Jesse Smith Suicide Exposes Ohio Gang Justice Department Corruption

Jesse W. Smith, Attorney General Harry Daugherty’s aide and key Ohio Gang operator within the Justice Department, died by suicide as scrutiny of Harding administration corruption intensified. Smith managed sensitive communications and facilitated illicit schemes including the sale of illegal liquor permits during Prohibition and corrupt financial transactions involving government property. His responsibilities included brokering pardons and protection for bootleggers and criminals willing to pay the Ohio Gang. Smith’s deteriorating mental health and increasing paranoia culminated in his death, which intensified public and congressional investigation of Justice Department corruption. Daugherty faced allegations of profiting from government alcohol sales, failing to enforce Prohibition statutes, and selling pardons. The Ohio Gang, consisting of politicians and industry leaders from Harding’s Ohio political orbit, systematically looted federal agencies. Smith’s suicide provided early warning of the scandals that would engulf the Harding administration, though the full scope of Teapot Dome and other corruption would only emerge after Harding’s death in August 1923.