Edward Mezvinsky

Edward Mezvinsky
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 1st district
In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1977
Preceded by	Fred Schwengel
Succeeded by	Jim Leach
Chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party
In office August 13, 1981[1] – June 28, 1986
Preceded by	Alex Debreczeni
Succeeded by	Harris Wofford
Personal details
Born	Edward Maurice Mezvinsky January 17, 1937 Ames, Iowa, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Myra Shulman (1963–1974, div.)[2] Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (1975–2007, div.)[3]
Relations	Norton Mezvinsky (brother) Marc Mezvinsky (son)
Children	11
Alma mater	University of Iowa (BA, 1960) University of California (MA, 1963) University of California (JD, 1965)
Religion	Judaism

Edward Mezvinsky
Criminal penalty	5 years imprisonment
Criminal status	Released, probation expired
Conviction(s)	bank fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud

Edward Maurice "Ed" Mezvinsky (/mɛzˈvɪnski/; born January 17, 1937) is an American former politician and congressman. A Democrat, he represented Iowa's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms (1973–77).

Mezvinsky grew up in Ames, Iowa, and played high school football there. He received his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1965). After being elected to the Iowa Legislature (1968), he lost a race for Congress in 1970, then won in 1972. He made several unsuccessful U.S. Senate attempts in the 1980s.

In 2001, he was convicted of 31 charges of felony fraud, and served five years in federal prison.^[4]

In 2010, he became father-in-law to Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Hillary and Bill Clinton.

Life and career

Mezvinsky grew up in Ames, Iowa, the son of Jewish grocery store owner Abe Mezvinsky. He was an all-state football end and member of the Ames High School state championship basketball and track teams of 1955.^[5]

Mezvinsky attended the University of Iowa, graduating in 1960. He went on to earn a masters in political science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1963, and a J.D. from the same university in 1965.^[6] He returned briefly to Iowa to practice law, but quickly began a political career. In 1965, he worked for former Rep. Neal Smith in Washington on lobbyist disclosure and ethics bills.^[5] He was elected to the Iowa Legislature in 1968, where he attracted publicity as a consumers' advocate. He lost a 1970 campaign to unseat Republican Congressman Fred Schwengel in Iowa's 1st congressional district by only 765 votes (out of over 120,000 cast). After reapportionment improved his chances, Mezvinsky won a 1972 rematch.^[5]

During his first term in Congress, he sat on the House Judiciary Committee and voted for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon for his activities in the Watergate scandal. Although Mezvinsky defeated Davenport businessman Jim Leach in 1974 in the immediate aftermath of the impeachment hearings, Leach defeated him two years later, in 1976.

Six months into his first term in Congress, Mezvinsky separated from his wife of ten years Myra Shulman; they were divorced two weeks after his 1974 re-election.^[7] During his final term he married Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, a television journalist.^[5] After his 1976 defeat, they relocated to suburban Philadelphia.

After serving in Congress, Mezvinsky was United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights from 1977 until 1979.^[8]

Mezvinsky unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate seat held by retiring incumbent Republican Richard Schweiker in 1980, but lost to former Pittsburgh Mayor Pete Flaherty.

He then became chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, and made a run for state attorney general in 1988. He won the Democratic primary, but lost to Republican Ernie Preate in the general election. He also unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in 1990, losing to incumbent Mark Singel.

Family

From 1993 to 1995, Edward Mezvinsky's wife Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky served a term in Congress. Together, they raised eleven children, three of whom were adopted.

In 1998, she was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. In 2000, she was running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate when her husband's business problems forced them to file for bankruptcy and forced her abrupt withdrawal.^[5] They divorced several years later.^[9]

Marc Mezvinsky

In 2010 Edward Mezvinsky's son, Marc Mezvinsky, married Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, a former United States Senator from New York, former Secretary of State and the Democratic nominee for President in the 2016 election.^[10]

Criminal activities

Beginning in the early 1990s, Mezvinsky used a wide variety of 419 scams. According to a federal prosecutor, Mezvinsky conned using "just about every different kind of African-based scam we’ve ever seen."^[11] The scams promise that the victim will receive large profits, but first a small down payment is required. To raise the funds needed to front the money for the fraudulent investment schemes he was being offered, Mezvinsky tapped his network of former political contacts, dropping the name of the Clinton family to convince unwitting marks to give him money.^[12]

In March 2001, Mezvinsky was indicted and later pleaded guilty to 31 of 69 felony charges of bank fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud.^[13] Nearly $10 million was involved in the crimes. Shortly after his indictment, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but the judge at his trial disallowed a mental illness defense.^[5] He entered prison in February 2003, and served his time at Federal Prison Camp, Eglin.^[14] Mezvinsky, Federal Bureau of Prisons # 55040-066, was released in April 2008, after 5 years.^[15] He remained on federal probation until 2011, and as of 2010 still owed $9.4 million in restitution to his victims.^[16]

References

1. "Pennsylvania Demos elect Ed Mezvinsky". The Telegraph-Herald. August 14, 1981. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
2. DesMoinesRegister.com | News
3. Medina, Regina (30 July 2010). "Pop the questions on Chelsea's wedding". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
4. "Iowa ex-congressman to leave prison". Gazette, The. April 9, 2008.
5. Kilen, Mike (2003-08-03). "Whirlpool of lies swallows Mezvinsky". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2008-05-18..
6. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000686
7. Larry Eckholt, "Mezvinskys End Marriage," Des Moines Register, 1974-11-20, at 9.
8. "MEZVINSKY, Edward Maurice - Biographical Information". Bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
9. Meet Marc Mezvinsky, Chelsea Clinton's Fiancé
10. Seeing the "for worse" hasn't scared Chelsea from the altar - Philly.com
11. Ross, Brian (8 December 2006). "Former Congressman Duped by Nigerian Scams - ABC News". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2011-11-01. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
12. Carbonara, Peter. "The Scam That Will Not Die NIGERIAN ADVANCE-FEE SCAMS HAVE FOOLED AMERICANS FOR DECADES. THANKS TO THE INTERNET, THEY'RE NOW STAGING A DISTURBING RESURGENCE. - July 1, 2002". Retrieved 25 January 2014.
13. The Scam That Will Not Die, accessed 2010-05-14.
14. "National Briefing | Mid-Atlantic: Pennsylvania: Ex-Congressman Enters Prison." The New York Times. February 11, 2003. Retrieved on August 23, 2010.
15. Bureau of Prison Inmate Locator, accessed 2008-05-20.
16. "Will Father of the Groom Be Welcome Figure at Chelsea Clinton's Wedding?". ABC news. December 1, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2010.

External links

• United States Congress. "Edward Mezvinsky (id: M000686)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• "Nigerian 'Black Money' Scam Turns Deadly for Two Suspected Con Men", April 1, 2009