Suicide of Tom Pappas

Last updated

On May 1, 1988, Tom Pappas, chief of staff to then-U.S. Representative Roy Dyson, jumped to his death after allegations from staff members led to implications that he was in a homosexual relationship with Dyson. Following the suicide, Dyson's office was linked to illegal contributions and bribes for the defense subcontractor Unisys to receive favorable appropriations contracts through Dyson's position on the Defense Appropriations Committee. The FBI's Operation Ill Wind resulted in the conviction of key Department of the Navy political appointees who had close ties to Pappas and Dyson.

Contents

Background

Pappas was investigated by the Federal Election Commission for allegations that he had campaign contribution checks written to staff members which they then cashed and returned directly to Pappas. [1] In light of the allegations that could implicate Dyson and other members in the office, several staff members, including Press Secretary, Scott Ourth, accused Mr. Pappas in a Washington Post article of unorthodox management practices. [2]

The allegations against Pappas and congressman Dyson by staff members led to accusations that the two were in a homosexual relationship. The congressman denied the homosexual allegations and claimed that the accusations were made in malice. [3] [4] The day the Washington Post published the article suggesting Pappas of misconduct, Pappas jumped to his death from his hotel room during a New York trip to a Unisys factory. The Washington Post defended their reporting of Pappas' conduct. [5] The office of congressman Dyson was later linked to improper contributions and connections to an illegal procurement of Navy Contracts in Operation Ill Wind. [6]

The day of his suicide, Tom Pappas was with the congressman on a trip sponsored by Unisys. The defense contractor was later implicated in a scheme of providing campaign contributions and bribes to key individuals for favorable treatment receiving contracts despite protests against the program from the Navy. The company provided Roy Dyson with $17,000 in campaign contributions. [7] In a federal investigation it was revealed that Dyson and his staff received trips and compensation for providing favorable appropriations to Unisys. [8]

Outcome

Charles Gardner, a former Unisys officer with close contact to the Congressman, was convicted and sentenced in the scheme. [9] Also convicted in the scheme were Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Melvyn Paisley, Deputy Assistant of the Navy, James E. Gaines and Deputy Assistant of the Air Force Victor D. Cohen. [10] Despite the link to the convicted Unisys lobbyist and the search warrants executed against the Congressman's office, neither Dyson or members of is staff were indicted in the scandal. Dyson did return campaign contributions to Unisys and paid a fee for to the FEC for the improper campaign collections from his staff. [11]

The scandal led the United States Congress to pass the 1988 Procurement Integrity Act, [12] which regulates the pay that procurement officials can get from contractors during the first year after they leave government, and forbids them to provide bid and proposal information to their new employers. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Lewis (California politician)</span> American politician (1934–2021)

Charles Jeremy Lewis was an American politician who was a U.S. representative, last serving California's 41st congressional district. He was first elected to Congress in 1978, and previously represented the 40th, 35th, and 37th districts. A Republican, he was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, serving in that role during the 109th Congress. In January 2012 he announced that he was not running for re-election and would end his congressional career in January 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Miller (politician)</span> American politician (born 1948)

Gary Gene Miller is an American politician, who was the U.S. representative for California's 31st congressional district. A Republican, he was first elected in 1998 and served until 2015, when he retired. The district includes most of southern and western San Bernardino County. He previously represented the 42nd district from 1999 to 2013. In February 2014, Miller announced he would step down at the next election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Young (Florida politician)</span> American politician (1930–2013)

Charles William Young was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 until his death in 2013. A Republican from Florida, Young served as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations from 1999 to 2005. He was the longest-serving Republican member of Congress at the time of his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buz Lukens</span> American politician

Donald Edgar "Buz" Lukens was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. His political career ended in 1990 when he was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Six years later, he was convicted for accepting a bribe during his time in Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curt Weldon</span> American politician (born 1947)

Wayne Curtis Weldon is an American educator and politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing the 7th district of Pennsylvania. He was defeated in November 2006 for reelection by Joe Sestak. Weldon was vice-chair of the Armed Services Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. He was also the co-chair of the Duma-Congress Study Group, the official inter-parliamentary relationship between the United States and Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Ney</span> American politician (born 1954)

Robert William Ney is an American former politician who represented Ohio's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until his resignation on November 3, 2006, after he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in relation to the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal. Before he pleaded guilty, Ney was identified in the guilty pleas of Jack Abramoff, former Tom DeLay deputy chief of staff Tony Rudy, former DeLay press secretary Michael Scanlon and former Ney chief of staff Neil Volz for receiving lavish gifts in exchange for political favors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Fortenberry</span> American politician (born 1960)

Jeffrey Lane Fortenberry is an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2022, representing Nebraska's 1st congressional district as a member of the Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke Cunningham</span> American former politician and jet fighter ace (born 1941)

Randall Harold "Duke" Cunningham is an American former politician, Vietnam War veteran and fighter ace. Cunningham served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 50th district from 1991 to 2005, and later served prison time for accepting bribes from defense contractors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Dyson</span> American politician

Royden Patrick Dyson, is a former Democratic politician from Maryland. Dyson served in the United States House of Representatives from 1980 to 1991 and as a Maryland state senator from 1995 to 2015.

Paul K. Tanaka is an American convicted felon, former politician, and former law enforcement officer who served with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department until his conviction in 2016. He was convicted April 4, 2016, in Federal Court of conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice. Tanaka served as Undersheriff of Los Angeles County from 2011 to 2013. He was also mayor of the City of Gardena, California. His tenure has provoked controversy due to allegations of violence, corruption, and alleged membership in the Lynwood Vikings, a deputy gang, which was described as a "neo-Nazi, white supremacist gang" by a federal judge.

Brent Roger Wilkes, is an American entrepreneur, defense contractor, civic leader. Wilkes became well known for his involvement with the Duke Cunningham defense contracting scandal and was indicted for his involvement in this scandal on February 13, 2007. He was indicted on new charges which superseded the previous ones on May 10, 2007. Wilkes was convicted on all 13 counts on November 5, 2007. On March 27, 2008, the Court of Appeals ordered him released on bail pending appeal, finding in part "that the appeal raises a 'substantial question' of law or fact likely to result in reversal, a new trial or a sentence not including a term of prison". On January 6, 2009, after serving eleven months in federal custody, the last six months at Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island, Wilkes was released, pending appeal. Wilkes lost his appeals and was released in September 2022.

The Cunningham scandal was a U.S. political scandal in which defense contractors paid bribes to members of Congress and officials in the U.S. Defense Department, in return for political favors in the form of federal contracts. Most notable amongst the recipients of the bribes was California Congressman Duke Cunningham who pleaded guilty to receiving over $2.3 million in bribes. The primary defense contractors were Mitchell Wade and Brent R. Wilkes.

Operation Ill Wind was a three-year investigation launched in 1986 by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation into corruption by U.S. government and military officials, and private defense contractors. Charles "Chuck" Duff was the sole Air Force Action Officer responsible for developing, coordinating and implementing Air Force actions relating to the Department of Justice's "Ill Wind" procurement fraud investigation. Government officials, private individuals and companies were eventually convicted of various crimes including nine government officials, 69 Washington consultants and 7 military contractors, as well as executives at GE, Boeing and United Technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Lewis – Lowery lobbying firm controversy</span>

The Jerry Lewis – Lowery lobbying firm controversy stems from the relationship between Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and a lobbying firm, known as Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White, where good friend and former U.S. Congressman Bill Lowery was a partner from 1993 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncan D. Hunter</span> American politician (born 1976)

Duncan Duane Hunter is an American former politician, convicted felon and United States Marine who served as a U.S. representative for California's 50th congressional district from 2013 to 2020. He is a member of the Republican Party, who was first elected to the House in 2008. His district, numbered as the 52nd from 2009 to 2013, encompassed much of northern and inland San Diego County and a sliver of Riverside County, including the cities of El Cajon, Escondido, San Marcos, Santee and Temecula. He served in the U.S. Marines from 2001 through 2005 and succeeded his father, Republican Duncan Lee Hunter, a member of Congress from 1981 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Brough</span> American politician

Bill Brough is an American politician who served three terms in the California State Assembly. A Republican, he represented the 73rd district, encompassing southern Orange County. Prior to being elected to the state legislature, he was a Dana Point City Councilman. Previously, Brough served as chief of staff to California State Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, White House liaison at the Department of Veterans Affairs in the George W. Bush administration, and aide to former congressman Christopher Cox. In 2016, he founded the California Legislative Irish Caucus.

The 2017–18 United States political sexual scandals saw a heightened period of allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment and assault, and resulted in the subsequent firings and resignations of American politicians. Some of the allegations are linked to the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases starting in October 2017 amid the wider MeToo movement.

References

  1. ↑ Associated Press (September 26, 1989). "Ex-Aide Took Campaign Funds, Dyson Says". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  2. ↑ Quigley, Eileen (May 2, 1988). "Congressman's Top Aide Apparently Leaps to Death". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  3. ↑ Drummond, Ayers (May 5, 1988). "Rep. Dyson Says Smear Drove an Aide to Suicide". The New York Times . Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  4. ↑ Eaton, William J. (May 5, 1988). "Lawmaker Contends Aide Killed Himself Because of News Story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Washington Post Executive Editor Benjamin Bradlee and the newspaper's... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  6. ↑ Bowman, Tom (October 13, 1990). "Dyson linked to lobbyists in affidavit Unisys consultants quoted discussing fund-raising events". The Baltimore Sun . The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  7. ↑ Borders, Rebecca (January 1, 1995). Beyond the Hill: A Directory of Congress from 1984 to 1993 : where Have All the Members Gone?. University Press of America. ISBN   9780819198204 . Retrieved March 7, 2014– via Google Books.
  8. ↑ "Mutual Ties Often Bind Legislators To Defense Firms". Sun Sentinel . New York Times. August 19, 1988. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  9. ↑ Rosenthal, Andrew (September 16, 1989). "Jail Term for Ex-Officer of Unisys". The New York Times . Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  10. ↑ Marcus, Ruth (December 28, 1988). "AF Official Was Paid for Data, Affidavit Says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Ex-Aide Took Campaign Funds, Dyson Says". Los Angeles Times . September 26, 1989. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  12. ↑ 48 CFR 3.104-1 - 11, U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access, archived from the original on September 21, 2008, retrieved November 12, 2008
  13. ↑ George Cahlink (July 15, 2004), Closing Doors, govexec.com, retrieved November 12, 2008
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.