Boss Tweed admitted paying more than $200,000 in bribes to win passage of his notorious 1870 Tweed Charter, which gave control over New York City finances to him and his corrupt ring. By one account, a newspaperman happened to barge into Tweed’s suite at the Delavan House just as Tweed was sorting out stacks of money for politicians. The reporter demanded a $40,000 bribe for himself to keep quiet, which Tweed happily paid.