Linda Winikow (May 9, 1940 – August 24, 2008) was an American politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Winikow pleaded guilty to grand larceny, commercial bribe receiving and making illegal campaign contributions.

Early life

On May 9, 1940, Winikow was born as Linda Bord in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Winikow's family lived in Hewlett,

Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a suburban County (United States), county located on Long Island, immediately to the east of New York City, bordering the Long Island Sound on the north and the open Atlantic Ocean to the south. As of the 2020 United St ...

Education

Winikow graduated from

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

. Then she taught history at a high school in Long Island.

Career

Winikow entered politics as a

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 ...

, and became a member of the Town of Ramapo Zoning Board of Appeals in 1968; a member of the Ramapo Town Council in 1972; and a member of the Rockland County Legislature in 1974. Winikow was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

from 1975 to 1984, sitting in the 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th and

185th New York State Legislature The 185th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5, 1983, to December 31, 1984, during the first and second years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany. Backg ...

s. She was a delegate to the

1980 Democratic National Convention The 1980 Democratic National Convention nominated President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale for reelection. The convention was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City from August 11 to August 14, 1980. The 1980 convention ...

but in June 1984, she announced that she would not seek re-election. In 1979, the

Supersisters ''Supersisters'' was a set of 72 trading cards produced and distributed in the United States in 1979 by Supersisters, Inc. They featured famous women from politics, media and entertainment, culture, sports, and other areas of achievement. The ...

trading card set was produced and distributed; card number 22 featured Winikow's name and picture. On July 1, 1984, Winikow became the Vice President of Orange and Rockland Utilities's

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

. On August 16, 1993, she was arrested, and accused of funneling more than $250,000 of the company's money away for corrupt purposes and her personal use. Investigations showed that she had paid local newspapers to refrain from publishing articles with undesired coverage of Orange and Rockland Utilities and the company's top employees; that she forced the utility's advertising company to pay

kickbacks A kickback is a form of negotiated bribery in which a commission is paid to the bribe-taker in exchange for services rendered. Generally speaking, the remuneration (money, goods, or services handed over) is negotiated ahead of time. The kickback ...

; and that she made contributions to the election campaigns, using the company's money but declaring it as coming from different sources. On October 6, 1993, she pleaded guilty in Rockland County Court to

grand larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

, commercial bribe receiving and making illegal campaign contributions. In 1995, she was sentenced to nine months in the Rockland county jail.

Personal life

Winikow's husband was Arnold Winikow (1936–2000). In 1964, Winikow and her family moved to

Spring Valley, New York Spring Valley is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the town of Ramapo, New York, Ramapo and Clarkstown, New York, Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is ...

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state's ...

. Her favorite grandchild was Anna Winikow. Winikow died on August 24, 2008, in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

at the age of 68.''Former state Sen. Winikow, convicted of felony charges in utilities scandal, dies at 68''
by Laura Incalcaterra, in ''

The Journal News ''The Journal News'' is a newspaper in New York State serving the New York counties of Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam, a region known as the Lower Hudson Valley. It is owned by Gannett. History ''The Journal News'' was created through a ...

'' on August 28, 2008

References

External links

Linda Winikow at ourcampaigns.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winikow, Linda 1940 births 2008 deaths County legislators in New York (state) Hofstra University alumni Politicians from Sarasota, Florida People from Spring Valley, New York Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Women state legislators in New York (state) 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature