County Board member William “The Hog With Big Nuts” Beavers, who was indicted for tax evasion on Thursday, has never been ashamed of his vices.
In 2000, when he was alderman of the 7th Ward, Beavers got into a debate with a dissenting feminist named Michelle Dempsey during a City Council hearing on an honorary “Hugh Hefner Way” sign for Walton Street. As the bluestocking quoted from Linda Lovelace’s autobiography Ordeal, which portrays Hefner as a filthy pimp, Beavers interrupted her.
“Have you even read [Lovelaces' book]?” he asked.
Dempsey confessed she hadn't.
“Well, I’ve read it,” he harrumphed. “I don’t know if I can believe her, and I don’t know if I can believe any of the things she says. Sammy Davis was not gay that I know of.”
Then he further impugned the hapless prig’s credentials as a sex expert.
“Ever been to a nude beach?” he challenged. “I have.”
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That fall, Beavers went to bat for tobacco. Since smoking had already been banned in all city-owned buildings, Ald. Ed Smith tried to stop it in the anteroom behind the council chambers as well. Beavers was miffed. When a Heart Association official tried to inspect the aldermanic clubhouse, Beavers kicked him out, pointing to the Aldermen Only sign.
“I have never tried quitting,” Beavers said. “I like to smoke because it does something for you. My nerves settle while I’m down here working. Dealing with people everyday causes you to do something.”
However, sex and smoking are private affairs. Beavers is finally in trouble for a public vice.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the 77-year-old politician failed to pay income tax on hundreds of thousands of dollars he took from his campaign fund and county expense account -- and claims he gambled with some of the money.
If Beavers is convicted, he could be sentenced to 12 years in prison, where women and smoking are prohibited.
