Jimmy Meng

Jimmy Kuang Zui Meng (, born 1944) is a Chinese-Taiwanese American former politician, who served as a member of the New York State Assembly. A Democrat, Meng represented the 22nd Assembly District in Flushing, Queens from 2005 to 2006. He is the first Asian American to have served in the New York State Legislature. Meng pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2013. Background and family Meng's ancestral home was in Shandong Province, China. His father moved to Taiwan due to the Communist Party's takeover of Mainland China. After moving to the United States from Taiwan in 1975, Meng began a successful timber business. Following years of business activity, he became the president of the Flushing Chinese Business Association (FCBA). Meng is the father of U.S. Representative Grace Meng. Political career Meng ran for New York State Assembly in 2002 in the 22nd Assembly District in Flushing, but was defeated by Barry Grodenchik. In 2004, Meng ran for Assembly again. This time, he ousted Grodenchik in the Democratic primary. Running on the Democratic, Independence, and Conservative lines, Meng defeated Republican candidate Meilin Tan, Grodenchik (running on the Working Families Party line), and Green candidate Evergreen Chou in the general election. The New York Post reported that Meng used "ghost voters" to win the election. In an interview with Sing Tao Daily (a Chinese newspaper), Meng denied the accusations. He is the first Asian American to have served in the New York State Legislature.