Raymond Francis Lederer (May 19, 1938 – December 1, 2008) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing

Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district Pennsylvania's third congressional district includes several areas of the city of Philadelphia, including West Philadelphia, most of Center City, and parts of North Philadelphia. It has been represented by Democrat Dwight Evans since 2019. With ...

from 1977 to 1981. He was convicted of taking bribes in the 1980 Abscam scandal.

Early life

Lederer was born in Philadelphia on May 19, 1938, where he attended the local Catholic schools, graduating from

Roman Catholic High School for Boys , motto_translation = Faith and Knowledge , accreditation = MSA , nickname = The Cahillites , conference = Philadelphia Catholic League , colors = Purple & Gold , yearbook ...

in 1956. He attended Saint Joseph's College of Philadelphia (now

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

) from 1960 to 1965, the

Community College of Philadelphia The Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) is a public community college with campuses throughout Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1965 and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. It offers over 1 ...

from 1967 to 1969 and

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, University Park, Pennsylvania, in 1972. He worked as an assistant engineer for the Pennsylvania Department of Highways in 1957. He was a

probation officer A probation and parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probati ...

and later served as director of the Philadelphia Probation Department, during the period from 1967 to 1974. Lederer was a board member of the Pennsylvania Committee on Probation.Raymond Francis Lederer
''

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress The ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (Bioguide) is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates from ...

''. Accessed December 7, 2008.

Politics

Lederer was elected to 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 ...

, where he served from 1974 to 1977. Lederer represented the same part of Philadelphia that had been served by both his father,

Miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

, and older brother, William. His sister-in-law, Marie, would also go on to serve in the State House.

Congress

Lederer was elected to Congress in 1976 to represent ; Lederer won with 73% of the vote, defeating Republican candidate Terence J. Schade. He took office on January 3, 1977. While serving on the House Ways and Means Committee, he was able to direct shipments of fruit from Chile to be imported through the Port of Philadelphia. Lederer was re-elected in 1978 with almost 72% of the vote over Republican Raymond S. Kauffman.

Abscam

Lederer was videotaped at a motel in New York on September 11, 1979, at a meeting with two undercover agents who presented themselves as representatives of a supposed Arab sheik. Accepting $50,000 in cash, he told the agents "I can give you me" in exchange for the money. After being implicated in the Abscam sting, Lederer was convicted of bribery on January 9, 1981, and sentenced to three years in prison and fined $20,000. Despite his indictment in the scandal, Lederer was re-elected, unlike the other members of the House implicated in the Abscam scandal.Staff
"THE NATION; Exit Mr. Lederer"
'' The New York Times'', May 3, 1981. Accessed December 6, 2008. In the 1980 race, Lederer won with 54.5% of the vote, defeating Republican William J. Phillips, who had 32.8%, Consumer Party candidate Max Weiner with 9.5% and Independent John Morris with 3.2%. The United States House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct voted to expel him on April 28, 1981. Lederer resigned the following day, citing "personal legal problems" that interfered with his ability to serve his constituents.

Joseph F. Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Sr. (November 13, 1838 – November 19, 1918) was an American religious leader who served as the sixth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was the nephew of Joseph Smith, the founde ...

ran in the Democratic Party primary in a race to succeed Lederer in a special election. After losing in the primary to David B. Glancey, chairman of the Democratic City Committee, Smith ran in the July 1981 special election as both an Independent and as a Republican (with the approval of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

) and defeated Glancey, having promised in his campaign to caucus with the Democrats if elected.via '' United Press International''
"special election"&st=cse "NEW HOUSE MEMBERS SWORN IN "
'' The New York Times'', July 29, 1981. Accessed December 7, 2008. Lederer served ten months in

Allenwood Federal Prison The Federal Correctional Complex, Allenwood (FCC Allenwood) is a United States federal prison complex for male inmates in Pennsylvania. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The pri ...

. He later worked as a roofer. Lederer died on December 1, 2008, of lung cancer at age 70 and is interred at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in

Cheltenham, Pennsylvania Cheltenham is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, United States, with a ZIP code of 19012. It is located directly over the city line (Cheltenham Avenue) of Philadelphia. It also borders Northeast ...

.via '' Associated Press''
"Raymond Lederer, Abscam Figure, Is Dead at 70 "
'' The New York Times'', December 3, 2008. Accessed December 6, 2008.

References

External links