James Fred Hastings (April 10, 1926 – October 24, 2014) was an American radio station executive and a Republican politician from New York.

Early life

Hastings was born on April 10, 1926, in Olean, New York. He graduated from Allegany Central School in 1943, and joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After he returned home in 1946 he worked as a carpenter, and then worked as a sales representative for

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

. Hastings later became active in several businesses, including manager and vice president of radio station WHDL from 1952-1966, national advertising manager for the '' Times Herald'' newspaper in Olean from 1964-1966, and a partner in the real estate and insurance firm of Hastings & Jewell. He was a member of the Allegany Town Board from 1953 to 1962, and was the town's police court justice for five years.

Political career

Hastings was a member the New York State Assembly (Cattaraugus Co.) from 1963 to 1965, sitting in the 174th and

175th New York State Legislature The 175th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to June 23, 1965, during the seventh year of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany. Background Under th ...

s; and a member of the New York State Senate from 1966 to 1968, sitting in the 176th and

177th New York State Legislature The 177th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4, 1967, to May 25, 1968, during the ninth and tenth years of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany. Backgro ...

s. He was a delegate to the

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

and

1972 Republican National Convention The 1972 Republican National Convention was held from August 21 to August 23, 1972 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. It nominated President Richard M. Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew for reelection. The conve ...

s. He was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the 91st, 92nd, 93rd and

94th United States Congress The 94th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1975, ...

es, holding office from January 3, 1969, to January 20, 1976, when he resigned to become the president of the Associated Industries trade group in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

. Later in 1976, Hastings was indicted for taking kickbacks from three employees while he was a legislator, and using the money to purchase vehicles, snowmobiles, and boats as well as contributing to his children's college tuition and a New York state retirement fund. He was convicted of mail fraud and filing false payroll information in December 1976 and served 14 months in the

United States Penitentiary, Allenwood The United States Penitentiary, Allenwood (USP Allenwood) is a high security United States federal prison in Pennsylvania. It is part of the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Allenwood) and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, ...

Later life

After his release from prison, Hastings lived in retirement in Belleair Beach, Florida until returning to Allegany in 1998.

Death

He died on October 24, 2014, in Allegany, New York.''Former Representative James F. Hastings remembered as a good public servant''
in the ''Olean Times Herald'' on October 28, 2014

Sources

References