Harrison A. Williams

Pete Williams
Pete Williams
	Williams in 1955
United States Senator; from New Jersey
	In office; January 3, 1959 – March 11, 1982
Preceded by	H. Alexander Smith
Succeeded by	Nicholas F. Brady
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from New Jersey's 6th district
	In office; November 3, 1953 – January 3, 1957
Preceded by	Clifford P. Case
Succeeded by	Florence Dwyer
Personal details
Born	Harrison Arlington Williams Jr.; December 10, 1919; Denville, New Jersey, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Nancy McGlone (divorced); Jeanette Smith
Children	4
Education	Oberlin College (BA); Georgetown University; Columbia University (LLB)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1941–1945
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	United States Navy Reserve
Battles/wars	World War II

Harrison Arlington "Pete" Williams Jr. (December 10, 1919 – November 17, 2001) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a Democrat who represented New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives (1953–1957) and the United States Senate (1959–1982). Williams was convicted on May 1, 1981, for taking bribes in the Abscam sting operation,^[1] and resigned from the U.S. Senate in 1982 before a planned expulsion vote.^[2]

Life and career

Williams was born in

United States Naval Reserve in 1941. He became a naval aviator and was discharged as a lieutenant, junior grade, in 1945. After being employed in the steel industry for a short time, he graduated from Columbia Law School in 1948, and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in New Hampshire. He returned to Plainfield in 1949 and continued to practice law, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the New Jersey General Assembly

in 1951 and for city councilman in 1952.

Congressional service

Williams was elected to the House of Representatives in a special election in 1953, and was re-elected in 1954 but defeated for re-election in 1956. He was elected to the Senate in

1976, defeating a future leader in the Republican Party, David A. Norcross

.

He became the first Democratic senator in the history of New Jersey ever to be elected four times. Known as "Pete," Williams fought for a range of social welfare laws and

1969 Coal Mine Safety and Health Act

.

He also helped pass legislation that created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and had a major role in passage of the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, the first federal law to provide mass transportation assistance to states and cities. He also was the chairman of the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging from 1967 through 1971.

Williams was the sponsor of the 1968

tender offers

.

Abscam conviction and resignation

In 1981, Williams, a resident of

Senate Committee on Ethics recommended that Williams be expelled because of his "ethically repugnant" conduct. Prior to a Senate vote on his expulsion, Williams resigned on March 11, 1982. Sentenced to three years, he served two years in federal prison as Inmate #06089-050, the first time in over 80 years that a senator had spent time in prison. Williams was also fined $50,000.^[5] Released on January 31, 1986, he served the remainder of his sentence at a halfway house, where he later became a member of the board of directors until his death. He also attempted to receive a presidential pardon from President Bill Clinton

, but his request was denied.

The

Metropark train station

had been renamed Harrison A. Williams Metropark Station in 1979, in recognition of his support for its construction. However, the name was removed from the station after his conviction.

Death

Williams died of cancer and heart ailments at St. Clare's Hospital in

Bedminster Township, New Jersey.^[6]^[7]

References

^ Williams is Guilty on All Nine Counts in ABSCAM Inquiry, New York Times, May 2, 1981
^ Governing under the influence; Washington alcoholics: their aides protect them, the media shields them, Washington Monthly, June 1988. "Former senators who have acknowledged alcoholism included the chairman of the Agriculture Committee (Herman Talmadge); the chairman of the Finance Committee (Russell Long), who went on the wagon in the 1970s; and a senior liberal (Harrison Williams), who later went to prison after an Abscam sting caught him taking bribes.
^ "Current Biography Yearbook". 1960.
^ Bachrach, Judy. "Facing Expulsion from the Senate He Loves, Harrison Williams Finds Some Unlikely Supporters" Archived 2016-03-07 at the Wayback Machine, People (magazine), February 1, 1982. Accessed March 5, 2011. "One of them, who asks for anonymity, recalls 'going over to Pete and Nancy's house in Westfield, N.J. and having coffee together. Pete looked about 80 years old—horrible.'"
^ Martin, Douglas (November 20, 2001). "Ex-Senator Harrison A. Williams Jr., 81, Dies; Went to Prison Over Abscam Scandal". New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
^ Martin, Douglas. "Ex-Senator Harrison A. Williams Jr., 81, Dies; Went to Prison Over Abscam Scandal", The New York Times, November 20, 2001. Accessed November 4, 2007. "Harrison A. Williams Jr., the Democratic senator from New Jersey who used his considerable power to further the interests of labor and education before being convicted of bribery and conspiracy in the Abscam scandal, died on Saturday. He was 81 and lived in Bedminster"
^ "Harrison A. Williams Jr. Dies". The Washington Post. 2001-11-20. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2009-11-03.

External links

A film clip "Longines Chronoscope with Harrison A. Williams Jr." is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
United States Congress. "Harrison A. Williams (id: W000502)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Clifford Case	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 6th congressional district 1953–1957	Succeeded by Florence Dwyer
Party political offices
Preceded by Archibald Alexander	U.S. Senator from New Jersey (Class 1) 1958, 1964, 1970, 1976	Succeeded by Frank Lautenberg
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Howard Smith	U.S. Senator (Class 1) from New Jersey 1959–1982 Served alongside: Clifford Case, Bill Bradley	Succeeded by Nicholas Brady
Preceded by George Smathers	Chair of the Senate Aging Committee 1967–1971	Succeeded by Frank Church
Preceded by Ralph Yarborough	Chair of the Senate Labor Committee 1971–1981	Succeeded by Orrin Hatch
Preceded by Jake Garn	Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee 1981–1982	Succeeded by Donald W. Riegle Jr. Acting

[1] Williams is Guilty on All Nine Counts in ABSCAM Inquiry, New York Times, May 2, 1981

[2] Governing under the influence; Washington alcoholics: their aides protect them, the media shields them, Washington Monthly, June 1988. "Former senators who have acknowledged alcoholism included the chairman of the Agriculture Committee (Herman Talmadge); the chairman of the Finance Committee (Russell Long), who went on the wagon in the 1970s; and a senior liberal (Harrison Williams), who later went to prison after an Abscam sting caught him taking bribes.

[3] "Current Biography Yearbook". 1960.

[4] Bachrach, Judy. "Facing Expulsion from the Senate He Loves, Harrison Williams Finds Some Unlikely Supporters" Archived 2016-03-07 at the Wayback Machine, People (magazine), February 1, 1982. Accessed March 5, 2011. "One of them, who asks for anonymity, recalls 'going over to Pete and Nancy's house in Westfield, N.J. and having coffee together. Pete looked about 80 years old—horrible.'"

[5] Martin, Douglas (November 20, 2001). "Ex-Senator Harrison A. Williams Jr., 81, Dies; Went to Prison Over Abscam Scandal". New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2014.

[bio1-6] Martin, Douglas. "Ex-Senator Harrison A. Williams Jr., 81, Dies; Went to Prison Over Abscam Scandal", The New York Times, November 20, 2001. Accessed November 4, 2007. "Harrison A. Williams Jr., the Democratic senator from New Jersey who used his considerable power to further the interests of labor and education before being convicted of bribery and conspiracy in the Abscam scandal, died on Saturday. He was 81 and lived in Bedminster"

[7] "Harrison A. Williams Jr. Dies". The Washington Post. 2001-11-20. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2009-11-03.

[1]

[2]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e United States senators from New Jersey
Class 1	Elmer Rutherfurd Davenport Schureman Ogden Condit Lambert Wilson Southard McIlvaine Bateman Dickerson Southard W. Dayton R. F. Stockton Thomson Field J. Wall Wright F. T. Frelinghuysen J. Stockton Randolph Sewell Blodgett J. Smith J. Kean Martine J. Frelinghuysen Edwards H. Kean Moore Milton Barbour Walsh A. Smith Williams Brady Lautenberg Corzine Menendez
Class 2	Paterson Dickinson F. Frelinghuysen R. Stockton J. Dayton Kitchell Condit Dickerson T. Frelinghuysen G. Wall Miller Wright Ten Eyck J. Stockton Cattell F. T. Frelinghuysen McPherson Sewell Dryden Briggs Hughes Baird Edge Baird Jr. Morrow Barbour Smathers Hawkes Hendrickson Case Bradley Torricelli Lautenberg Chiesa Booker

v t e Chairs of the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Education/Education and Labor (1869–1947)	Harlan Drake Sawyer Flanagan Ferry Patterson Burnside Bailey Blair Carey Kyle Shoup Kyle McComas Penrose Dolliver Borah H. Smith Kenyon Borah Phipps Couzens Metcalf Walsh Black Thomas Murray
Labor and Public Welfare (1947–1977)	Taft Thomas Murray A. Smith Hill Yarborough Williams
Labor and Human Resources (1977–1999)	Williams Hatch Kennedy Kassebaum Jeffords
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (1999–present)	Jeffords Kennedy Jeffords Kennedy Gregg Enzi Kennedy Harkin Alexander Murray Sanders

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