Abscam

Abscam, undercover criminal investigation (1978–80) by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), whose most prominent targets were U.S. elected officials. Although some saw the investigators’ methods as excessive—critics characterized them as entrapment—the convictions of one U.S. senator, six U.S. representatives, and numerous local officials on an assortment of bribery and corruption charges were upheld on appeal.

The seeds of the investigation were planted in February 1978, when the FBI enlisted Melvin Weinberg, a con artist who had previously worked as a bureau informant, to aid in the recovery of stolen paintings. Weinberg, who was facing a three-year prison term after having been convicted of running a fraudulent real-estate scheme, saw his sentence reduced to probation after agreeing to help the FBI. In addition, Weinberg was paid a monthly stipend to generate leads in white-collar crime cases. Although the investigation was relatively modest in scope at the outset, it soon expanded dramatically.

By July 1978 Weinberg, posing as the U.S. representative for Abdul Enterprises—the fictitious company that gave Abscam its name—was soliciting stolen securities and forged certificates of deposit in the name of Kambir Abdul Rahman, a fictitious Arab sheikh of Weinberg’s invention. With Weinberg spinning tales of untapped oil riches and FBI agents assuming the roles of the sheikh and his retinue, the investigation swept up a growing circle of middlemen, fraudsters, and white-collar criminals. The tone and scale of the investigation changed abruptly in December 1978, when Weinberg met with Angelo Errichetti, the mayor of Camden, New Jersey. Errichetti, who was also a state senator, wielded enormous influence in state politics and offered to guarantee approval of a casino gaming license for Abdul Enterprises in exchange for $400,000. Moreover, Errichetti provided a list of other politicians whom he believed would be susceptible to bribes.

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Abscam’s focus shifted to political corruption, and over the next year the FBI videotaped a series of meetings with politicians, predominantly Democrats from the northeast. Officials such as U.S. Representatives Raymond Lederer and Michael Myers of Pennsylvania promised to ease the sheikh’s immigration troubles in exchange for cash. Sen. Harrison Williams, Jr., of New Jersey offered to assist Abscam’s second fictional sheikh, Yassir Habib, in return for the promise of a multimillion-dollar investment in a titanium mine in which Williams held an undisclosed financial interest. In February 1980, while the investigation was still active, word of its existence was leaked to the press.

In subsequent trials, the government obtained 19 convictions on charges that included bribery, extortion, and conspiracy. The Senate Select Committee on Ethics ruled that Williams’s conduct was “ethically repugnant,” and Williams resigned before an expulsion vote could be held. Of the six representatives who were convicted, two resigned, three were defeated in reelection bids, and one—Myers—was expelled by the House. Although Congress did act quickly to discipline its members, it also worked to ensure that such a wide-ranging probe would be subject to far greater oversight in the future. Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued new stricter guidelines for FBI undercover operations in January 1981, and the House convened a series of hearings on FBI undercover activities that concluded with a harshly critical report issued in April 1984.

The David O. Russell film American Hustle (2013) was broadly based on the events surrounding the Abscam investigation.