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to total tens of thousands of dollars over the previous fourteen years. He was convicted in United States
District Court in December 1972 and resigned his office. Osser served seventeen months of a six-year sentence. He was released from jail in 1975 and retired from politics, but remained active in Jewish causes. He died in 1995 at the age of 85.
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got wind of it and City
Council held hearings, but the disposition of some of the money was never discovered. Osser drew more controversy in 1971 when the voter rolls were purged of 92,000 names, most of them African Americans. In 1972, he was indicted for mail fraud and taking bribes that were said
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stymied his changes. In 1965, the commissioner's office was finally consolidated into the city government and stripped of its non-election-related duties, reducing the political clout of the job. When the ward boundaries were realigned the following year, Osser became ward leader of the 63rd ward in
112:
in
Philadelphia County into one city. The most important of the remaining duties of a commissioner in Philadelphia was the conduct of the city's elections; they also had responsibility for regulating weights and measures. Because the commissioner's office was a state office, it remained exempt from
65:, but Osser became involved in the political scene of the Democratic Party, which was outnumbered two-to-one there. In 1931, while still studying for his bachelor's degree, Osser was appointed leader of the 16th ward.
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and lost badly. He ran again in 1950 in a much closer race. The official tally showed Osser losing to Scott by 925 votes, but he alleged that the race was stolen. He took his challenge to the floor of the
475:
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53:, Benjamin Osser and Hannah Brody Osser. Osser grew up in the old 16th ward, which housed a diverse collection of immigrant families. He initially worked at his father's
73:
465:
96:, the Democrats overcame the Republicans' 67-year-old hold on city government and became the dominant party in the city. Osser joined fellow Democrat
445:
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Internal party politics led to Osser's ouster as ward leader in 1933, but he remained a committed party worker. He completed his law degree from
460:
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Around that same time, Osser was accused of accepting kickbacks on a deal to replace the city's antiquated voting machines. City
Controller
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After 1951, the
Democrats held most offices in Philadelphia, but politics there were still combative, even on a personal level: after
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and practiced law. He was reelected ward leader in 1946. In 1948, he ran for
Congress in the
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and mooted for a seat on the local courts in 1961 and 1963, but the disapproval of the
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on the three-member commission, with McHenry serving as chairman. The office was a
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the city's civil service regulations, making it a powerful source of patronage.
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322:. Division of Public Information, Office of the City Representative.
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305:. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Bulletin. 1952.
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Decade of
Progress : The story of Philadelphia, 1952–1961
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and 1967, becoming chairman of the commission in 1964.
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476:Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni
30:(January 10, 1910 – September 30, 1995) was a
410:"Maurice S. Osser, 85; Was City Power Broker"
8:
456:Pennsylvania politicians convicted of crimes
349:. December 19, 1950. p. 22 – via
376:"The Rise, Abrupt Fall of Maurice S. Osser"
318:Office of the City Representative (1962).
232:
160:
393:"Osser Given 6 Years, Resigns City Post"
391:Strahahn, Susan Q. (December 21, 1972).
365:. April 3, 1966. p. 30 – via
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220:
108:office, a holdover from the time before
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133:. He was easily reelected commissioner
61:at night. The neighborhood was heavily
257:Office of the City Representative 1962
408:Sataline, Suzanne (October 2, 1995).
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199:
7:
359:"B. Osser, Father of City Official"
88:The following year, Osser ran for
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466:20th-century American politicians
343:"Osser Asks Seat of Hardie Scott"
374:Leary, Mike (December 3, 1972).
446:Philadelphia City Commissioners
382:. pp. B1, B4 – via
110:consolidation of the townships
1:
461:20th-century American lawyers
451:Politicians from Philadelphia
70:Temple University Law School
497:
416:. p. C12 – via
414:The Philadelphia Inquirer
399:. p. A1 – via
397:The Philadelphia Inquirer
380:The Philadelphia Inquirer
363:The Philadelphia Inquirer
347:The Philadelphia Inquirer
83:House of Representatives
23:Maurice S. Osser in 1971
85:, but it was rejected.
471:Pennsylvania Democrats
131:Northeast Philadelphia
24:
303:Bulletin Almanac 1952
245:Bulletin Almanac 1952
22:
481:Pennsylvania lawyers
76:against Republican
16:American politician
142:Alexander Hemphill
102:Walter I. Davidson
25:
118:the 1955 election
98:Thomas P. McHenry
90:city commissioner
59:Temple University
40:City Commissioner
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94:In that election
49:immigrants from
34:politician from
28:Maurice S. Osser
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100:and Republican
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418:Newspapers.com
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384:Newspapers.com
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367:Newspapers.com
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351:Newspapers.com
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38:who served as
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281:Strahahn 1972
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259:, p. 63.
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233:Inquirer 1950
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221:Sataline 1995
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57:and attended
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78:Hardie Scott
74:3rd district
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36:Philadelphia
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441:1995 deaths
436:1910 births
55:livery yard
430:Categories
336:Newspapers
269:Leary 1972
200:Leary 1972
149:References
63:Republican
32:Democratic
92:and won.
328:11471789
311:8641470
290:Sources
135:in 1963
122:in 1959
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309:
106:county
51:Russia
47:Jewish
296:Books
324:OCLC
307:OCLC
432::
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207:^
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