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Nast cartoons such as this one, with Tweed wearing the uniform of a convict, enabled Spanish authorities to recognize Tweed
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Boss Tweed Escaped From Prison
December 4, 1875
Tweed unsuccessfully attempted to bribe both Nast and Jones to leave him alone, but on November 19, 1873, Tweed was tried and convicted on charges of forgery and larceny. He was released in January 1875, but was immediately rearrested. The state sued him for $6 million, and he was held in a debtor's jail until he could come up with half that amount for bail. In the debtor's prison, he was allowed daily trips, accompanied by the jailer, to see his family. On one of these trips, in December 1875, he escaped and fled to Spain. He was a fugitive there for a year, working as a common seaman on a Spanish ship until he was recognized by his likeness to a Nast cartoon and captured. He died in a debtor's prison on April 12, 1878.
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