◆ SpookStack

The inducements were clearly improper in the case of the ~"“cash~payments; although arguably proper in the casé of promised. investments. Even with the investments, however, i. at least some of the congressmen seemed more interested in obtaining deposits in favorite banks than in truly develop- ing the resources’of their own districts. With Murphy, moreover, there was the added transaction of a contemplated @ loan to enable him and his business partner to buy a shipping company. In another Abscam matter relating to a new gambling casino, Errichetti is alleged to have received part: of ot a $100,000 payment made by the undercover agents. In addi- tion, he seems to have been promiSed a lucrative job with the casino once it opened. Criden first contacted the undercover agents when he sought financing for a casino; if successful, he and his law firm would have received a fee that ran in seven figures. Later activities by both Errichetti and Criden. demonstrate, however, that they pro- duced bribe-taking congressmen because of the cash: they received as part of the payoff. There is no evidence to connect their motivations for these crimes with their hoped- for bonanzas if the casino project went ahead. Certainly _ ‘none of these defendants were in the position Judge Fullam found Jannotti and Schwartz to be in: “either take the bribe or lose the investment for your community." , -