Al Benedict (c. 1929 – August 31, 2003) was an American politician who served as

Pennsylvania Auditor General The Pennsylvania auditor general is the chief fiscal officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1850. The current auditor general of Pennsylvania is Republican Timothy DeFoor. History The office of the audito ...

from 1977 to 1985. He was convicted on federal racketeering and tax fraud charges in 1988 and sentenced to six years in prison.

Life and career

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

from

McKeesport McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. A suburb of Pittsburgh, it is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela River, Monongahela and Youghiogheny River, Youghiogheny rivers. The population was 17,727 as of the ...

and a former

WSEE-TV WSEE-TV (channel 35) is a television station in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. It is the flagship television property of locally based Lilly Broadcasting, and is a sister station to NBC affiliate WIC ...

anchor and

Erie Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

controller, Benedict was considered a top candidate for governor before his chief aide, John Kerr, pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges related to job-selling in 1984. Limited to two terms as auditor general, Benedict won the Democratic nomination for

Pennsylvania Treasurer The treasurer of Pennsylvania is the head of the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, an independent department of the commonwealth's government. The treasurer is elected every four years. Treasurers are limited to two consecutive terms. Pennsy ...

in 1984, defeating Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll. Benedict went on to lose the general election to Republican nominee

R. Budd Dwyer Robert Budd Dwyer (November 21, 1939 – January 22, 1987) was an American politician who served as the 70th Treasurer of Pennsylvania from January 20, 1981 until his suicide on January 22, 1987. He previously served from 1965 to 1971 as a Re ...

, who was convicted on federal bribery charges two years later and committed suicide on television. In 1988, Benedict pleaded guilty to federal racketeering and tax fraud charges and served two years of a six-year prison sentence. After his release, he worked as a salesman and apartment manager and moved to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in 1994.

References

1930s births 2003 deaths People from McKeesport, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Democrats 20th-century Pennsylvania politicians Pennsylvania auditors general Pennsylvania politicians convicted of corruption Politicians convicted of racketeering {{Pennsylvania-politician-stub