"I wasn't a smart kid in terms of numbers, but, I told them, 'I'm a thoughtful, responsible guy," he told Reed Magazine in 2008.

Hanna studied economics and, after graduating, returned home. (He had been offered a place in a master's program, but couldn't afford it, he told the Utica Observer-Dispatch in 2008).

He had tried to salvage a trailer-park business bought by his father, but was looking for a better path to success. By 1978, he had started his own business as a construction contractor.

Hanna Construction

The first year of Hanna's business, he made only $12,000, he told the Observer-Dispatch in 2010. For three years, he had no employees.

For five years, he lived in a barn he had built himself, where, he said, he would return home only to conk out almost immediately from the day's work. He also joined a union--the Operating Engineers Local.

Before long Hanna Construction was a successful business.

The company built residential projects and big-box stores, like Lowe's or Home Depot, but it also repaired infrastructure, like sewers, and once tore down a dam.

Hanna also built his own reputation as a solid worker, and after more than 25 years in business, his company could boast 450 employees and more than $7 million in yearly gross receipts. In 1992, he became a partner in Gabriel Group, LLC, which developed an apartment complex in Ilion, N.Y. He also bought and refurbished a small local airport.

Hanna Construction won contracts from local governments, as well, including during the period when his uncle, Edward Hanna, was Utica mayor. An analysis by the Observer-Dispatch showed the Hanna's government projects increased during the years his uncle was mayor, but continued to increase even after that period.

"With my uncle, I always made sure it was bid out," Richard Hanna told the Observer-Dispatch. "I value my reputation. I work hard to avoid even the appearance of impropriety."

Entering Politics

By 2008, Hanna was semi-retired: his sister had started her own construction firm, which had inherited some of Hanna Construction's business.

Hanna had been involved in local public life for years: he had chaired a local community foundation and served on the boards of a count -development agency, the Utica Zoological society, and the Utica public library.

In 2008, Hanna moved into national politics, running against Rep. Michael Arcuri (D). Hanna won 48 percent of the vote, without notable support from the Republican Party. He dedicated more than $600,000 of his own money to that campaign. In 2010, he ran again, this time dedicating only $120,000 of his own cash, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

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