Nast applied Greeley’s observation to four key Tweed Ring figures—(left-right) Peter Sweeny, William “Boss” Tweed, Richard Connolly, and Oakey Hall—who the cartoonist transformed into vultures in his famous “Waiting for the Storm to ‘Blow Over’:  ‘Let Us Prey’” (September 23, 1871).  The Tweed Ring of Tammany Hall, the principal Democratic political machine in New York City, used extortion, kickbacks, and other malfeasance to pocket millions from the city and county treasuries.  Their downfall began when disgruntled ex-Tammanyites provided The New York Times with information for a series of exposés beginning in July 1871.  Harper’s Weekly and other reform-minded newspapers added their own anti-ring commentaries.  Nast had been assailing the Tammany Ring for years through his creative and powerful images, but intensified his assault in the summer and fall of 1871.  In reaction, Boss Tweed reportedly exclaimed, “I don’t care a straw for your newspaper articles; my constituents don’t know how to read, but they can’t help seeing them damned pictures!”