CORRUPTION: First Felon

Twelve tired-eyed jurors, taut and nervous, filed solemnly into the District of Columbia Supreme Court room one morning last week after a day and a night's deliberation. A young bank teller, as foreman, cleared his throat huskily, read from a blue paper in his shaky hand: "Guilty, with a recommendation to the mercy of the court."

That statement convicted Albert Bacon Fall, onetime (1921-23) Secretary of the Interior, of bribery. It branded him as the first felon in a President's Cabinet in U. S. history. It made him liable to a three-year...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!