When you think of corruption and greed, what do you think of? Maybe a billionaire who could feed the entire world but spends it on worthless estates. Or maybe Mafia and gang leaders. But no, there is one title every American and even non-American thinks of when corruption and greed are spoken of. Council people, Congresspeople, Mayors, Governors, Senators, Presidents, or, simply put, Politicians. 

This list will focus on only financial scandals. Scandals that include extortion, shakedowns, and bribery. If I included sex scandals, we would be here all day until blue in the face. This list will be in no order as well. My own personal top five most shameful, unscrupulous, and dishonest politicians to ever take an oath to serve the public. 

5. Ray Nagin 

Ray Nagin is the ¨wonderful¨ former mayor, now convicted felon, of New Orleans. Mayor Nagin was elected in 2002 in a highly contested race in which he beat Police Chief Richard Pennington, State Senator Paulette Irons, and City Councilman Troy Carter. Mayor Nagin gained international status in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a time of great pain and despair for his city, he fumbled the job extremely hard. He let down and used the people he swore to protect. While Mayor Nagin might not have stacked up as many bills as some of the other people on this list have. The audacity and disgusting nature of what he did and when he did it, makes up for it. Nagin used this time of pain and grieving as a source of revenue. Mayor Nagin hired an ¨associate¨ named Greg Meffert to be chief technology officer of the city. Meffert would gain control over millions of dollars in no-bid city contracts for tech like computer systems and city and crime cameras. Nagin would then use his powerful position as city mayor to redevelop businesses and use money from the city to help fund a company he owned with his sons. Frank Fradella, who was a city contractor, was bribing Nagin with $50,000 and delivered truckloads of free granite. This $50,000 and free granite went to Nagin’s sons’ business in exchange for favorable treatment for Fradella’s companies within the city’s contracts. Mayor Nagin was convicted on 20 of the 21 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy, bribery, money laundering, and filing false tax returns related to bribes from city contractors on February 12, 2014. It was found that he had taken more than $500,000 in payouts from businessmen.. He also had taken money that citizens gave to the city for Hurricane Katrina relief in exchange for millions of dollars worth of city contracts. All of this corruption while his city needed him in its darkest hour. An absolutely worthless and immoral human being. But then again he is a politician. 

4. Paul Powell

¨There’s only one thing worse than a defeated politician, and that’s a broke politician,” said Paul Powell. 

A lesser-known politician on this list. Paul Powell was the former Illinois Secretary of State from 1965 until his shocking and unexpected death in 1970. Secretary Powell was an honest and hard-working politician to the people of Illinois when he was in office. So they thought of course. Within days of Mr. Powell’s death, shoeboxes, briefcases, and strongboxes with over $750,000 in cash were found in his hotel suite. His annual salary prevented him from ever earning over $30,000. $50,000 more was found in his office. A total of 800,000 undocumented, and untaxed money was just sitting there. He gained this wealth through means of illegal cash bribes, which he acquired for giving noncompetitive state contracts to political associates. As well as having a problematic horse race betting habit. In 1978 his estate was worth $4.6 million, of that $4.6 million, $1 million was all racetrack stock. 

3. Edwin Edwards  

Onto yet another honest and true Louisiana official. Edwin Edwards (yes that’s his real name) is the former 4-term Governor of Louisiana. Edwards served first as the U.S. representative for Louisiana’s 7th congressional district from 1965 to 1972. Edwards was elected to the Governors seat in 1972 serving 2 consecutive terms until 1980. He then served again in 1984 until 1988. Then finally in 1992 until 1996. He was one of the most influential and popular Governors and political figures of his time and frankly of all time. However, like every ¨honest¨ politician. The things done in the dark come out in the light. Edwin Edwards is the Teflon don of politics. Beating 24 different corruption cases against him starting in the 70s when he was a young Rep. However, lucky case number 25 was the end of the Governor’s luck. A federal grand jury in 1998 indicted him for extorting millions of dollars in payments for casino licenses in the state. These included money from former 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr, Former Congressman Cleo Fields, and entrepreneur Patrick Graham, just to name a few. Edwards was found guilty on seventeen of twenty-six counts, including racketeering, extortion, money laundering, mail fraud, and wire fraud. For a man that stated the only way that he could lose an upcoming election was “if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.” It looks like his political career ended with his own stupid actions and not the fault of a live boy or dead girl. 

 2. Kwame Kilpatrick 

Oh boy, where do I even start with this one? The most corrupt and unqualified mayor in Detroit’s history and possibly all of U.S. history. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was the mayor of the most dangerous city in America, Detroit, from 2002 up until his must needed resignation in 2008. Kilpatrick made Detroit suffer for 6 long corrupt-filled years. There are many things I can mention about Kilpatrick from a wild party with strippers and cocaine at his taxpayer-funded residence to hundreds upon thousands of dollars in unexplained deposits to his personal bank account. A stripper who attended this taxpayer-funded party was murdered She was shot multiple times with a .40 caliber Glock pistol, the same gun officially issued to the Detroit Police. Investigators believed this to be a “deliberate hit¨ by a member of the Detroit Police Department. It is rumored the Mayor either ordered or knew about the hit. Yet no evidence has proven this to be true. He also fleeced city contractors and taxpayers for his own selfish personal gain of wealth. Kilpatrick collected almost 5 million dollars in kickbacks alone. He used city-funded programs paid for by the people of Detroit to take his family to a 5-star hotel in California. He hired unqualified family and friends to important city roles like secretaries and department heads. The family and friends who were appointed had an average salary increase of 36% compared with a 2% raise in 2003 and a 2% raise in 2004 for fellow city workers. One of Kilpatrick’s cousins, Ajene Evans, had a 77% increase in his salary during a 5-year period. The largest salary increase among the 29 family and friends appointed was that of LaTonya Wallace-Hardiman who went from $32,500 working as a staff secretary to an executive assistant to the Mayor and making $85,500. All while Kilpatrick was undercutting thousands of city jobs because they could not pay the city workers enough money. He also wasted police presence at his home in order to have them be bodyguards for his taxpayer-paid parties. He then stated it was a ¨plot¨ to ruin the mayor. In October 2013, Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison. Kilpatrick was convicted on 24 felony counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud, and racketeering. But an even more useless human, Donald Trump, commuted his sentence and Kilpatrick got 20 years off his sentence as he only served 8 of the 20. 

1. William ¨Boss¨ Tweed

The former US Representative and then State Senator from New York, William Tweed has the honor of being the most crooked and wealthy dirty politician ever. Tweed was the political mastermind of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party’s political machine that played a huge role in the politics of 19th-century New York City and its state. At the pinnacle of his influence, Tweed was the third-largest landowner in New York City, the director of the Erie Railroad, the Tenth National Bank, and the New York Printing Company, as well as the proprietor of the Metropolitan Hotel, a remarkable stockholder in iron mines and gas companies, a board member of the Harlem Gas Light Company, the Third Avenue Railway Company, and the Brooklyn Bridge Company, and the president of the Guardian Savings Bank. In 1858, he became the figurehead for Tammany hall. Tweed’s greatest supremacy came from being appointed member of several boards and commissions. Tweed’s control over New York City’s politics came all through Tammany, and his ability to ensure voters’ loyalty through jobs and the fact he could create and dispense city-related projects at any time. His first corrupt act is what every politician is fantastic at, receiving and distributing bribes. Tweed paid $600,000 to the NYC republicans in order to have new city charters which returned power to City Hall and all sole power to Tweed. The new charter put control of the city’s finances in the hands of the Board of Audit, which was made up of Tweed, who was Commissioner of Public Works, NYC Mayor Oakey Hall, and Comptroller Richard “Slippery Dick” Connolly; all, of course, Tammany men. Hall then would appoint other Tweed associates to high offices such as the Department of Public Parks, which he gave to Peter B. Sweeny. Thus providing what became known as the Tweed Ring with even firmer control of the New York City government and enabling them to defraud the taxpayers of many more millions of dollars. Tweed’s Ring essentially controlled New York City. Using everything from embezzlement, bribery, and kickbacks to drain massive chunks of the New York population’s taxes and income into their own pockets. They stole anywhere from $40-$200 million which roughly translates into $1.5-$9 billion in today’s money. Tweed was convicted for stealing an amount estimated between $25-$200 million from New York City taxpayers. Unable to make bail, Tweed did the most badass politician thing ever and escaped from jail. His efforts were essentially useless as he was later returned to custody.