He was born in New York City in 1854. In 1878, at age 24, he was hired as a patrolman. On September 16, 1881, he was made a roundsman, and on May 28, 1884, he was promoted to a sergeant. On December 30, 1891, after 13 years on the force, he was promoted to captain. As a police captain he once told his men, "They tell me there's a lot of grafting going on in this precinct. They tell me that you fellows are the fiercest ever on graft. Now that's going to stop! If there's any grafting to be done, I'll do it. Leave it to me."[3] On February 5, 1897, he was arrested and charged with bribery and extortion. After conviction, he was dismissed from the force. He appealed his conviction in the New York Court of Appeals. It was overturned and he was reinstated to the force and promoted to inspector on January 7, 1898, and Deputy Chief on February 14, 1898. He was then appointed Chief of Police on June 30, 1898.[1][4]
In 1899, Theodore Roosevelt and Republican state legislators established a committee, headed by Robert Mazet, to investigate Tammany Hall corruption under the leadership of Richard Croker.[1]Lincoln Steffens, a popular journalist of that time wrote of Devery, "As a Chief of Police, he is a disgrace, but as a character, he is a work of art."[3] In 1901, the Police Department was re-organized again, and has been headed ever since by a Police Commissioner. The first Commissioner Michael C. Murphy appointed Devery as his Deputy Commissioner. Both Murphy and Devery went out of office on January 1, 1902, when Seth Low became Mayor of New York.
^"Frank J. Farrell, Sportsman, Dies. Suffers a Heart Attack While Recuperating From Bronchitis in Atlantic City". New York Times. February 11, 1926. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
william, stephen, devery, january, 1854, june, 1919, nicknamed, bill, last, superintendent, york, city, police, department, police, commission, first, police, chief, 1898, devery, frank, farrell, later, owned, york, yankees, major, league, baseball, bornjanuar. William Stephen Devery January 9 1854 June 20 1919 nicknamed Big Bill was the last superintendent of the New York City Police Department police commission and the first police chief in 1898 1 2 Devery and Frank J Farrell later co owned the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball William Stephen DeveryBornJanuary 9 1854New York City USDiedJune 20 1919 1919 06 20 aged 65 Far Rockaway New York USOccupation s New York City Police Superintendent Later changed to Chief of PoliceBaseball team ownerChildren2William S Devery satirized in Harper s Weekly on September 6 1902 by William Allen Rogers Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditHe was born in New York City in 1854 In 1878 at age 24 he was hired as a patrolman On September 16 1881 he was made a roundsman and on May 28 1884 he was promoted to a sergeant On December 30 1891 after 13 years on the force he was promoted to captain As a police captain he once told his men They tell me there s a lot of grafting going on in this precinct They tell me that you fellows are the fiercest ever on graft Now that s going to stop If there s any grafting to be done I ll do it Leave it to me 3 On February 5 1897 he was arrested and charged with bribery and extortion After conviction he was dismissed from the force He appealed his conviction in the New York Court of Appeals It was overturned and he was reinstated to the force and promoted to inspector on January 7 1898 and Deputy Chief on February 14 1898 He was then appointed Chief of Police on June 30 1898 1 4 In 1899 Theodore Roosevelt and Republican state legislators established a committee headed by Robert Mazet to investigate Tammany Hall corruption under the leadership of Richard Croker 1 Lincoln Steffens a popular journalist of that time wrote of Devery As a Chief of Police he is a disgrace but as a character he is a work of art 3 In 1901 the Police Department was re organized again and has been headed ever since by a Police Commissioner The first Commissioner Michael C Murphy appointed Devery as his Deputy Commissioner Both Murphy and Devery went out of office on January 1 1902 when Seth Low became Mayor of New York Later with Frank J Farrell he bought the Baltimore Maryland American League baseball team and moved it to New York and renamed it the Highlanders The team almost won the American League pennant in 1904 but otherwise had poor records during the Farrell Devery ownership era For 300K they sold the team in 1915 to Jacob Ruppert Jr and Tillinghast L Hommedieu Huston 5 6 7 He died on June 20 1919 at 4 15 p m of apoplexy in Far Rockaway New York 4 See also EditNew York Yankees managers and ownershipReferences Edit a b c The Squad Room Retrieved June 14 2007 The Last Police Chief Retrieved March 25 2010 a b The Birth of the NYPD Retrieved June 14 2007 a b Big Bill Devery Dies of Apoplexy New York Times June 21 1919 Retrieved June 14 2007 Owners Registry Baseball Guru Retrieved June 18 2007 Yankees Timeline Major League Baseball Retrieved June 18 2007 Frank J Farrell Sportsman Dies Suffers a Heart Attack While Recuperating From Bronchitis in Atlantic City New York Times February 11 1926 Retrieved June 18 2007 External links EditWilliam Stephen Devery articles in New York TimesGovernment officesPreceded byJohn McCullagh as Superintendent of Police Chief of the New York City Police1898 1901 Succeeded byMichael C Murphy as Police CommissionerBusiness positionsPreceded byBan Johnson Owner of the New York Yankeeswith Frank J Farrell 1903 1915 Succeeded byJacob Ruppert Jr and Tillinghast L Hommedieu Huston Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Stephen Devery amp oldid 1046546598, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
