Harrison Arlington "Pete" Williams Jr. (December 10, 1919November 17, 2001) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

who represented

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

(1953–1957) and the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

(1959–1982). Williams was convicted on May 1, 1981, for receiving bribes during the

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 co ...

sting operation In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a rol ...

, and resigned from the U.S. Senate in 1982 before a planned expulsion vote.

Life and career

Williams was born in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a City (New Jersey), city in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nicknamed "The Queen City",

, the son of Harrison Arlington Williams and Isabel Lamson, and graduated from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1941. He engaged in newspaper work in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and studied at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

until mandated to active duty as a seaman in the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

in 1941. He became a naval aviator and was discharged as a

lieutenant, junior grade Lieutenant junior grade is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both ab ...

, in 1945. After being employed by the steel industry for a brief time, he graduated from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 1948, and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. He returned to Plainfield in 1949 and continued to practice law, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 1951 and for city councilman in 1952.

Congressional service

Williams was elected to the House of Representatives by a special election in 1953, and was re-elected in 1954 but defeated for re-election in 1956. He was elected to the Senate in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

and re-elected in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

and

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, defeating Republican David A. Norcross. He became the first Democratic senator in the history of New Jersey ever to be elected four times. Known familiarly as "Pete," Williams fought for a range of social welfare laws and

urban transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

programs. He was instrumental in passage of such major laws as the

Employee Retirement Income Security Act The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) (, codified in part at ) is a U.S. federal tax and labor law that establishes minimum standards for pension plans in private industry. It contains rules on the federal income tax e ...

, which protects worker pensions, and the

1969 Coal Mine Safety and Health Act The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, U.S. Public Law 91-173, generally referred to as the Coal Act, was passed by the 91st United States Congressional session and enacted into law by the 37th President of the United States Richar ...

. He also helped pass legislation that created the

Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...

and had a major role in passage of the

Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 The Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 provided $375 million for large-scale urban public or private rail projects in the form of matching funds to cities and states. The Urban Mass Transportation Administration (now the Federal Transit Admi ...

, the first federal law to provide mass transportation assistance to states and cities. He also was the chairman of the

United States Senate Special Committee on Aging The United States Senate Special Committee on Aging is a special committee in the United States Senate established on 1961. It was initially established as a temporary committee. It became a permanent Senate committee in 1977. As a special commi ...

from 1967 through 1971. Williams was the sponsor of the 1968

Williams Act The Williams Act (USA) refers to 1968 amendments to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 enacted in 1968 regarding tender offers. The legislation was proposed by Senator Harrison A. Williams of New Jersey. The Williams Act amended the Securitie ...

(named after him), which regulates

tender offer In corporate finance, a tender offer is a type of public takeover bid. The tender offer is a public, open offer or invitation (usually announced in a newspaper advertisement) by a prospective acquirer to all stockholders of a publicly traded corp ...

Abscam conviction and resignation

In 1981, Williams, a resident of

Westfield, New Jersey Westfield is a Town (New Jersey), town in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 31,032, an increase of 716 (+2.4% ...

, at the time, was convicted of bribery and conspiracy in the

scandal for taking bribes in a sting operation by the

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 ag ...

(FBI). The Senate Committee on Ethics recommended that Williams be expelled because of his "ethically repugnant" behavior. Prior to a Senate vote on his expulsion, Williams resigned on March 11, 1982. Sentenced to three years, he served two years in federal prison as Inmate #06089-050, the first time in more than 80 years that a senator had spent time in prison. Williams was also fined $50,000. Released on January 31, 1986, he served the remainder of his sentence at a halfway house, where he later became a member of the board of directors until his death. He also attempted to receive a presidential pardon from President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, but his request was denied. The Metropark train station had been renamed Harrison A. Williams Metropark Station in 1979, in recognition of his assistance for its construction. However, the name was eliminated from the station after his conviction.

Death

Williams died of cancer and heart ailments at St. Clare's Hospital in

Denville, New Jersey Denville Township is a township in Morris County, in the northern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a commuter town of New York City in the New York metropolitan area, located west of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States ce ...

, on November 17, 2001, at age 81. He was a resident of Bedminster Township, New Jersey.Martin, Douglas
"Ex-Senator Harrison A. Williams Jr., 81, Dies; Went to Prison Over Abscam Scandal"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', November 20, 2001. Accessed November 4, 2007. "Harrison A. Williams Jr., the Democratic senator from New Jersey who used his considerable power to further the interests of labor and education before being convicted of bribery and conspiracy in the Abscam scandal, died on Saturday. He was 81 and lived in Bedminster"

References

External links