Raphael John Musto (March 30, 1929 – April 24, 2014) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic Party member of the U.S. House of Representatives for

Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district is located in the southeast-central part of the state. It includes all of Lancaster County and portions of York County south and east of but not including the city of York. Republican Lloyd Smucker re ...

from 1980 to 1981. He served as a member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for the 118th district from 1971 to 1980 and of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 14th district from 1982 until his retirement in 2010.

Early life and education

Musto was born in

Pittston, Pennsylvania Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The city gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal ...

and graduated from Pittston Township High School. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

from 1951 to 1953 during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. He graduated from Kings College in Wilkes-Barre in 1971.

Career

When his father, longtime

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United S ...

James Musto, died in 1971, the younger Musto won a special election to fill his seat. He was elected to a full term in 1972 and was reelected three times. In 1980, longtime Congressman Dan Flood, who had represented for most of the time since 1945, resigned after being censured for bribery. Musto won a four-way special election for the remainder of Flood's term. He ran for a full term later that year, but was narrowly defeated by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

challenger

James Nelligan James "Jim" Leo Nelligan (born February 14, 1929) is a former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography Nelligan was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He attended James M. Coughlin High School, g ...

, whom Musto had defeated in the special election. While in Congress, Musto met with undercover FBI agents posing as representatives of a fictitious Middle Eastern Sheik known as the

ABSCAM Abscam (sometimes written ABSCAM) was an FBI sting operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s that led to the convictions of seven members of the United States Congress, among others, for bribery and corruption. The two-year investigation init ...

sting operation. Musto declined an implied bribe from the FBI agents and was never charged in the investigation. Musto was elected to the state Senate in 1982 and was reelected six times, representing a district consisting of Wilkes-Barre and portions of the Poconos. He did not seek re-election in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, choosing instead to retire at the end of his term. On November 23, 2010, a federal grand jury issued a six-count indictment against Musto, charging him with accepting more than $28,000 from an unnamed company and individual in exchange for his help in obtaining grants and funding. Musto was also charged with accepting $3,000 from another unnamed individual in a separate incident. Musto denied any wrongdoing. The trial was delayed multiple times due to Musto's declining health. Musto was released from a federal medical prison in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

in April 2014. He had been declared mentally unfit to stand trial and was diagnosed with advanced stage lymph-node cancer while being treated at the prison. He died at his home in Pittston on April 24 and is interred at Pittston City Cemetery. The criminal case against him was dismissed posthumously on April 30, 2014, by Federal Judge A. Richard Caputo.

References

External links

*''Follow the Money'' - Raphael J. Musto
20062004200220001998
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Musto, Raphael J. 1929 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American politicians Abscam United States Army personnel of the Korean War Burials in Pennsylvania Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania People from Pittston, Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives United States Army soldiers King's College (Pennsylvania) alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania