Frank Thompson
Frank Thompson | |
---|---|
Lucien N. Nedzi | |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 4th district | |
In office January 3, 1955 – December 29, 1980 | |
Preceded by | Charles R. Howell |
Succeeded by | Chris Smith |
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from Mercer County | |
In office 1950–1954 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. | July 26, 1918
Died | July 22, 1989 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | (aged 70)
Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Wake Forest University (BA, LLB) |
Frank Thompson Jr. (July 26, 1918 – July 22, 1989) was an American politician. He represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat from 1955 to 1980, and was chairman of the House Administration Committee from 1976 to 1980.
He is one of seven federal politicians who were convicted in the Abscam case in 1980. As a result, he resigned from Congress and served two years in prison.
Life and career
Thompson was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He attended Wake Forest University, from which he earned a degree in law from the Wake Forest University School of Law.[1]
Following the outbreak of
Between 1950 and 1954, he was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, serving as minority leader during his second term.[2]
Tenure in Congress
In 1954, he successfully ran as a Democrat for a seat in Congress. Thompson was a liberal voice in the House. He was also a strong supporter of John F. Kennedy and ran Kennedy's voter registration operations in the 1960 Presidential election.[2]
From 1969 to 1971, he chaired the House Subcommittee on Libraries and Memorials and during his tenure conducted the first-ever comprehensive hearings into the operations of the
He was a ranking member of his party, serving as the chairman of the Committee on House Administration during his final three terms.
Abscam conviction
In February 1980, Thompson was one of six Congressmen who were implicated in the Abscam sting.[1] Despite the charges, Thompson ran for re-election. He faced 27-year-old Republican Chris Smith whom he had easily dispatched in 1978.[3][4] The accusations weighed on the campaign and Smith defeated Thompson with 57% of the vote.[5]
Although Thompson maintained his innocence, he was convicted of bribery and conspiracy charges on December 3, 1980. On December 29, 1980, he resigned from Congress. In 1981, an appeals court upheld his conviction and he received a sentence of three years in prison. He served two years at the federal prison in Lexington before he was granted parole in 1985.[2]
Later life
After his release, he quietly lived out his days in Alexandria, Virginia. On July 20, 1989, he had surgery for esophageal cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and died there on July 22, 1989, four days before his 71st birthday.[1] Thompson was survived by his wife, Evelina Van Metre Thompson who passed away in Washington D.C. on March 20, 2019, as well as his two daughters Anne Henderson and Nina Altschiller, and three granddaughters, Amy-Louise Parker, Janney Thompson Lyons and Gillian Elizabeth Lyons.
See also
- List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes
- List of federal political scandals in the United States
References
- ^ a b c d "Frank Thompson, 70; Career In Congress Ended With Abscam". The New York Times. 1989-07-24.
- ^ a b c "N.J. Democrat Frank Thompson Dies". Washington Post. 1989-07-24.
- ^ "NJ District 4 Race". Our Campaigns. November 7, 1978. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
- ^ "Statistics from the Congressional Election 1978" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
- ^ NJ District 4 – 1980 Election, Our Campaigns; accessed October 6, 2013.
External links
- Frank Thompson Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University
- United States Congress. "Frank Thompson (id: T000200)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Frank Thompson Jr. at The Political Graveyard