Ozzie Myers | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 1977 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's1st district | |
| In office November 2, 1976 – October 2, 1980 | |
| Preceded by | William A. Barrett |
| Succeeded by | Thomas M. Foglietta |
| Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives from the184th district | |
| In office January 5, 1971 – November 2, 1976 | |
| Preceded by | Leland Beloff |
| Succeeded by | Leland Beloff |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Joseph Myers (1943-05-04)May 4, 1943 (age 82) Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
Michael Joseph "Ozzie" Myers (born May 4, 1943) is an American politician who served in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1976 to 1980. A member of theDemocratic Party, Myers became involved in theAbscam scandal during his tenure in Congress and wasexpelled from the House after being caught takingbribes in asting operation by theFederal Bureau of Investigation. He spent three years in federal prison.
Myers was born on May 4, 1943, inPhiladelphia, the son of Margaret (Sullivan) and Mark Myers.[1] In 1963, Myers was arrested for burglary but was later acquitted.[2]
In December 1970, a cousin of Myers named Michael Joseph Sullivan (who later served as an election judge while incarcerated), shot and killed a construction worker during a union dispute. It was revealed in 1974 byThe Philadelphia Inquirer that Myers was in possession of the gun used in the shooting while he himself was lobbying against Philadelphia's gun registration law.[3][4] In August 1975, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted 176–1 in favor of removing representativeLeonard Sweeney after he was sentenced to three years in prison for his involvement in a phony accident organization with Myers as the only nay.[5]
In 1975, the state legislature was voting on an appropriations bill to allocate $23 million for Philadelphia'sUnited States Bicentennial celebrations, but was defeated on October 15. The bill was brought up for another vote by Myers who was told by Appropriations Committee chairmanStephen Wojdak to send it back to the Committee, but Myers stated that the bill had enough support to pass and put it up for a vote. The bill was defeated with 107–88 voting to reject it.[6]
On July 2, 1976, Myers was given the Democratic nomination to run in the special election to fill the first congressional district seat followingWilliam A. Barrett's death.[2] In 1979, representativeRonald M. Mottl proposed a constitutional amendment that would ban forced busing and Myers supported the amendment.[7][8]
In 1979, Myers punched and kicked a security guard and a 19-year-old female cashier in an elevator leading from the rooftop lounge of aQuality Inn motel inArlington, Virginia. Myers became combative after they told him to turn down the music at a party he was having in the motel, shouting, "I'm a congressman: we don't have to be quiet." He was subsequently charged with assault and battery,[9] and eventually pleaded no contest to a charge ofdisorderly conduct three months later. He received a six-month suspended sentence.[10][11]
Myers was involved in theAbscam scandal. He was videotaped accepting a bribe of $50,000 from undercoverFederal Bureau of Investigation agents on August 22, 1979.[12] On that tape, Myers is recorded saying that "money talks in this business and bullshit walks."[13] Myers wasexpelled from the U.S. House of Representatives on October 2, 1980, by a vote of 376–30, becoming the first member of the House to be expelled since theCivil War.[14] Myers was defeated by independent politicianThomas M. Foglietta in the 1980 election. Myers was then convicted of bribery and conspiracy and sentenced to three years in prison in 1981.[15]
After release, Myers started his own political consulting firm.[16]
Myers was accused of conspiring to violate voting rights by fraudulently stuffing the ballot boxes for Democratic candidates in the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 elections.[17] He was charged on July 21, 2020, with bribery of an election official, falsification of records, voting more than once in federal elections, and obstruction of justice.[18]
The charges included conspiring with and bribing Domenick J. Demuro, the former judge of elections for the 39th ward, 36th division. Demuro pleaded guilty in May 2020 in federal court in Philadelphia that he was responsible for overseeing the entire election process and all voter activities of his division in accordance with federal and state election laws.[19] On June 6, 2022, Myers pled guilty to those new charges.[20] On September 27, 2022, he was sentenced to 2.5 years in federal prison by judgePaul S. Diamond.[21]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael Myers | 118,406 | 74.39% | −1.44% | |
| Republican | Samuel N. Fanelli | 40,757 | 25.61% | +2.33% | |
| Total votes | 159,163 | 100.00% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael Myers (incumbent) | 117,087 | 73.55% | −0.84% | |
| Republican | Samuel N. Fanelli | 40,191 | 25.25% | −0.36% | |
| Socialist Workers | Clare Fraenzl | 1,341 | 0.84% | +0.84% | |
| U.S. Labor | Henry D. Moss | 586 | 0.37% | +0.37% | |
| Total votes | 159,205 | 100.00% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael Myers (incumbent) | 104,412 | 71.55% | −2.83% | |
| Republican | Samuel N. Fanelli | 37,913 | 26.12% | +0.87% | |
| Libertarian | John C. Smith | 2,837 | 1.95% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 145,162 | 100.00% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Democrat | Thomas M. Foglietta | 58,737 | 37.79% | N/A | |
| Democratic | Michael Myers[a] | 52,956 | 34.07% | −37.48% | |
| Republican | Robert R. Burke | 37,893 | 24.38% | −1.74% | |
| Libertarian | Geoffrey Steinberg | 3,161 | 2.03% | +0.08% | |
| Consumer Party (United States) | Shaheed Abdul-Haqq | 2,704 | 1.74% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 155,451 | 100.00% | |||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Representative-elect John B. Clark of Missouri (1861), Representative John W. Reid of Missouri (1861), and Representative Henry C. Burnett of Kentucky (1861). II Hinds' Precedents, §§1261,1262; Joint Comm. on Congressional Operations, House of Representatives Exclusion, Censure and Expulsion Cases from 1789 to 1973, Comm. Prt., 93rd Cong., at 143–144 (1973).
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 1st congressional district 1976–1980 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| National | |
|---|---|
| People | |
