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ABSCAM Trials: 1980 & 1981

No Acquittals



There were six more ABSCAM trials and not one defendant was acquitted. The final tally included one senior U.S. senator; six members of Congress; one mayor, who was also a New Jersey state senator; three members of the Philadelphia City Council; an INS inspector; one lawyer; one accountant; and assorted business associates of the public officials. All of the politicians were either expelled from office or else turned out by voters at the next election. By any reckoning, ABSCAM had to be counted a major success.



Colin Evans

Suggestions for Further Reading

Caplan, Gerald M. ABSCAM Ethics. Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger, 1983.

Eubanks, Brian F. Stetson Law Review (Spring 1984): 691-706.

Frey, Richard G. Criminal Justice Journal (Summer 1984): 203-250.

Greene, Robert. The Sting Man. New York: Dutton, 1981.

Verrone, Patric M. Boston College Law Review (March 1984): 351-381.

Additional topics

Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1973 to 1980ABSCAM Trials: 1980 1981 - Four-way Conspiracy, Untrustworthy Witness, Influential Senator Charged, Warning From Bench, No Acquittals