10 Most Scandalous DC Affairs
5. Fred Richmond
Frederick William Richmond (born November 15, 1923) is a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.
His life and political career were marred by several political and sexual scandals. The first brush with the law came as a result of a scandal involving extramarital homosexual affair. Charges that he solicited sex from a 16-year-old boy were dropped after he submitted to counseling in 1978. In 1982, Richmond was convicted on federal corruption charges, which included possession of illegal drugs and payment of an illegal gratuity to a Brooklyn Navy Yard employee. As part of a plea bargain he was forced to resign from office. Despite the seriousness of this crime Richmond referred to it as “an isolated incident” in his next re-election campaign. Soon after he was returned to Congress by a large majority of his constituents.
