John H. Hoeppel

John Henry Hoeppel (February 10, 1881 – September 21, 1976) was a U.S. Representative from California. He served two terms, from 1933 through 1937, but was expelled from Congress for trying to profit from his appointment of a student to a military service academy.

John Hoeppel
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 12th district
In office
March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1937
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byJerry Voorhis
Personal details
Born
John Henry Hoeppel

(1881-02-10)February 10, 1881
Tell City, Indiana, U.S.
DiedSeptember 21, 1976(1976-09-21) (aged 95)
Arcadia, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations		Prohibition (1946)

Early life

Born near Tell City, Indiana, Hoeppel attended grammar school in Evansville, Indiana but did not attend high school. He enlisted in the United States Army on July 27, 1898, and served successively as private, corporal, and sergeant until 1921, with service in France during the First World War.

Hoeppel moved to Arcadia, California in 1919. He was the postmaster of Arcadia from 1923 to 1931. In 1928, he became editor of National Defense magazine.[1]

Political career

Hoeppel was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-third and to the Seventy-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1937). He served as chairman of the Committee on War Claims (Seventy-fourth Congress).[2] In 1933 he was instrumental in persuading the U.S. Army to donate 183 acres of land from the Ross Field Army Balloon School to Los Angeles County to be developed into the Arcadia County Park.[3]

He was accused in 1934 of conspiracy to sell an appointment to the West Point Military Academy for $1,000. He was found guilty and sentenced to four to twelve months in prison.[4][5][6]

His son Charles J. Hoeppel, who was seeking appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy as part of the deal, was also convicted. Their appeal in 1936 was unsuccessful.[7]

Hoeppel was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1936 to the Seventy-fifth Congress, afterwards resuming his editorial career. He was an unsuccessful Prohibition candidate for election in 1946 to the Eightieth Congress, losing to future U.S. President Richard Nixon.

Death

Hoeppel died in Arcadia on September 21, 1976, and is buried in Resurrection Cemetery, San Gabriel, California.[2]

See also

References
  1. "HOEPPEL, John Henry". US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  2. Grossman, Mark (2003). Political Corruption in America: An Encyclopedia of Scandals, Power, and Greed. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, Inc. pp. 161–2. ISBN 1-57607-060-3. John H. Hoeppel.
  3. "Camp Arcadia (Ross Field)". The California State Military Museum. via Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on February 19, 2005. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  4. David Rosenzweig, "Tucker Is Fourth California Congressman to Be Convicted Since 1936," Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1995
  5. Lawrence Kestenbaum. "Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace: California". politicalgraveyard.com.
  6. Arcadia Tribune, page one (January 6, 1936). "Search". newspapers.com.
  7. "HOEPPEL et al. v. UNITED STATES". LEAGLE. May 18, 1936. Retrieved August 27, 2014.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

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