Maurice M. Milligan
Encyclopedia
Maurice Morton Milligan a U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is most famous for the successful 1939 prosecution of Kansas City
boss Tom Pendergast
.
Milligan was a federal prosecutor from 1934 to 1945. After toppling Pendergast, Milligan ran in 1940 for the U.S. Senate seat held by Harry S. Truman
. He and Missouri Governor Lloyd C. Stark
split the anti-Pendergast vote in the Democratic primary and Truman won.
Truman had defeated Milligan's brother, Jacob "Tuck" Milligan, in the Democratic primary for Truman's first Senate term in 1934. Maurice Milligan began his assault on the Pendergast machine following the 1936 election and he got convictions on 259 of 278 defendants.
Milligan's case against Pendergast centered on a $750,000 insurance payoff scam and failure to pay federal income taxes from 1927 to 1937. Pendergast ultimately pled guilty to two charges of income tax evasion and was fined $10,000 and sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.
In 1948 Milligan wrote a book about his exploits: Missouri Waltz, The Inside Story of the Pendergast Machine by the Man Who Smashed It (ISBN 1-299-19592-X).
He is interred in Sunny Slope Cemetery in Richmond, Missouri
.
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
boss Tom Pendergast
Tom Pendergast
Thomas Joseph Pendergast controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri as a political boss. "Boss Tom" Pendergast gave workers jobs and helped elect politicians during the Great Depression, becoming wealthy in the process.-Early years:Thomas Joseph Pendergast, also known to close friends as...
.
Milligan was a federal prosecutor from 1934 to 1945. After toppling Pendergast, Milligan ran in 1940 for the U.S. Senate seat held by Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
. He and Missouri Governor Lloyd C. Stark
Lloyd C. Stark
Lloyd Crow Stark was the 39th Governor of the U.S. state of Missouri. He was a Democrat.Stark was born in Louisiana, Missouri. Stark is a 1908 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. After serving four years as a naval officer, Stark went into the family business, the Stark Brothers...
split the anti-Pendergast vote in the Democratic primary and Truman won.
Truman had defeated Milligan's brother, Jacob "Tuck" Milligan, in the Democratic primary for Truman's first Senate term in 1934. Maurice Milligan began his assault on the Pendergast machine following the 1936 election and he got convictions on 259 of 278 defendants.
Milligan's case against Pendergast centered on a $750,000 insurance payoff scam and failure to pay federal income taxes from 1927 to 1937. Pendergast ultimately pled guilty to two charges of income tax evasion and was fined $10,000 and sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.
In 1948 Milligan wrote a book about his exploits: Missouri Waltz, The Inside Story of the Pendergast Machine by the Man Who Smashed It (ISBN 1-299-19592-X).
He is interred in Sunny Slope Cemetery in Richmond, Missouri
Richmond, Missouri
Richmond is a city in Ray County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,797 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ray County.-Geography:Richmond is located at...
.