Buffalo in 1960: Former Mayor Pankow faces bribery charges

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

For decades, it wasn’t unusual for former Buffalo mayors — or even sitting Buffalo mayors — to face criminal charges.  Accusations of bribery and corruption were commonplace in Buffalo politics, and the top office wasn’t immune.

Fifty-five years ago this week, former Mayor Steven Pankow was on trial in a bribery case.

“Mrs. Pankow’s bank deposit is on record in paving trial”

“A bank deposit slip showing a $2500 cash deposit in the account of former Mayor Pankow’s wife was introduced into the trial of paving bribery charges against five defendants during Monday’s session.”

05-jan-1960-pankow-deposit

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Steve Cichon

Steve Cichon writes about Buffalo’s pop culture history. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. He's a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. Since the earliest days of the internet, Cichon's been creating content celebrating the people, places, and ideas that make Buffalo unique and special. The 25-year veteran of Buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates The Buffalo Stories Archives-- hundreds of thousands of books, images, and audio/visual media which tell the stories of who we are in Western New York.