William Silkworth

William Sylvester Silkworth (October 28, 1884 – April 1971), referred to in the U.S. press as "W. S. Silkworth", was an American financier known being president of the Consolidated Stock Exchange of New York and being forced to resign because of scandal. In 1924, he won the gold medal as member of the American team in the team clay pigeons competition. Silkworth aggressively and successfully pursued new business for the exchange, and his career as president reached its peak in February 1922, when all trading records at the exchange were broken, ensuring that "Silkworth, not [NYSE president] McCormick, was the talk of Wall Street." Silkworth resigned on June 21, 1923, after an investigation into Consolidated insider corruption discovered irregularities in his personal finances. For 1916 and 1917, he was then one of 9 directors of the board of governors. For the Finance Committee of the exchange in 1916 and 1917, he was elected president and treasurer. For those years, he was also on the Committee of Arrangements, and was vice-chairman of the Committee on News and Statistics. For the year 1917 until 1918, J. Frank Howell served as Consolidated president, Silkworth as first vice president, and O'Connor de Cordova as second vice president.

President of Consolidated In April 1919, William S. Silkworth was elected president of the exchange, winning with a substantial majority after a "bitter contest." According to historian Robert Sobel, Silkworth's election resulted in the "decline of the Little Board." His career as president reached its peak in February 1922, when all trading records at the exchange were broken, at a time when the NYSE had low volume, ensuring that "Silkworth, not [NYSE president McCormick], was the talk of Wall Street."

The Ottinger investigation began in late May. Although Assistant Attorney General William F. McKenna failed to implicate Silkworth in the Fuller bankruptcy, he did uncover irregularities in Silkworth's personal finances. The irregularities showed he had made large deposits in March 1922, some related to the Fuller account. Silkworth resigned on June 21, 1923 and soon after went on a "long vacation."

On November 29, 1924, Silkworth was convicted of the fraudulent use of mails in bucketing operations, as well as five others also found guilty of bucketing. The conviction was upheld on February 1, 1926 by the Circuit Court of Appeals. He lost his final "bucket" appeal by April 20, 1926, as well as several other brokers. He arrived at prison in June 1926, where his appointed work was farming. For three months in 1926, Silkworth served three months in the Eastview penitentiary in Westchester County after being convicted of mail fraud relating to his brokerage in 1922. and the brokerage house of Raynor, Nicholas and Truesdell.

False arrest case He was held again in 1933, accused of theft by James F. Curtis of Roslyn, New York, a lawyer and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. According to the suit, Curtis authorized Silkworth to sell a motor boat "at the best possible price" in November 1932. With Curtis claiming Silkworth paid him around half of the boat's value, Silkworth was arrested for grand larceny on May 17, 1933. On September 14, 1933, it was reported that Silkworth was suing Curtis for false arrest. With the verdict read by Justice Brennan of the Supreme Court, Curtis lost the suit and had to pay $500 of the $25,000 suit for false arrest and malicious prosecution.

Traps career On November 1, 1924, he won the highest prize at the scratch prize at the New York Athletic Club's Travers Island traps contest.

By 1926, Silkworth was best known internationally as a member of the Olympic trap shooting team.

Personal life As of 1935, Silkworth lived in Great Neck, New York.