In his first term a federal grand jury investigated O'Connor for providing, in late 1983 and again in late 1984, year-end jobs on the Education Committee staff for fifteen persons, including his mother-in-law, his brother-in-law, his sister-in-law, wives of two former members of his law firm, and the wife of a former staff aide. Some of those hired admitted they did not realize they were on the City payroll. "All in the Family" was a popular name for O'Connor's hiring practices, and O'Connor became known as the "City Hall Santa." O'Connor compared his hiring practices to those of Britain's royal family. When asked at a City Hall news conference if the practice amounted to nepotism, O'Connor said: "Absolutely. I think nepotism is a system that has been around a long time. It has worked very well in England. I don't think it's been much more of a problem here."