Politics / Notorious figures
Richard Reading
1882–1952 · city clerk, mayor of Detroit
Longtime Detroit city clerk and former semi-pro wrestler who was mayor in 1938–1940 and was later imprisoned for taking bribes to protect the numbers rackets.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Brighton, Michigan
aged 70- Birth name
- Richard William Reading
- Also known as
- Richard W. Reading
- Detroit years
- 1882–1940s
- Field
- Politics, Notorious figures
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Richard W. Reading was born in Detroit in 1882, went through the city's public schools and attended the University of Detroit. He married young, wrestled semi-professionally for a time and worked as a printer, newspaper executive and real estate dealer before entering city government in 1921 as city assessor. He moved on to city controller in 1924 and was elected city clerk in 1926, holding that post until he ran for mayor in 1937 and beat Patrick H. O'Brien by nearly two to one. In office, however, he sold protection to numbers racketeers and sold promotions to police officers. The scheme was exposed as the 1939 campaign began, and Edward Jeffries crushed him at the polls. Soon after leaving office he was indicted for accepting bribes and conspiring to protect Detroit's gambling operations, a case that also brought down the county prosecutor and sheriff. He was sentenced to four to five years and served three. He died in Brighton in 1952.
Highlights
- Mayor of Detroit, 1938–1940
- Detroit city clerk, 1926–1937
- Convicted of bribery and conspiracy to protect gambling rackets
- Served three years in prison