James F. Hastings

James F. Hastings
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 39th district
In office
January 3, 1973  January 20, 1976
Preceded by Jack Kemp
Succeeded by Stanley N. Lundine
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 38th district
In office
January 3, 1969  January 3, 1973
Preceded by Charles E. Goodell
Succeeded by Jack Kemp
Member of the New York Senate
from the 57th district
In office
January 1, 1967  December 31, 1968
Preceded by Thomas Laverne
Succeeded by Jess J. Present
Member of the New York Senate
from the 65th district
In office
January 1, 1966  December 31, 1966
Preceded by None (district created)
Succeeded by None (district eliminated)
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the Cattaraugus district
In office
January 1, 1963  December 31, 1965
Preceded by Jeremiah J. Moriarty
Succeeded by None (district eliminated)
Personal details
Born James Fred Hastings
(1926-04-10)April 10, 1926
Olean, New York, U.S.
Died October 24, 2014(2014-10-24) (aged 88)
Allegany, New York, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Barbara Gaylor
Kathleen Smith
Religion Methodist
Military service
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service 1943–1946
Battles/wars World War II

James Fred Hastings (April 10, 1926 – October 24, 2014) was an American radio station executive and politician from New York.

Early life

Hastings was born on April 10, 1926, in Olean, New York. He graduated from Allegany Central School in 1943, and joined the United States Navy for World War II. After he returned home in 1946 he worked as a carpenter, and then worked as a sales representative for Procter & Gamble.

Hastings later became active in several businesses, including manager and vice president of radio station WHDL from 1952-1966, national advertising manager for the Times Herald newspaper in Olean from 1964-1966, and a partner in the real estate and insurance firm of Hastings & Jewell.

He was a member of the Allegany Town Board from 1953 to 1962, and was the town's police court justice for five years.

Political career

Hastings was a member the New York State Assembly (Cattaraugus Co.) from 1963 to 1965, sitting in the 174th and 175th New York State Legislatures; and a member of the New York State Senate from 1966 to 1968, sitting in the 176th and 177th New York State Legislatures. He was a delegate to the 1968 and 1972 Republican National Conventions.

He was elected as a Republican to the 91st, 92nd, 93rd and 94th United States Congresses, holding office from January 3, 1969, to January 20, 1976, when he resigned to become the president of the Associated Industries trade group in Albany, New York.[1]

Later in 1976, Hastings was accused of taking kickbacks from three employees and using the funds to purchase vehicles, snowmobiles, and boats as well as contributing to his children's college tuition and a New York state retirement fund[2] He was convicted of mail fraud and filing false payroll information in December 1976 and served 14 months in the United States Penitentiary, Allenwood.[3]

Later life

After his release from prison, Hastings lived in retirement in Belleair Beach, Florida until returning to Allegany in 1998.

Death

He died on October 24, 2014, in Allegany, New York.[4]

Sources

References

  1. "Accent on the News," Milwaukee Journal, Jan. 8, 1976
  2. "Former NY Congressman Convicted by Jury, The Bryan Times, Dec. 18, 1976.
  3. "U.S. is Suing Legislator to Get $50,000 Returned," New York Times, Mar. 27, 1977
  4. Former Representative James F. Hastings remembered as a good public servant in the Olean Times Herald on October 28, 2014
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, March 21, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.