The father of 15th Democratic primary election candidate Michael Rabbitt, who was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives for 16 years, four as speaker of the House, served 18 months in prison on corruption charges several decades ago. His son, Michael, confirmed this week that his father served time in jail.
Richard Rabbitt was reportedly convicted of 15 federal counts of corruption in 1977. After filing an appeal, 11 of those convictions were dismissed. As a result, he lost his law license.
“I was in elementary school at the time of my father’s conviction,” said current candidate Rabbit in a written statement. “What I do remember most clearly about that time was that a spotlight was shone on our family. I remember the strain it caused my mother, the bullying I endured at school, and the feeling of needing to protect my siblings from this pain as the eldest of six children. It was a difficult time in a very formative period of my childhood.”
He continued, “What nonetheless remains highly unclear to me is what relevance an incident that occurred in a different state nearly 50 years ago has with the issues we presently face here in the 15th District.”
Richard Rabbitt later regained his law license and, after serving his time, went on to work for the St. Louis Housing Authority in the 1980s rising to the post of the agency’s deputy executive director.
Richard Rabbitt was first elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1960 where he served for 16 years, including four years as speaker of the House, according to his obituary, the facts of which Michael Rabbitt confirmed. The senior Rabbitt reportedly resigned his seat in the House to mount an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor of Missouri before he died of heart failure at the age of 76 in December 2011.
The post 15th House District Democrat Rabbitt Confirms His Father’s Imprisonment Years Ago first appeared on Journal & Topics Media Group.
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June 16, 2022 at 03:29PM
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