to weaken Tammany Hall. Walker, who was tainted by allegations of corruption and was a threat to Roosevelt's campaign,observer.com
/ref> into resigning. Seeing Tammany Hall as a political liability, Roosevelt decided to appoint a new mayor, a privilege the New York Governor had after any mayor of New York City resigned, and focused on backing a candidate who would destroy Tammany Hall's power for good. Liberal Republican Fiorello LaGuardia, a former Representative and a fierce opponent of Tammany Hall whom Hines had successfully forced from power in the 1932 Congressional election, was elected mayor in 1933, and Tammany Hall's longtime influence over local politicians faded. Hines would not fall. After becoming President, Roosevelt appointed Hines to oversee the U.S. civil service's patronage system for employees in the Manhattan District. Hines' empire grew soon afterward. In 1938, Hines was accused of being involved in the policy racket with

Dutch Schultz Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer; August 6, 1901October 24, 1935) was an American mobster. Based in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s, he made his fortune in organized crime-related activities, including bootlegging and the n ...

(who was murdered in 1935) and

Dixie Davis J. Richard Davis (1905 – December 30, 1969), also known as Dixie Davis, was the lawyer for mobster Dutch Schultz. Biography Davis was born in New York City in 1905 and grew up in Tannersville, New York after his father, a tailor named D ...

and of violating the "lottery laws". Manhattan District Attorney

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

would successfully get Hines convicted on 13 counts of racketeering. Hines provided protection for the policy racket in Harlem and other sections of New York. Hines was charged with influencing Magistrates Capshaw and Erwin to throw out policy cases in which the other conspirators had an interest and to influence former District Attorney William C. Dodge to 'go easy' on policy prosecutions. Hines was alleged to have received a cut in the proceeds of the policy racket. After the first trial ended in a mistrial, he was charged again and Charles Cooper Nott, Jr. presided over the second trial. He died on March 26, 1957, at the Long Beach Memorial Hospital.

Timeline

*1876 Birth on December 18 *1904 Married Geneva E. Cox, had three children *1912 Election for

Eleventh Assembly District *1913 Chief Clerk to the Board of Aldermen *1918 Lieutenant in the Motor Transport Corps during World War I *1920 Won primary in

Eleventh Assembly District *1921 Lost election to become Manhattan Borough President *1926 Jimmy Walker is elected mayor of New York and Hines establishes a foothold in Tammany Hall. *1932-Plays a major role in unseating popular anti-Tammany Hall Congressman Fiorello LaGuardia. However, LaGuardia would be elected Mayor of New York City the following year and Tammany Hall would soon lose its longtime control over the city's political scene *1933 After endorsing Roosevelt for President, Roosevelt appoints him to oversee the US Civil Service's patronage system in the Manhattan District. With this new post, his hold on power is able to withstand LaGuardia's popular purge of Tammany Hall *1938 Indicted for protection of the

mob and for complicity in a lottery or numbers game in August *1938 Mistrial declared by New York General Sessions Court Justice Pecora on September 12 *1939 Hines found guilty of all charges in a New York General Sessions Court retrial in February *1939 Sentenced to 4–8 years in prison on March 23 *1944 Hines paroled on September 12 *1957 Death on March 26

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hines, James Joseph 1876 births 1957 deaths Leaders of Tammany Hall Numbers game New York (state) Democrats