Raymond Francis Lederer (May 19, 1938 – December 1, 2008) was a Democratic member of 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 ...

, representing Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district from 1977 to 1981. He was convicted of taking bribes in the 1980 Abscam scandal.

Early life

Lederer was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on May 19, 1938, where he attended the local Catholic schools, graduating from Roman Catholic High School for Boys 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 university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...

) from 1960 to 1965, the

Community College of Philadelphia The Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) is a public community college with campuses throughout Philadelphia. The college was founded in 1965 and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. It offers over 100 associate ...

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 Pennsyl ...

, 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 or 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 probat ...

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''. 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, and older brother,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. 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 Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

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 ''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 ...

'', 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 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) and defeated Glancey, having promised in his campaign to caucus with the Democrats if elected.via ''

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''
"special election"&st=cse "NEW HOUSE MEMBERS SWORN IN "
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'', July 29, 1981. Accessed December 7, 2008. Lederer served ten months in Allenwood Federal Prison. He later worked as a roofer. Lederer died on December 1, 2008, of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

at age 70 and is interred at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania.via ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

''
"Raymond Lederer, Abscam Figure, Is Dead at 70 "
''

'', December 3, 2008. Accessed December 6, 2008.

References

External links