A former Speaker of the Missouri House, Richard Rabbit of St.Louis, has died. He was 76. Rabbit served eight terms in the House, three as majority floor leder and two terms as the speaker of the House from 1973 to 1976.
He lost a race for Lieutenant Governor in 1976 and later was accused of taking kickbacks for influencing legislation. He served 16 months in prison. He later regained his law license and spent the rest of his life representing various companies and organizations, many of them on a pro bono basis.