Okla-homey
2/2/2006, 07:15 AM
Feb 2, 1980 ABSCAM operation revealed
Hey folks, this whole Jack Abramhoff political bribery thingy is nothing new and has never been strictly the province of one party or the other.
Over a quarter century ago on this day in 1980, details of ABSCAM, an FBI sting operation to uncover political corruption in the government, are released to the public.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/2986/abs11018002184007wi.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Thirty-one federal public officials were targeted for investigation, including Representative John Murphy of New York, five other representatives, and Harrison Williams, a Republican senator of New Jersey. In the operation, FBI agents posed as representatives of Abdul Enterprises, Ltd., a fictional business owned by an Arab sheik.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/3994/abscamfbipatchbidguy591807gf.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
FBI cloth patch distributed to sting operatives. Kinda hard to see, but its of a bee wearing an Arab headdress
Under FBI video surveillance, the agents met with the officials and offered them money or other considerations in exchange for special favors, such as the approval of government contracts for companies in which the fictional sheik had invested.
Senator Williams, and Representatives Murphy, Michael J. Myers, Richard Kelly, and John W. Jenrette Jr., were ultimately convicted of bribery and corruption. All but Richard Kelly, who had his conviction overturned in 1982 on the basis that the FBI had unlawfully entrapped him, left Congress.
The FBI case against Rep. Richard Kelly of Florida is especially notorious for a January 8, 1980 videotape showing him stuffing $25,000 worth of bribes in his pockets and then turning to one of the agents and saying "Does it show?" See, Kelly was lucky enough to encounter a judge sympathetic to the entrapment excuse and, sadly, his conviction was overturned.
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/452/absrichard0gh.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Richard Kelly, Florida Congressman
John Murphy, whose term ended in 1981, was saved the fate of expulsion suffered by Williams and Myers. John Jenrette resigned in 1980. Jenrette of South Carolina was arrested for shoplifting after his release from prison. His wife, Rita Jenrette, who was twice featured in Playboy magazine, later became active in Norman Vincent Peale's Marble Collegiate Church in New York City and is currently a member of the New York State Real Estate Board.:eek:
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7112/abspb5842zj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Rita Jenrette, a UT grad and formerly active in GOP affairs. Her then husband Rep. John Jenrette bragged about "doing" her on the steps of the US Capitol while he was in office.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7703/absj345364ga.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Incredibly, as you can see here, Jenrette was still pumping his constituents for campaign contributions four months after ABSCAM became public!
Abdul, Abramoff..."you say potato I say potahto", etc, ad nauseum.
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/1206/insane7zo2es.jpg
Hey folks, this whole Jack Abramhoff political bribery thingy is nothing new and has never been strictly the province of one party or the other.
Over a quarter century ago on this day in 1980, details of ABSCAM, an FBI sting operation to uncover political corruption in the government, are released to the public.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/2986/abs11018002184007wi.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Thirty-one federal public officials were targeted for investigation, including Representative John Murphy of New York, five other representatives, and Harrison Williams, a Republican senator of New Jersey. In the operation, FBI agents posed as representatives of Abdul Enterprises, Ltd., a fictional business owned by an Arab sheik.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/3994/abscamfbipatchbidguy591807gf.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
FBI cloth patch distributed to sting operatives. Kinda hard to see, but its of a bee wearing an Arab headdress
Under FBI video surveillance, the agents met with the officials and offered them money or other considerations in exchange for special favors, such as the approval of government contracts for companies in which the fictional sheik had invested.
Senator Williams, and Representatives Murphy, Michael J. Myers, Richard Kelly, and John W. Jenrette Jr., were ultimately convicted of bribery and corruption. All but Richard Kelly, who had his conviction overturned in 1982 on the basis that the FBI had unlawfully entrapped him, left Congress.
The FBI case against Rep. Richard Kelly of Florida is especially notorious for a January 8, 1980 videotape showing him stuffing $25,000 worth of bribes in his pockets and then turning to one of the agents and saying "Does it show?" See, Kelly was lucky enough to encounter a judge sympathetic to the entrapment excuse and, sadly, his conviction was overturned.
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/452/absrichard0gh.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Richard Kelly, Florida Congressman
John Murphy, whose term ended in 1981, was saved the fate of expulsion suffered by Williams and Myers. John Jenrette resigned in 1980. Jenrette of South Carolina was arrested for shoplifting after his release from prison. His wife, Rita Jenrette, who was twice featured in Playboy magazine, later became active in Norman Vincent Peale's Marble Collegiate Church in New York City and is currently a member of the New York State Real Estate Board.:eek:
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7112/abspb5842zj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Rita Jenrette, a UT grad and formerly active in GOP affairs. Her then husband Rep. John Jenrette bragged about "doing" her on the steps of the US Capitol while he was in office.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7703/absj345364ga.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Incredibly, as you can see here, Jenrette was still pumping his constituents for campaign contributions four months after ABSCAM became public!
Abdul, Abramoff..."you say potato I say potahto", etc, ad nauseum.
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/1206/insane7zo2es.jpg