Leona Beldini (stage name Hope Diamond) Is an American burlesque dancer and real estate broker who served as Deputy Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey.[1] While serving as Deputy Mayor, Beldini was arrested for political corruption as part of the third phase of Operation Bid Rig.[2] She was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.[3]
Born in New York and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Beldini left home at
She married crooner Bobby Colt on March 5, 1956 in Cleveland. They had a son named Robert. Beldini was granted a separation from Colt in 1961 after claiming that he had abandoned their marriage to live with belly dancer Nejla Ates.[4]
In 1995, Beldini was inducted into the Burlesque Hall of Fame as Hope Diamond.[5]
Sources
edit- http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1965/12/14/memoirs-of-a-stage-door-johnny/
- Long Island Press story scanned here
References
edit- ^ "Jersey City official, a former burlesque queen, faces corruption charges". The Jersey Journal. January 24, 2010.
- ^ "List of those arrested today by FBI". Asbury Park Press. July 23, 2009.
- ^ Ryan, Joe (June 13, 2010). "Former Jersey City deputy mayor Leona Beldini gets three years in prison". Star-Ledger.
- ^ "Dancer Hope Diamond Granted Separation". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. April 6, 1961. p. 29.
- ^ "Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, a former burlesque queen, starts trial tomorrow". NJ.com.