Daniel Patrick "Dan" O'Connell (November 13, 1885 – February 28, 1977) was a longtime leader of the Democratic Party

political machine In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership c ...

in Albany County,

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

. O'Connell was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

and dropped out of school in the fifth grade, finding work as a

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of maso ...

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; Hackett's victory was a Democratic Party victory over a Republican political machine—led by

William Barnes Jr. William Barnes Jr. (November 17, 1866 – June 25, 1930) was an American journalist and politician. The longtime owner and publisher of the ''Albany Evening Journal'', Barnes was most notable as a major behind the scenes player in state and ...

—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 Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

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 businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as the 72nd mayor of Albany, New York from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last classi ...

. According to author Paul Grondahl, O'Connell is suspected of having ordered the murder of gangster

Legs Diamond Jack "Legs" Diamond (possibly born John Thomas Diamond, though disputed; July 10, 1897 – December 18, 1931), also known as John Nolan and Gentleman Jack, was an Irish Americans, Irish-American gangster in Philadelphia and New York City during ...

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. O'Connell steered Albany city and county bonding contracts through his bonding firm O'Connell Brothers & Corning, which operated out of the City Savings Bank Building owned by Albany Mayor Bill Hackett.

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