Koch administration. The scandal became known as the "Bess Mess." Myerson, Capasso, and Gabel were indicted a year later and tried on federal charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and using interstate facilities to violate state bribery laws, accused of conspiring to reduce Capasso's child support payments. With Sukhreet as the prosecution's chief witness, the main issue at the U.S. District Court trial was whether Myerson's decision to hire Sukhreet constituted bribery. After four months of trial proceedings, all three defendants were acquitted. Capasso remained in prison, having previously been convicted of unrelated tax charges. Personal life In October 1946, Myerson married Allan Wayne, a recently discharged U.S. Navy captain. They had one daughter, Barbara, born in 1948. The marriage was marred by domestic violence, and the couple divorced after eleven years. Myerson's second marriage was to attorney Arnold Grant, and he legally adopted her daughter in 1962. The couple divorced in the early 1970s. Daughter Barbara later became an actress, director, and screenwriter who is now known as Barra Grant. Before her federal trial began, Myerson was arrested in May 1988 for shoplifting at a department store in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. She pleaded guilty to retail theft and was ordered to pay a fine. Myerson was very connected with her Jewish roots and was filmed in conversation with the Lubavitcher Rebbe. She donated funds to help build "Bessie's Bistro" at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU in memory of her parents Bella and Louis Myerson who lived in the neighborhood near the Museum. Myerson survived ovarian cancer in the 1970s and experienced a mild stroke in 1981, from which she made a full recovery. She moved to Florida in 2002, and later moved to California, where she remained until her death. In 2013, she was reported to be suffering from dementia. Death Myerson died on December 14, 2014, in Santa Monica, California, at age 90. Her death was not immediately announced publicly, but it was confirmed by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office three weeks after she died. She was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica. See also References Further reading External links Bess Myerson in conversation with the Lubavitcher Rebbe 1924 births 2014 deaths Activists from New York (state) Actresses from New York City American game show hosts American people of Russian-Jewish descent American television actresses Beauty pageant hosts Beauty queen-politicians Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery,