Abscam

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Abscam (sometimes Abscam ) was an operation of the FBI in Hauppauge ( Suffolk County, New York ). The operation was originally aimed at trafficking in stolen goods, but the FBI soon turned it into an investigation into public corruption .

The investigation resulted in the conviction of a US Senator , five members of the US House of Representatives , the Mayor of Camden, New Jersey , members of the Philadelphia City Council and an official from the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service .

Action

Abscam was the FBI's first major anti-corruption campaign in Congress . Before 1980, only ten MPs had been convicted of corruption in the 200-year history of Congress. The operational phase was largely led by Melvin Weinberg, a convicted con artist hired by the FBI for Abscam.

The FBI founded Abdul Enterprises, Ltd. in 1978 . , FBI officials posed as Middle Eastern businessmen - in videotaped conversations, promising officials money in exchange for political support given to an unnamed sheikh. The meetings took place in a house in Washington, DC , hotel rooms in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and on a yacht in Florida . The sheikh, code-named Abdul, wanted:

  • buy his right of residence in the USA
  • Get officials and MPs to invest in his business
  • Help make money from his homeland smuggle

Special attention was caused by Congressman Richard Kelly , who stuffed 25,000 USD in cash into his pocket and asked the FBI agents "Can you see it?"

On February 2, 1980, the first reports appeared in the media that the FBI was investigating congressmen. They named the operation "Abscam" after Ab dul- Scam (Abdul fraud).

Judgments

Of the 31 politicians targeted by the investigation, various courts sentenced Senator Harrison A. Williams ( D - NJ ), House MPs John Jenrette (D- SC ), Richard Kelly ( R - FL ), Raymond F. Lederer (D- PA ), Michael Myers (D-PA) and Frank Thompson (D-NJ) as well as the Mayor of Camden, Angelo Errichetti (D-NJ). While most politicians resigned voluntarily, the House of Representatives had to formally expel Myers. Williams did not resign until the motion for exclusion against him was already on the Senate agenda.

Only Senator Larry Pressler (R- SD ) not only refused the bribe, but reported the incident to the FBI shortly afterwards. When news presenter Walter Cronkite called Pressler a "hero", he replied only briefly: "What kind of times do we live in when it is a heroic act to reject bribes?"

consequences

The operation was controversial because the FBI worked with a convicted con artist and paid him $ 150,000 for it. Various victims accused the FBI of having used an agent provocateur who, contrary to the legal understanding of the USA, first instigated them to commit crimes.

However, all convictions stood through the trials, although some judges criticized the operation and the insufficient supervision by the FBI and the Department of Justice .

2005 repeat: Operation Tennessee Waltz

Federal agencies, including the FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation , launched Operation Tennessee Waltz in 2005. It led to the arrest of seven members of the Tennessee Parliament and various officials.

Movies

The 2013 film American Hustle is loosely based on the FBI's abscam operation.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Translated from January 23, 2007 version
  2. ↑ Pressler's website ( Memento from February 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Site at the US Department of Justice
  4. ↑ Site at the US Department of Justice