On October 27, 1871, William “Boss” Tweed, the dominant figure in New York City’s notorious Tweed Ring, was arrested—a decisive turn in the scandal that would destroy his grip on power. Tweed and his associates had siphoned public money through inflated bills and contractor kickbacks, turning city projects into sources of private wealth.
The New York County Courthouse became the enduring monument to their corruption. Originally budgeted at $250,000, it ultimately cost taxpayers roughly $13 million. Among the most notorious charges was a payment of $133,187 to plasterer Andrew J. Garvey for just two days’ work. Inflated payments helped funnel public funds back to Tweed and his associates.
Their downfall came through the combined force of documentary evidence and devastating satire. The New York Times published records exposing the corruption, while Thomas Nast’s cartoons in Harper’s Weekly gave it an unmistakable face. Tweed reportedly complained that his constituents might not read newspaper attacks, but they could understand “them damned pictures.”
The cartoons would follow him overseas. After escaping custody in 1875, Tweed fled to Spain, where officials identified him in 1876 with the help of a Nast drawing. Returned to New York, he died in prison in 1878. His ring had fallen—but Tammany Hall survived and rebuilt its power.
