Abscam was an FBI sting operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s that led to the convictions of seven members of the United States Congress, among others. The FBI was aided by the Justice Department and a convicted con-man in videotaping politicians accepting bribes from a fictitious Arabian company in return for various political favors. More than 30 political figures were investigated, and six members of. the House of Representatives and one senator were convicted.
About Abscam in brief
Abscam was an FBI sting operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s that led to the convictions of seven members of the United States Congress, among others. The FBI was aided by the Justice Department and a convicted con-man in videotaping politicians accepting bribes from a fictitious Arabian company in return for various political favors. More than 30 political figures were investigated, and six members of. the House of Representatives and one senator were convicted. Of the 31 targeted officials, convicted of bribery and conspiracy in 1981 were: Five other government officials were convicted, including: Angelo Errichetti, mayor of Camden, New Jersey, who accepted the bribe in exchange for a casino license in Atlantic City. The operation was directed from the FBI’s office in Hauppauge, New York and was under the supervision of Assistant Director Neil J. Welch, who headed the bureau’s New York division, and Thomas P. Puccio, head of the Justice Dept’s Organized Crime Strike Force for the Eastern District of New York. The first political figure ensnared in the phony investment scheme was Camden mayor Angelo Erichetti. He helped to recruit several government officials and United States congressmen who were willing to grant political favors in exchangefor monetary bribes. The FBI recorded each of the money exchanges and, for the first time in American history, surreptitiously videotaped government officials accepting bribes. The meeting places included a house in the Foxhall neighborhood of Washington, D. C., which was owned by Lee Lescaze, a yacht in Florida, and hotel rooms in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Each convicted politician was given a separate trial. During these trials, much controversy arose regarding the ethics of Operation Abscam. Many lawyers defending their guilty clients accused the FBI of entrapment. Every judge overruled this claim and each politician was convicted. In March 1978, John F. Good of the FBI’s office in suburban Long Island created and oversaw a sting operation called ‘Ab Scam’ which was initially intended to investigate theft, forgery and stolen art. When a forger who was under investigation suggested to the sheikhs that they invest in casinos in New Jersey and that licensing could be obtained for a price, the Ab Scam operation was re-targeted toward political corruption. The American-Arab Relations Committee made complaints, so officials revised the contraction to “Abdul scam’ after the name of its fictitious company. In the middle of 1979, Erricti had arranged meetings with an entire list of state and federal politicians. He then introduced Abdul Enterprises to the undercover agents and introduced the businessmen to Frank Thompson Jr. He also took the bait, who also took him to a hotel suite near New York’s JFK Airport to record the transactions between him and undercover agents. By the end of the year, the FBI had recorded the entire transactions between Errictti and an undercover agent and Frank Thompson. In exchange for monetary kickbacks, he told the sheikhhs’ representatives “I’ll give you Atlantic City’
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This page is based on the article Abscam published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 30, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
