Joseph Wright Harriman

Who was Joseph Wright Harriman?

Joseph Wright Harriman was the longtime president of Harriman National Bank and Trust Company, nephew of railroad tycoon Edward H. Harriman and cousin of diplomat, statesman and future New York Governor W. Averell Harriman. In 1934 he was convicted of bank fraud and sent to Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary, where he served 25 months of his 4 1/2 year sentence before receiving parole. Between his arraignment and the start of his trial, Harriman twice walked away from care facilities, and his attorneys tried, without success, to establish that he was incompetent to stand trial.