Page:The Wizard of Wall Street and his Wealth.djvu/88

 one of the executive committee of the Erie and was paid large sums for so-called "legal" services. This was a great day for the spoilsmen. It was a long feast of corruption. Dishonesty walked openly in the streets, bribery influenced elections and controlled legislatures, and plundering was a fine art. Great as was Tweed at this time, his prosperity was soon to end in flight, capture, imprisonment, disgrace and death, but Gould survived the exposure and lived to enjoy his wealth and power.