Ira L. Hanna

Ira Lewis Hanna (November 4, 1908 – April 23, 1974) was an American politician who served as the 36th Mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming. After serving in local Laramie County politics Hanna briefly served as mayor before being convicted for bribery charges alongside three members of the police department.

Ira L. Hanna
36th Mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming
In office
January 1, 1944 – May 8, 1944
Preceded byEd Warren
Succeeded byBruce S. Jones
Laramie County Assessor
In office
1930s – December 1943
Succeeded byW. H. Hale Jr.
Laramie County Treasurer
In office
January 1, 1925 – 1930s
Preceded byJohn Schuneman[1]
Personal details
Born
Ira Lewis Hanna

(1908-11-04)November 4, 1908
Appleby, Texas, U.S.
DiedApril 23, 1974(1974-04-23) (aged 65)
Eastland, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Neoma Smith

Early life

Ira Lewis Hanna was born on November 4, 1908, in Appleby, Texas.[2] Hanna served as the treasurer of Laramie County during the 1920s and 1930s.[3][4] Hanna was elected as Laramie County's assessor as a Republican and served until his resignation in December 1943, after being elected to the mayoralty of Cheyenne, and deputy county assessor W. H. Hale Jr. was appointed by the Laramie County Commission to succeed him.[5][6]

Mayor

Hanna announced that he would run for mayor of Cheyenne and on October 19, 1943, he placed second in the mayoral primary, behind John J. McInerney and ahead of incumbent Mayor Ed Warren.[7] On November 2, he defeated McInerney with 3,079 votes to his 2,775 votes.[8]

On November 30, he announced that he would appoint Jesse B. Ekdall as Cheyenne's chief of police once he took office on January 1, 1944.[9] On January 13, he stated that he was opposed to legalizing gambling when he was asked by James H. Walton and later proposed a $1,000 license fee for the operation of jukebox and pinball machines.[10][11]

Bribery

On March 11, 1944, members of Cheyenne's police department solicited a $100 bribe from Lola West, a tavern operator, as protection money and did the same to W. C. Grimes for $25.[12]

Judge Sam M. Thompson issued four arrest warrants for Hanna, Ekdall, Captain Gerald J. Morris, and Sergeant E. K. Violette hours after the affidavits were filed by county attorney Edward Byron Hirst. Hanna was arrested at a city council meeting while Ekdall, Morris, and Violette voluntarily turned themselves in. On March 20, Hanna, Ekdall, Morris, and Violette were charged with soliciting and accepting bribes in Laramie County District court and pled not guilty. Hanna and Ekdall's bail was set at $4,000 and Morris and Violette's bail was set at $3,000.[12] On March 22, Thompson was disqualified from presiding over the bribery trial after the four men filed an affidavit requesting a different judge alleging that Thompson was biased and prejudiced.[13]

The trial started on May 1, with Judge Harry P. Ilsley presiding. The four men were charged with soliciting and accepting bribes from ten people and were defended by former District attorney A. D. Walton and former Wyoming Attorney general James A. Greenwood.[14] L. D. Parker and Fred M. Taylor, two federal investigators that worked in the alcohol tax unit of the Internal Revenue Service, claimed that they witnessed the four men discuss a payment of $100 from West and that Violette had taken the $100 from a table after West had counted the money. Grimes also gave a list of the serial numbers of the bribe money and the serial numbers of three $5 bills in Hanna's possession were found on the list.[15] Hanna claimed that the money taken from West and Grimes were fines for illegal activities and were part of $680 in fines that had been issued.[16]

On May 6, the jury found all four men guilty after three and a half hours of deliberation. Hanna and Ekdall were sentenced to seven to ten years in prison while Violette was sentenced to two to three years and Morris was sentenced to one to two years. Warden A. S. Roach designated the four men as trustees and sent them to work on a farm in Rawlins, Wyoming, but the men later requested to be returned to prison. A false report stated that the men were sent back to prison after engaging in a fist fight.[17][18][19]

On March 20, Bruce S. Jones and Gus Fleischli, the remaining members of the city council following Hanna's arrest, voted to make juvenile officer F. B. McVicar the acting chief of police.[20] On May 8, Jones and Fleischli approved a resolution that declared the position of mayor vacant due to Hanna's conviction and appointed Jones as acting mayor.[21]

Later life

Hanna and Ekdall applied for parole consideration at the July 1, 1945, meeting of the Wyoming Board of Parole, but Malcolm LeSueur, the secretary of the board, stated that their requests would not be considered.[22] On October 3, the board granted them parole starting on December 15, and were to be released from parole on December 15, 1946.[23]

On August 7, 1962, Hanna married Neoma Smith in Kilgore, Texas. On April 23, 1974, he died in Eastland Memorial Hospital in Eastland, Texas.[2] In 1978, the Cheyenne City and County Building where he was put on trial, and where Tom Horn was tried in 1903, was nominated as a historic place.[24]

Electoral history
1943 Cheyenne, Wyoming mayoral primary
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Nonpartisan John J. McInerney 1,593 31.73%
Nonpartisan Ira L. Hanna 1,310 26.09%
Nonpartisan John W. Howard 1,125 22.41%
Nonpartisan Ed Warren (incumbent) 993 19.78%
Total votes 5,021 100.00%
1943 Cheyenne, Wyoming mayoral election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Nonpartisan Ira L. Hanna 3,079 52.60%
Nonpartisan John J. McInerney 2,775 47.40%
Total votes 5,854 100.00%
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References
  1. "United States Fidelity Guar. v. McClintock".
  2. "Ira Lewis Hanna". Abilene Reporter-News. April 24, 1974. p. 97. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Sheriff Carroll of Laramie Re-elected". Casper Star-Tribune. November 7, 1926. p. 9. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Laramie County nominees". Casper Star-Tribune. September 2, 1932. p. 9. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Six Officials to Seek Reelection". Casper Star-Tribune. February 11, 1938. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Laramie County Has New Assessor". Casper Star-Tribune. December 9, 1943. p. 5. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Cheyenne Mayor Loses Primary". Casper Star-Tribune. October 20, 1943. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Hanna Elected Cheyenne Mayor". Casper Star-Tribune. November 3, 1943. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Cheyenne Police Chief Appointed". Casper Star-Tribune. November 30, 1943. p. 3. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Cheyenne Mayor Vetoes Gambling". Casper Star-Tribune. January 13, 1944. p. 8. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Cheyenne Mayor Proposes Licenses For Juke Boxes". Casper Star-Tribune. February 10, 1944. p. 3. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Charged with Taking Bribes". Casper Star-Tribune. March 20, 1944. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Judge Thompson Disqualified in Cheyenne Case". Casper Star-Tribune. March 22, 1944. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Four Cheyenne Men Placed on Trial In District Court". Casper Star-Tribune. May 2, 1944. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Federal Men Are Witnesses". Casper Star-Tribune. May 4, 1944. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Hanna Declares Payments Were To Be Placed In Treasury". Casper Star-Tribune. May 5, 1944. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Mayor Hanna and Former Police Chief Sentenced to Terms of Not Less Than Seven Years by Judge Illsley". Casper Star-Tribune. May 7, 1944. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Four Cheyenne Men Are Trustees". Casper Star-Tribune. May 21, 1944. p. 3. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Cheyenne Men Are Returned to Prison From State Farm". Casper Star-Tribune. June 23, 1944. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Acting Chief of Police". Casper Star-Tribune. March 21, 1944. p. 5. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. "Cheyenne Commissioners Appoint Acting Mayor". Casper Star-Tribune. May 8, 1944. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. "Board Not Ready To Act on Hanna And Ekdall Requests". Casper Star Tribune. June 15, 1945. p. 3. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. "State Release Hanna And Ekdall on Parole". Casper Star Tribune. December 16, 1945. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. "NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM".
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