George Fingold

Who is George Fingold?

George Fingold was an American politician from Massachusetts who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1958.

Fingold's political career began at the age of 21 when he was elected to the Malden City Council. He later served as Assistant District attorney of Middlesex County and as the Commonwealth's Assistant Attorney General in charge of prosecution of racketeers. In 1952, Fingold defeated incumbent Attorney General Francis E. Kelly.

On December 18, 1953 Fingold called for the Massachusetts Governor's Council to ban the comic book Panic within the state, on the grounds it “desecrated Christmas” depicting the holiday in a “pagan” manner. Under his orders the head of the state police, Captain Joseph Crescio, cut off distribution of Panic throughout Massachusetts, and by December 21, the book had been pulled from nearly all the newsstands in the Greater Boston area. Fingold warned distributors who resisted compliance that they would be susceptible to criminal prosecution, although it is unclear what they would've been charged with. Publisher William M.