[4] Silkworth aggressively and successfully pursued new business for the exchange, and his career as president reached its peak in February 1922, when all trading records at the exchange were broken, ensuring that "Silkworth, not [NYSE president] McCormick, was the talk of Wall Street."
Silkworth resigned on June 21, 1923, after an investigation into Consolidated insider corruption discovered irregularities in his personal finances.
[1] He was nominated for a two-year term on the board of governors of the Consolidated Stock Exchange of New York in April 1913.
[9] In April 1919,[2] William S. Silkworth was elected president of the exchange,[1] winning with a substantial majority after a "bitter contest."
"[2] Sobel writes that at that time of his election, "Silkworth operated several bucket shops, and had a hand in many shady deals of the period.
At the time there were calls in the New York State Assembly to ban bucketshops, making an investigation into Consolidated a topical political issue for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alfred E. Smith.
In mid-July, a new series of unexpected failures occurred at Consolidated, including Edward M. Fuller & Company.
William Silkworth continued to work on his reform program, and shortly afterwards, the assembly passed the Martin Act, which essentially banned bucketshops.
The trustee wanted to question the Silkworth in the search for assets, particularly $6,612,000 worth of securities which had allegedly been possessed by the Fuller firm at the time of its bankruptcy.
At the time, the trial concerning the E. M. Fuller & Co. bankruptcy was awaiting the decision of the U.S. Supreme court on the right to use record-books of the firm.
"[1] After he and seven others were indicted in late May 1924 for connection with the bankruptcy of Raynor, Nicholas & Truesdell, he pleaded not guilty on May 29, 1924 while held on $8,500 on bail.
His counsel, Philip C. Samuels, asked that the trial be postponed until September as Silkworth expected to sail on May 30, 1924 "to take part in the trap shooting contests in the Olympic games."
[5] He was released on September 6, 1926 at noon at the Westchester County Penitentiary, paroled after serving three months of a years sentence for "using the mails to defraud."
[16] He was held again in 1933, accused of theft by James F. Curtis of Roslyn, New York, a lawyer[5] and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.