On February 2, 1980, the world learned of our high-level investigation into public corruption and organized crime, infamously code-named ABSCAM.
The unfolding details were riveting: everything from mobsters hocking stolen paintings and fake securities in the Big Apple to politicians peddling influence in the nation's capitol. There were high-ranking government officials caught on tape stuffing wads of bribe money in their pockets and saying things like, "I've got larceny in my blood," and FBI agents posing as representatives of a fictitious Middle Eastern sheik, gathering evidence of these big league crimes.
It all started in July 1978, when we set out to catch New York City underworld figures dealing in stolen art. We set up a bogus company in Long Island—Abdul Enterprises, thus the name "AB(dul)SCAM"—said to be owned by a wealthy Arab sheik who wished to invest oil money in valuable artworks. Then, we recruited an informer who connected us with crooks willing to sell us stolen treasures. It worked. Within months, we'd recovered two paintings worth a combined $1 million.
Read Full Article »