Dishonest Graft

George Washington Plunkitt declared that there is a difference between honest graft and dishonest graft. He and other Tammany politicians engaged in "honest graft." They didn't steal a dollar from the city treasury. They just saw their opportunities and took them within the law. The dishonest graft was that the penny grabbing thieving politicians robbing the city treasury, levying blackmail on diorderly house, or working in with the gamblers and lawbreakers. The actions of dishonest …

…granite blocks action hold by city. George W. Plunkitt bid and got 250,000 fine paving stones with $2.50 by uniting his rivals. The first example of "dishonest graft" would be politicians and city officials robbing and stealing the city money or property by using their political power. Another example of "dishonest graft" would be city officials demanding the payoffs from prostitutes and gamblers with the promise that their businesses would not be shut down by the police.