08/09/15
KANSAS CITY–Impartial and fair elections are the cornerstone of any democracy, and the FBI has a long history of investigating illegal activities that harm the elective process.
One of our earliest investigations involved Kansas City political fixer Tom Pendergast, who was threatened by the basic workings of democratic elections—in particular, by any election that didn’t go his way. In the 1920s and 1930s, Pendergast, a former alderman, ran the political machine that controlled the electoral choices in Kansas City, Missouri, and he got rich in the process. Because of Pendergast’s corrupt activities—including voter fraud and bribery—Kansas City became known as an open city where gangsters moved freely and prostitution, gambling, and drug enterprises flourished.
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