From Miss America to the Halls of Power, Bess Myerson Dead at 90

The first Miss America of Jewish descent who later became a high profile city official has died. Bess Myerson advised mayors, governors and presidents, only to resign after a corruption scandal. She was 90 years old.

Myerson, born in the Bronx, entered and won the Miss America competition in 1945, becoming the first Jewish person to do so. It was Mayor John Lindsay who appointed her Chief of the Consumer Affairs Commission in 1969. In that role, she pushed through some of the toughest consumer protection laws in the country. And under Mayor Koch, she became the Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs In 1983. She also served as an advisor for three presidents.

In 1980, she entered the Democratic Senate primary, but lost.

Her downfall came a few years later, when she was accused of bribing the judge presiding over her married boyfriend's divorce proceedings. The scandal was dubbed the "Bess Mess" in the tabloids. She was acquitted in 1988, but by then had been forced to resign.

Myerson was involved in various charities, including the Committee to Save Grand Central Station. 

The New York Times reports that Myerson died on Dec. 14 at her home in Santa Monica, California. There was no immediate information about her survivors.