Daniel Serritella
Daniel Serritella | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Illinois Senate (1st District) | |
| In office 1930–1942 | |
| Preceded by | Adolph Marks |
| Succeeded by | Lawrence E. Dowd |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 29, 1898 |
| Party | Republican |
Daniel Serritella was an American politician who served as a member of the Illinois Senate.
Serritella was born on August 29, 1898 in Chicago, Illinois.[1] He was elected in 1930 to the Illinois Senate representing the 1st District in Cook County[1] succeeding Adolph Marks. During that time, Serritella also served as Chicago's Sealer, a role that put him in charge of the accuracy of merchant scales and measures. Widely considered an ally of Al Capone, and one of his de facto representatives in both city and state government, Serritella was convicted in 1932 of accepting bribes of money and food from merchants in exchange for allowing them to fix their scales. The investigation of the inaccurate scales was conducted by the Secret Six, a Chicago vigilante organization, and turned up hundreds of instances of "short-weighting," costing Chicago consumers "millions of dollars." Serritella and his deputy, Harry Hochstein, were both fined $2,000 and sentenced to a year in the county jail, but the conviction was tossed out on appeal and neither man served any jail time.[2] Serritella was reelected in 1934[3][4][5] and in 1938.[6] He was succeeded by Democrat Lawrence E. Dowd in 1942.[7] In 1953, he was declared mentally incompetent and placed in the custody of his brother, Vincent Serritella.[8]
References
- ^ a b Illinois Blue Book (1931-1932). State of Illinois. 1932. p. 214.
- ^
- John Boettiger, “Trial Discloses Secret 6 behind Serritella Quiz,” Chicago Tribune, May 4, 1932, 5.
- “Probe Records Seized in Office of Serritella; Jurors Hunt Evidence of Short Weight Plot,” Chicago Tribune, April 2, 1931, 3.
- “City Hall is Raided in Chicago, 28 Taken,” New York Times, April 2, 1931, 1.
- “Serritella Sent to County Jail for Year’s Term; Hochstein Also Is Given Cell Sentence,” Chicago Tribune, May 21, 1932, 4.
- John Boettiger, “Trial Discloses Secret 6 behind Serritella Quiz,” Chicago Tribune, May 4, 1932, 5.
- “Serritella’s Conviction is Upset by Court,” Chicago Tribune, November 7, 1933, 3.
- ^ Illinois Blue Book (1935-1936). State of Illinois. 1932. p. 135.
- ^ Illinois Blue Book (1937-1938). State of Illinois. 1938. p. 135.
- ^ Illinois Legislative Roster — 1818-2024 (PDF). State of Illinois.
- ^ Illinois Blue Book (1939-1940). State of Illinois. 1940. p. 147.
- ^ Illinois Blue Book (1943-1944). State of Illinois. 1944. p. 366.
- ^ “Dan Serritella Ruled Mentally Ill by Court,” Chicago Tribune, April 17, 1953, 19.