Ernest K. Bramblett

Born in Fresno, California, Bramblett graduated from Stanford University in 1925 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in education, and later attended several other colleges for post-graduate work.^[1][2] He worked in insurance sales and car sales before becoming a high school teacher, principal and administrator.^[3][4] From 1943 to 1946 he was responsible for coordinating the curriculum between high schools and elementary schools of the Monterey County school system.^[5]

A Republican, Bramblett was Mayor of Pacific Grove from 1939 to 1947,^[6] and a member of California's Republican Central Committee from 1944 to 1946.^[7]

In 1946, Bramblett was elected to the 80th United States Congress. He was reelected three times, and served from January 3, 1947, to January 3, 1955. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1954.

In February 1954, Bramblett was convicted of several charges related to payroll fraud with his Congressional staff; he paid salaries to four individuals who did no work for him.^[8] They returned the money to Bramblett so he could convert it to his personal use.^[9][10] He was sentenced to four months to a year in prison, which was suspended. He was also fined $5,000, and was placed on probation for a year. The federal government later sued to recoup the money he had acquired from his fraud, and obtained a judgment against him.

After his conviction, Bramblett became a government affairs consultant in southern California, and was a resident of Woodland Hills. He died in Woodland Hills on December 27, 1966, and was buried at Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Chatsworth.

• List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes
• List of federal political scandals in the United States
• U.S. Congressional Delegations from California

• United States Congress. "Ernest K. Bramblett (id: B000762)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Ernest K. Bramblett at Political Graveyard