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Other Congressmen Convicted of Crimes

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Since the 1970s, more than a dozen congressmen have been convicted in criminal court. Their cases and sentences include:

— Rep. Andrew J. Hinshaw, R-Calif., spent a year in jail after being convicted in 1976 of accepting bribes when he was county tax assessor. He lost the primary election and resigned at the end of his term.

— Rep. Charles Diggs Jr., D-Mich., was convicted in 1978 of operating a payroll kickback scheme in his congressional office. He served seven months of a three-year prison term. He was re-elected, then resigned in 1980.

— Rep. Michael Myers, D-Pa., served 20 ½ months of a three-year prison sentence for accepting bribes from FBI agents impersonating Arab businessmen. He was convicted in 1980 and expelled from Congress.

— Four other House members were convicted in the Arab businessmen bribery scandal: Democratic Reps. John Murphy of New York, Frank Thompson and John Jenrette of New Jersey, and Raymond Lederer of South Carolina. Thompson and Murphy were sentenced to three years; Jenrette, two years; and Lederer, one year.

— Rep. Mario Biaggi, D-N.Y., was convicted in 1988 of extorting nearly $2 million from defense contractor Wedtech Corp. He resigned from Congress and served two years and two months of an eight-year sentence. He was defeated for re-election in 1992.

— Rep. Mel Reynolds, D-Ill., was sentenced in 1995 to five years in prison for having sex with an underage campaign worker. He resigned from Congress, then was sentenced in 1997 to 6 ½ years for bank fraud and other violations. The second sentence, which was to run at the same time as first, was commuted in 2001 by President Clinton.

— Rep. Walter Tucker III, D-Calif., was sentenced in 1996 to two years and three months in prison for accepting and demanding bribes while mayor of a Los Angeles suburb. He resigned from Congress a week after his 1995 conviction.

— Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., pleaded guilty in 1996 to two felony mail fraud charges, lost re-election and served 15 months in prison. Clinton pardoned him in 2000.