Recent high-profile corruption convictions, such as that of U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, have drawn comparisons to the famous ABSCAM convictions. This FBI sting operation sought to offer political sn fake bribes to reveal corrupt dealings. While 25% of officials who were approached accepted the money, some, such as freshman senator Larry Presler, refused the bribes.
“It all started in July 1978, when we set out to catch New York City underworld figures dealing in stolen art. We set up a bogus company in Long Island—Abdul Enterprises, thus the name “AB(dul)SCAM”—said to be owned by a wealthy Arab sheik who wished to invest oil money in valuable artworks,” the FBI website reads. ” Then, we recruited an informer who connected us with crooks willing to sell us stolen treasures.”
“From there, our investigation led to southern New Jersey and on to Washington, D.C. Our criminal contacts led us to politicians in Camden who were willing to offer bribes to get our “business” a gambling license in Atlantic City,” the bureau explained. “Then, when we expressed interest in their suggestion to get the sheik asylum in the U.S., these corrupt politicians arranged for us to meet some U.S. Congressmen who could make it happen with private legislation. For a price, of course: $50,000 up front and an extra $50,000 later.”
In an interview with CNN, Larry Presler, a Republican senator, remembers his involvement in the scandal. In a clip, an undercover agent can be heard saying, “$50,000 is no problem, putting that kind of money out. I don’t care what you want to call it. You want to call it a campaign contribution.” However, the principled senator refused the offer.
“You know, you can’t make a commitment to do anything in these campaigns. Indeed, I wouldn’t feel intellectually honest doing that,” he replied. Looking back on ABSCAM, Presler said he was obviously relieved but also said it’s a systemic issue within Washington. “Politicians need money. That’s the nature of the game.”
“A United States Senator’s got to raise money, and that’s where the difficulty comes in.” He also remembered how at the time, “I was constantly being offered campaign contributions. Or people would say to me, no, we can raise a lot of money if we get this bill through, or stuff like that. It would be a direct offer, but it would be a suggestion that there was a lot of money out there to be had.”
A recent post on X drew attention to ABSCAM, and many commentators drew parallels to our current corruption scandals.” In 1980, the FBI formed a fake company, code-named ABSCAM, and attempted to bribe members of Congress. Nearly 25% of those tested accepted the bribe and were convicted,” the post read.
