the city, first in his Seventh Ward and later (1868) by becoming grand sachem or leader of Tammany Hall, the Democratic political organization which dominated city politics and won most municipal elections.
Big Bill Tweed, as he was known to his cronies because of his corpulence (he was 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighed about 270 pounds in his mid-30s, and later ballooned to 320 pounds in middle age), assiduously developed a political machine which over time controlled most facets of municipal politics and administration and eventually the state legislature and the governorship. At its core after 1858 was the Tweed Ring, his closest associates and partners in graft.
They included "the brilliant, secretive attorney with political savvy," Peter Sweeny, city district attorney in 1858 and later city chamberlain in charge of the city's bank deposits, one of whose principal tasks was to maintain control over the judiciary and take care of high level fixes. Another was Ri
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