Abscam
Abscam, sometimes written ABSCAM, was a Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s that led to the convictions of seven members from both chambers of the United States Congress and others for bribery and corruption. The two-year investigation initially targeted trafficking in stolen property and corruption of prominent business people, but later evolved into a corruption investigation. The FBI was aided by the United States Department of Justice and convict Mel Weinberg in videotaping politicians accepting bribes from a fictitious Arabian company in return for various political favors.Salinger, Lawrence M. Encyclopedia of White-Collar & Corporate Crime. (Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications), 2005. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed February 19, 2014). More than 30 political figures were investigated, and six members of the United States House of Representatives and one member of the United States Senate were convicted.Je ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mel Weinberg
Melvin Weinberg (December 4, 1924 – May 30, 2018) was an American con artist, charlatan and Informant, federal government informant who is known for his involvement in a sting operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s known as Abscam. At the time of the scandal, he was a convict hired by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct the operation in exchange for a sentence of probation on pending charges and a payment of $150,000. The two-year investigation initially targeted trafficking in stolen property and corruption of prominent businessmen, but later evolved into a public corruption investigation. The FBI, aided by the Justice Department were able to videotape various politicians and other officials accepting bribes from a fictitious Arabian company in return for various political favors. This led to the convictions of seven members of the United States Congress, among others. His story was portrayed in the 2013 film ''American Hustle'', with Christian Bale playing Irvi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Evelyn Knight
Evelyn Dawn Knight (born 5 November 1942) is an English woman known for her involvement in the Abscam sting operation of the 1970s, with her then-husband Mel Weinberg. A character inspired by her was portrayed on film by Amy Adams in '' American Hustle'' (2013) for which Adams was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The story of Abscam was depicted as well in the 1981 book ''The Sting Man'' by Robert Greene. Personal life Knight was born in Watford, England, the daughter of Peggy (née Wilson) and Bob Knight. Her father was a postman. Knight emigrated to the United States in 1967, when she was in her late twenties. At a party on Long Island sponsored by the British government, she met Mel Weinberg, a Jewish businessman 17 years her senior, and the two began a long love affair. Weinberg was married to his second wife, Marie, at the time. Marie died by suicide in 1982 at age 58. She had confronted Knight about the affair after she learned that Knight was living near ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Neil Welch
Neil J. Welch (August 9, 1926 – June 29, 2017), nicknamed "Jaws", was an American FBI agent. He was perhaps best known for masterminding in the Abscam sting operation. Life and career Welch was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He attended North High School, Omaha University and Creighton University Law School. In 1951, Welch joined the FBI as a special agent In the United States, a special agent is an official title used to refer to certain investigators or detectives of federal, military, tribal, or state agencies who primarily serve in criminal investigatory positions. Additionally, some special .... He retired in 1980. Welch died on June 29, 2017, at the age of 90. References 1926 births 2017 deaths People from Saint Paul, Minnesota Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Abscam University of Nebraska Omaha alumni Creighton University School of Law alumni {{US-gov-bio-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Federal Bureau Of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement agency. An agency of the United States Department of Justice, the FBI is a member of the United States Intelligence Community, U.S. Intelligence Community and reports to both the United States Attorney General, attorney general and the Director of National Intelligence, director of national intelligence. A leading American counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and criminal investigative organization, the FBI has jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of Federal crime in the United States, federal crimes. Although many of the FBI's functions are unique, its activities in support of national security are comparable to those of the British MI5 and National Crime Agency, NCA, the New Zealand Government Communications Security ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bribes
Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrary to their duty and the known rules of honesty and integrity. Gifts of money or other items of value that are otherwise available to everyone on an equivalent basis, and not for dishonest purposes, are not bribery. Offering a discount or a refund to all purchasers is a rebate and is not bribery. For example, it is legal for an employee of a Public Utilities Commission involved in electric rate regulation to accept a rebate on electric service that reduces their cost of electricity, when the rebate is available to other residential electric customers; however, giving a discount specifically to that employee to influence them to look favorably on the electric utility's rate increase applications would be considered bribery. A bribe is an i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hauppauge, New York
Hauppauge ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the towns of Islip and Smithtown in western Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island. Its population in 2022 was estimated at 20,401 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the official seat of Suffolk County being Riverhead, situated further east, many of the county's government offices are located in Hauppauge. Geography Hauppauge is located at (40.818205, −73.206878). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.37%, is water. The name is derived from the Native American word for "sweet waters." Local Native American tribes would get their fresh drinking water from this area, instead of near Lake Ronkonkoma where the water was not potable. Hauppauge is known for the underground water springs and high underground water table. Hauppauge now has a humid subtropical climate (''Cfa'') and the hardiness zone is now 7b History The first house in greater ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States Department Of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the United States, federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equivalent to the Ministry of justice, justice or interior ministries of other countries. The department is headed by the U.S. attorney general, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet. Pam Bondi has served as U.S. attorney general since February 4, 2025. The Justice Department contains most of the United States' Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States Organized Crime Strike Force
The United States Organized Crime Strike Force (Strike Forces) is a program of the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division empowering individual and coordinated units based in American cities across the country to pursue illegal racketeering by organized crime syndicates, including the Mafia, the Irish mob, the Russian mafia, and other gangs. The Strike Forces have largely been eliminated since Attorney General Dick Thornburgh in 1989 merged the Strike Forces with the AUSAs, in what was called the "slow death" of the effort against organized crime. Other Strike Forces have been merged with the Strike Forces of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), losing the focus of racketeering to focus on narcotics. Thomas J. McKeon wrote an article in the journal of the American Bar Association in which he wrote the following: "Simply stated, a "strike force" is an integrated investigation and prosecution program with collocated attorneys and investiga ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gambling In New Jersey
Gambling in New Jersey includes casino gambling in Atlantic City, the New Jersey Lottery, horse racing, off-track betting, charity gambling, amusement games, and social gambling. New Jersey's gambling laws are among the least restrictive in the United States. In 2013, the state began to allow in-state online gambling. Five years later in 2018, the state won a lawsuit that dismantled Nevada's monopoly on legal sports betting. History Early era Gambling has a long legacy in New Jersey, with the state historically being more permissive of gambling than most other states. Until they were banned in 1844, lotteries were common in New Jersey. They were used to help pay for the military during the French and Indian War and American Revolution, and help finance the construction of Queen's College (now Rutgers University) and the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Freehold Raceway is the oldest racetrack in the United States, with horse racing having taken place there in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chase Bank
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Trade name, doing business as Chase, is an American National bank (United States), national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the retail banking, consumer and commercial bank, commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services holding company, JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000. Chase Manhattan Bank was formed by the merger of the Chase National Bank and the Manhattan Company in 1955. The bank merged with Chemical Bank New York in 1996 and later merged with Bank One Corporation in 2004 and in 2008 acquired the deposits and most assets of Washington Mutual. In May 2023, it acquired the assets of First Republic Bank. Chase offers more than 4,701 branches and 15,000 Automated teller machine, ATMs nationwide and has 18.5 million checking accounts and 25 million debit card users as of 2023. JPMorgan Chase ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sheikh
Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to men, there are also a small number of female sheikhs in history. The title ''Syeikha'' or ''Sheikha'' generally refers to women. In some countries, it is given as a surname to those of great knowledge in religious affairs, by a prestigious religious leader from a silsila, chain of Sufi scholars. The word is mentioned in the Qur'an in three places: verse 72 of Hud (surah), Hud, 78 of Yusuf (surah), Yusuf, and 23 of al-Qasas. A royal family member of the United Arab Emirates and some other Arab countries, also has this title, since the ruler of each emirate is also the sheikh of their tribe. Etymology and meaning The word in Arabic stems from a Semitic root, triliteral root connected with aging: , ''shīn-yā'-khā. The title carries the me ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |