Congress and Abscam
Lederer was elected to Congress in 1976 to represent Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district; 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.
He was re-elected in 1978 with almost 72% of the vote over Republican Raymond S. Kauffman.
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 and sentenced to three years in prison and fined $20,000. Despite his indictment in the scandal, Lederer was the only member of the House implicated in the Abscam scandal to be re-elected. 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%.
Lederer was convicted in January 1981. The House Ethics Committee 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 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.
Lederer served ten months in Allenwood Federal Prison. He later worked as a roofer. Lederer died on December 1, 2008, of lung cancer, aged 70.
Read more about this topic: Raymond F. Lederer
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