Abraham Lazard Shushan Sr. (January 12, 1894 – November 3, 1966) was an American politician in the middle of the 20th century. A friend and political associate of U.S. Senator Huey P. Long, Shushan was an important political figure in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

during the 1920s and 1930s, before scandals drove him from public office.

Early life and career

Shushan was born in Bougere (now part of Reserve), Louisiana. He was first employed during his early teens by Shushan Brothers, a

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

wholesale dry goods business established by his father and uncle. Shushan became a partner in the firm in 1916 and president of the firm in 1931.

Political career

Shushan became involved in

politics as a supporter in the

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 ...

Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination i ...

. Long was criticized by

Gerald L. K. Smith Gerald Lyman Kenneth Smith (February 27, 1898 – April 15, 1976) was an American Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Disciples clergyman, politician and organizer known for his Populism, populist and Far-right politics, far-right demagoguer ...

, a racist and

anti-semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

politician, of having "too many Jews" in circle, which "Shushan resented." After Long was assassinated, Shushan and his allies had Smith fired and his Share Our Wealth program eliminated. Appointed to the New Orleans Levee Board in 1920 by Governor John M. Parker, he was reappointed by successive administrations and became president of the Board in 1929. He was a member of the Levee Board during the

Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, with inundated in depths of up to over the course of several months in early 1927. The period cost of the damage has been estimate ...

. Shushan was involved in fundraising for John H. Overton during the Election of 1932, which lead later to legal trouble for him. The defeated incumbent, Edwin S. Broussard, accused Overton, and Shushan and his other supporters of voter fraud; the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

held hearings, but Overton was seated without opposition. It was under his direction that the lakefront sea wall and the

New Orleans Lakefront Airport Lakefront Airport is a public airport five miles (eight kilometers) northeast of downtown New Orleans, in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general av ...

were constructed. Originally, in 1934, that airport was named in his honor. In 1935, he was tried for Federal tax and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

charges under the

Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC), is the domestic portion of federal statutory tax law in the United States. It is codified in statute as Title 26 of the United States Code. The IRC is organized topically into subtitles and sections, co ...

by a special prosecutor, former Texas Governor

Dan Moody Daniel James Moody Jr. (June 1, 1893May 22, 1966), was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. Originally from Taylor, Texas, he served as the 30th governor of Texas between 1927 and 1931. At the age of 33, he was elected. He took offic ...

, but was found not guilty. However, due to the scandal, his name was literally and figuratively removed from the airport, in a move similar to a ''

Damnatio memoriae () is a modern Latin phrase meaning "condemnation of memory" or "damnation of memory", indicating that a person is to be excluded from official accounts. Depending on the extent, it can be a case of historical negationism. There are and have b ...

''. His role in the Long machine ended due to the tax evasion scandal, despite his acquittal. The scandal was cited by scholar Zephyr Teachout as one of the most notorious

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

scandals in American history. He ended up being sued by Louisiana Attorney General on behalf of the Levee Board, and the case reached the

Louisiana Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Louisiana (; ) is the supreme court, highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The Supreme ...

in 1940. In 1941, the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: ...

upheld Shushan's conviction for

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

Death and legacy

Shushan died in New Orleans on November 3, 1966, in a plane crash.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shushan, Abraham 20th-century Louisiana politicians Jewish American people in Louisiana politics Political scandals Place of birth missing 1894 births 1966 deaths People from Reserve, Louisiana 20th-century American Jews