 frank hague (january 17, 1876 â january 1, 1956) was an american democratic party politician who served as the mayor of jersey city, new jersey from 1917 to 1947, democratic national committeeman from new jersey from 1922 until 1949, and vice-chairman of the democratic national committee from 1924 until 1949. hague has a widely known reputation for corruption and bossism and has been called "the grandaddy of jersey bosses." by the time he left office in 1947, he enjoyed palatial homes, european vacations, and a private suite at the plaza hotel. his wealth has been estimated to have been over $10 million at the time of his death, although his city salary never exceeded $8,500 per year and he had no other legitimate source of income. his desk, according to legend, had a specially designed lap drawer which could be pushed outward towards the person with whom he was meeting. this allowed his "guests" to discreetly deliver bribes in the form of envelopes containing large amounts of cash. however, according to new jersey preservationist john hallinan, the drawers were a traditional feature of 19th century partners desks and that "[t]he last thing [hague] would need to do is take a bribe personally." as of september 2013, the desk was in storage awaiting restoration.{{citation|url=http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2013/09/small_desk_used_by_jersey_city
1876_births 1956_deaths American_Roman_Catholics American_anti-communists American_people_of_Irish_descent American_political_bosses_from_New_Jersey Culture_of_Jersey_City,_New_Jersey Mayors_of_Jersey_City,_New_Jersey New_Jersey_Democrats People_from_Deal,_New_Jersey People_from_Jersey_City,_New_Jersey Political_corruption