Frederick N. Howser

Howser was born in Nebraska on April 11, 1905.[1] He attended USC Law School and worked as chief deputy city attorney for the city of Long Beach in the late 1930s.[2]

In 1940, Howser was elected to the first of two terms in the California State Assembly, representing Long Beach.[3][4] Howser was appointed Los Angeles County District Attorney in 1943, following the death John F. Dockweiler. Howser was elected for a full term as District Attorney in 1944.[5]

As both District Attorney and a member of the Assembly, Howser maintained ties to powerful liquor lobbyist Arthur Samish.[6] Samish would later claim to have "maneuvered" Howser into the chairmanship of the Assembly's Public Morals Committee before later steering his appointment as District Attorney.[7]

In addition to his connection with Samish, Howser was also tied to gambling interests, including gambling boat operator Tony Cornero, who purportedly paid Howser $35,000 for help arranging the return of Cornero's gambling boats to Los Angeles.[6][8]

Howser ran for California Attorney General in 1946 after incumbent Attorney General Robert W. Kenny opted to forgo reelection to challenge Republican Governor Earl Warren. He received a $170,000 contribution from gambler Elmer “Bones” Remmer, owner of the Oaks Card Room in Emeryville and the Menlo Club on Turk St. in San Francisco. Howser's connections to gambling, however, attracted the scrutiny of Warren, who refused to support Howser's campaign.[6] Howser was nonetheless able to capitalize on the Republican wave of Warren's reelection and the similarity of his name to the outgoing lieutenant governor, Frederick F. Houser.[6] Winning election with 55 percent of the vote, Howser defeated opponent Pat Brown, a future governor, in what would be Brown's first run at statewide office.[9]

Howser's ties to gambling interests followed him into office as Attorney General. Seeking to limit his exposure to Howser, Warren formed the California Crime Commission in 1947, purportedly to investigate organized crime in California, chaired by Admiral William H. Standley and directed by a close Warren ally, Warren Olney III.[6] Olney and the Commission subsequently released a series of reports alleging an attempt to create a "state-wide plan for racket protection under the cloak of the Attorney General's Office."[10]

The investigations circling Howser's office pushed him into direct conflict with Warren, who Howser claimed was attacking him because "he thinks I am a threat to his domination of the Republican Party." Undeterred, the Crime Commission established the most direct link between gambling and Howser's office following the arrest of Fred Grange, an associate of Tony Cornero, for the attempted bribery of the Mendocino County Sheriff. Grange subsequently identified Wiley Caddel, an appointee to Howser's office, as a collector in the slot machine protection racket Grange had been attempting to establish. Grange claimed Howser's monthly take was $100,000.[6]

Holding on to his office despite being implicated in gambling rackets, Howser ran for reelection as Attorney General in 1950 but was defeated in the Republican primary.[11][6]

Following his 1950 reelection defeat, Howser practiced law in private practice for 37 years. Howser died in Laguna Hills, California on April 26, 1987.

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