Burton Becker

Burton F. Becker was the police chief of Piedmont, California in the early 20th century and Kailiff of Ku Klux Klan No. 9 in Oakland, California.[1][2] He was elected Sheriff of Alameda County in 1926.[2] As sheriff, Becker offered protection to illegal gambling operators and bootleggers in exchange for bribes.[3] In 1930, after years of investigation by Alameda County District Attorney Earl Warren,[2] he was tried and convicted on corruption charges,[4] removed from office and sent to San Quentin Prison.[5] After serving time in San Quentin, he was paroled in February of 1934 and pardoned by California Governor Frank Merriam in 1936.[6]

References
  1. "Sidney Dearing". Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  2. Cray, Ed, Chief justice: a biography of Earl Warren, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997. pp 52–57. Accessed March 21, 2012, at Google Books
  3. Warren, Earl (1977). The memoirs of Earl Warren. Doubleday. pp. 85–87. ISBN 0385128355.
  4. White, G. Edward. Earl Warren, a Public Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982. p 29. Accessed March 21, 2012, at Google Books
  5. Warren, Earl. The Memoirs of Earl Warren. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1977. p 101. Accessed March 21, 2012, from Google Books
  6. "Burton Becker Is Granted Pardon". Press Democrat. No. 18 December 1936. Retrieved 7 October 2022.


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