The Fassett Investigation, or Fassett Committee, was an 1890 probe by the New York State Senate into

political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...

in New York City. The committee was mainly looking for evidence of bribery among appointed officials and the

Board of Aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands ( wethouder) and Belgium ( schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking mem ...

. Most of these were Democrats under the leadership of

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

"Chieftain"

Richard Croker Richard Welstead Croker (November 24, 1843 – April 29, 1922), known as "Boss Croker", was an Irish American political boss who was a leader of New York City's Tammany Hall. His control over the city was cemented with the 1897 election of R ...

and Mayor

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as a charming and vulnerable romantic leading man, and has since transitioned into a character actor. He has received List of awards ...

. Some of the most newsworthy testimony came from Croker's brother-in-law, Patrick H. McCann, proprietor of the posh Mount St. Vincent Hotel in Central Park. McCann told how Grant, before he was mayor, once made a present of $25,000 to Croker's six-year-old daughter, Flossie, which he said the Crokers used to purchase a new house. On another occasion, in 1884, Croker dropped in on McCann and showed him a bag with $180,000, explaining that it was cash for bribing the Aldermen so that Grant would be approved as Commissioner of Public Works. Officially titled the State Senate Committee on Cities and chaired by Republican J. Sloat Fassett, the testimony ran to over 3000 printed pages. However, it brought no indictments or convictions. The Tammany Democrats romped to victory in November 1890 and again in 1892.Gustavus Myers, The History of Tammany Hall. 1917. Ex-senator Fassett won the Republican nomination for governor in 1891. He lost the election.

References

{{Reflist 1890 in New York City New York State Legislature Politics of New York (state) Political scandals in New York (state) Political history of New York City Tammany Hall