William Lawrence Webster (born September 17, 1953) is a former American politician, and a convicted criminal, from Missouri. He served in the Missouri Representative Council and as Missouri Attorney General from 1985 to 1993. After failing to win elections as Governor in 1992, Webster pleaded guilty to fraud embezzlement.
Video William L. Webster
Early life and career
William Lawrence Webster is the son of the late Richard M. Webster, who is a prominent Missouri State Senator, and Janet Webster. Webster was born and raised in Carthage, Missouri and is a graduate of Carthage High School. He studied at Missouri Southern State College and the University of Kansas. He received a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
After earning his law degree, Webster worked as a lawyer in private practice in Joplin, Missouri. He married former Susan Tiemann from Kansas City and they have three sons.
Maps William L. Webster
Political career
Webster was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1980 and reelected in 1982. He was recognized as a prominent first-time representative by the Missouri Times in 1981 and in 1983 his colleagues recognized him as one of three extraordinary members of the House.
In 1984, at the age of 31, he was elected as Missouri Attorney General, replacing John Ashcroft. Webster is the youngest person serving in that position since Robert Franklin Walker was elected as attorney general in 1892, also at the age of 31. Webster was reelected in 1988.
Webster is the defendant recorded in the case of Webster v. Reproductive Health Services before the United States Supreme Court in 1989. The court finally decided to support Webster, representing the state of Missouri.
In 1992, Webster was Republican candidate for Governor of Missouri, after defeating Roy Blunt and Wendell Bailey in the Republican Party. The campaign for governors is marked by corruption allegations relating to a state-run compensation fund run by Webster as the attorney general. In the midst of the scandal, Webster lost election to Democrat Mel Carnahan by a wide margin.
Scandal
In 1993, Webster pleaded guilty to criminal embezzlement charges and was sentenced to two years in prison. Webster's re-election campaign has received enormous contributions from companies making claims against a little-known, 30-million-dollar workforce compensation fund, which Webster defended by appointing private lawyers as a special assistant state attorney. Lawyers who contribute to Webster get a much bigger settlement for their clients than lawyers who do not contribute. Ultimately, Webster pleaded guilty to two counts of federal conspiracy crime and embezzlement related to abusing his position as Attorney General using his state staff and office equipment for political purposes.
References
External links
- Profile of Three Advocates in Appeal (NYT)
- Former Missouri Attorney General to Plead Guilty (NYT)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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