J. Parnell Thomas - Corruption Charges and Imprisonment

Corruption Charges and Imprisonment

Prominent American columnists Jack Anderson and Drew Pearson were critical of Thomas and his committee's methods.

Rumors about corrupt practices on the part of Thomas were confirmed when his secretary, Helen Campbell, sent documents to Pearson which he used to expose Thomas' corruption in an August 4, 1948, newspaper article. The fraud had begun on New Years Day of 1940, when Thomas placed Myra Midkiff on his payroll as a clerk earning roughly $1,200 a year with the arrangement that she would then kick back all her salary to the Congressman, thus supplementing his income and avoiding taxes. The arrangement lasted for four years. As a result, Thomas was summoned to answer to charges of salary fraud before a grand jury.

Thomas refused to answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment rights, the same stance for which he had criticised accused Communists. Indicted, Thomas was tried and convicted of fraud, fined and given an 18-month prison sentence. He resigned from Congress on January 2, 1950.

In another twist, he was imprisoned in Danbury Prison with Lester Cole and Ring Lardner, Jr., both members of the "Hollywood Ten" serving time because of Thomas' inquiries into the film industry.