Joseph H. Hoadley (July 1863 – ?) was an American financier charged with fraud on several occasions. He was president of International Power Co.

Biography

He was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in July 1863, to a family of New England descent with connections to mechanical engineering inventions He began his career in 15 as an apprentice in Union Brass & Iron Works machine shop, but before completing his apprenticeship he moved on to Pacific steam liner SS City of Tokio and worked his way over to one of her engineers. After returning to complete his apprenticeship, Hoadley worked briefly as a locomotive engineer on the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

. By age 21, he had become superintendent of the

Calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

mines in Southern California. He then established himself as a contractor for mining machinery, installing plants across several western states including California, Idaho, Washington, Montana, Oregon, and Alaska. Hoadley expanded his business to include contracts for power-house plants, street railroads, electric-lighting plants, and various industrial facilities, and by 1894 he had moved his headquarters to Chicago, linking his western operations with new ventures in the Midwest. In 1902 he headed American Ordnance Company based in

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

which manufactured

Driggs-Schroeder Driggs-Schroeder was the name of several naval artillery, naval guns designed by US Navy officers William H. Driggs and Seaton Schroeder for the United States Navy in the late 1880s, fitted on ships built in the 1890s. Some Driggs-Schroeder weapon ...

and Hotchkiss naval guns and negotiated the acquisition of competing

Driggs-Seabury Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Company was founded in 1897 by Driggs family, William H. Driggs and Samuel Seabury, both US Navy officers, in partnership with William's brother Louis Labadie "L. L." Driggs, originally to produce guns for the US Army and ...

. By 1906 he was a defendant before the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

in a trial with Elizabeth C. Prall. In 1916 he was sentenced to

Ludlow Street Jail The Ludlow Street Jail was New York City's Federal prison, located on Ludlow Street and Broome Street in Manhattan. Some prisoners, such as soldiers, were held there temporarily awaiting extradition to other jurisdictions, but most of the inmate ...

, when the police came to detain him at his house, and suspect that he escaped through a secret tunnel. In 1918 he lost a lawsuit and was ordered to pay $999,389 to the American & British Mfg. Co. His wife died by suicide in 1919 by inhaling

illuminating gas The history of gaseous fuel, important for lighting, heating, and cooking purposes throughout most of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, began with the development of analytical chemistry, analytical and pneumatic chemistry i ...

. The police investigated her death as a possible murder. He was then ordered out of his house for non payment of his mortgage. The house was sold, and he claimed to the court that he had an arrangement with the new owner where he was not required to pay rent. In 1932 he was arrested and convicted of

check fraud Cheque fraud or check fraud (American English) refers to a category of criminal acts that involve making the unlawful use of cheques in order to illegally acquire or borrow funds that do not exist within the account balance or account-holder's l ...

for $1,037, and sentenced to three months in a

workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoafley, Joseph 1863 births Year of death missing American financial businesspeople American people convicted of fraud