# Richard T. Hanna

Richard Thomas Hanna (June 9, 1914 – June 9, 2001) was an American lawyer and politician who served six terms as a U.S. Representative from California from 1963 to 1974.
He became involved in a scandal dubbed Koreagate by accepting bribes from a businessman working for the South Korean government. He was found guilty, resigned his seat, and served one year in prison.

## History

Hanna was born in Kemmerer, Wyoming and graduated from Pasadena Junior College, Pasadena, California. He received his BA and LLB from the University of California, Los Angeles and then became a lawyer in private practice, after serving in the United States Naval Air Corps from 1942 to 1945.

## Career

Hanna served in the California State Assembly from 1956 to 1963.

### Congress

He was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-eighth United States Congress in 1962 and to the five succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1963 - December 31, 1974) to represent California's 34th congressional district, which then covered parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties.

## Koreagate

In the 1970s, he received payments of about $200,000 from Korean businessman Tongsun Park in what became known as the Koreagate influence buying scandal. After the payments were revealed, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bribery and was sentenced to 6–30 months in federal prison, of which he served one year.

## Death

After his death on his 87th birthday, June 9, 2001, in Tryon, North Carolina, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina.

## Congressman electoral history

1962 United States House of Representatives elections in California :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Richard T. Hanna | 90,758 | 55.9 |
| | Republican | Robert A. Geier | 71,478 | 44.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 162,236 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic win (new seat) | Democratic win (new seat) | Democratic win (new seat) | Democratic win (new seat) |
1964 United States House of Representatives elections in California :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Richard T. Hanna (Incumbent) | 137,588 | 58.3 |
| | Republican | Robert A. Geier | 98,606 | 41.7 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 236,194 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1966 United States House of Representatives elections in California :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Richard T. Hanna (Incumbent) | 127,976 | 55.8 |
| | Republican | Frank LaMagna | 101,410 | 44.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 129,386 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1968 United States House of Representatives elections in California :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Richard T. Hanna (Incumbent) | 105,880 | 50.9 |
| | Republican | Bill J. Teague | 102,333 | 49.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 208,213 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1970 United States House of Representatives elections in California :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Richard T. Hanna (Incumbent) | 101,664 | 54.5 |
| | Republican | Bill J. Teague | 82,167 | 44.0 |
| | American Independent | Lee R. Rayburn | 2,843 | 1.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 186,674 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1972 United States House of Representatives elections in California :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Richard T. Hanna (Incumbent) | 113,841 | 67.2 |
| | Republican | John D. Ratterree | 48,916 | 28.9 |
| | American Independent | Lee R. Rayburn | 6,604 | 3.9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 169,361 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |