特威德老大 (Boss Tweed) 於1875年12月4日逃獄了

在1875年的12月4日，威廉‧瑪西‧特威德 (William Marcy Tweed) ，也就是著名的特威德老大，成功逃離監獄到達歐洲。他被抓入監獄的經過，可以說是一個有關美國政治與腐敗的故事。

特威德本來是一個記帳員，同時也是紐約市的義消。他在1851年被選為紐約市的市議員，後來更曾經擔任過一屆的眾議員。西元1870年，特威德當時的權力很大，而且在政壇中有許多好朋友 (被稱為「特威德圈密友」，Tweed Ring) ，所以他能夠通過新的市府章程，讓他與他的朋友得以控制整個城市的財政。在1865年至1871年之間，特威德與他的夥伴多次竊取了紐約市3千萬美金到2億美金的資產。


On December 4, 1875, William Marcy Tweed, better known as Boss Tweed, escaped from prison and fled to Europe. How he landed in prison in the first place is a story of American politics and corruption.

Tweed started out as a bookkeeper and volunteer fireman in New York City. He was elected alderman (a member of a city's legislative body) in 1851, and later he was also elected to a term in Congress. By 1870, he was so powerful and had so many of his friends (known as his "Tweed Ring" cronies) in political positions that he was able to pass a new city charter allowing him and his friends to control the city treasury. Between 1865 and 1871, Tweed and his associates stole between $30 million and $200 million from the city.

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