Sad Smiles

The Senator gets the word

The intent was apparently to project an air of innocence, as well as optimism about the eventual outcome. The effect, however, was odd, to say the least. As New Jersey's Democratic Senator Harrison Williams entered a Long Island, N.Y., federal courtroom for the somber business of being sentenced to prison, he was smiling. Through most of the nearly one-hour court session, he was smiling. He left the courtroom smiling. But when Judge George Pratt ordered him to spend three years behind bars (out of a maximum of 15) and pay a $50,000 fine, Williams showed a deeper emotion: his pallid face momentarily flushed red.

Williams was sentenced for his Abscam bribery and conspiracy conviction of last May. A federal jury concluded that he had accepted a secret stock interest in a Virginia titanium mine and had agreed to use his senatorial influence to gain Government contracts to make the mining venture profitable. The jury also found that Williams had agreed to help gain legal residence in the U.S. for the man offering to sweeten the deal with a $100 million loan, an FBI agent posing as an Arab sheik. The transaction was surreptitiously videotaped by investigators and later shown on television news programs.

Williams' attorney pleaded with Judge Pratt to give the Senator a suspended sentence, arguing that his career was ruined. Prosecutor Thomas Puccio countered that Williams had "put his office up for sale" and "boldly lied to avoid conviction."

If Williams does not gain a reversal of his conviction, he will be only the second Senator to go to prison for crimes committed while in office. He could also become the first Senator in 120 years to be expelled by his colleagues. The Senate is scheduled to meet next week to consider a recommendation by its ethics committee to remove Williams. There will be great pressure on the Senators to show that they have the will to enforce their own standards of conduct. But the Senate is a clubby place, and some members may push for mere censure or a reprimand. Many Senators think the FBI'S tactics smack of entrapment and wonder how they would have responded in Williams' place. Others resent the fact that Williams has not resigned. One thing is certain: few Senators will be smiling at the hour of judgment.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.