Harrison Arlington "Pete" Williams, Jr. served as a U.S. representative and senator from New Jersey from the early 1950s until his resignation in 1982. Williams, one of the more influential and powerful Democrats in the Senate, was forced to resign after he was convicted of bribery and conspiracy following his participation in the ABSCAM scandal. Williams, who was one of several congressional targeted by federal law enforcement officials, unsuccessfully argued that he had been a victim of police entrapment.

Williams was born on December 10, 1919 in Plainfield, New Jersey. He attended local public schools and then went to Oberlin College, graduating in 1941. After graduation Williams moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for a newspaper and studied at Georgetown University Foreign Service School. However, World War II cut his studies short. He was called to active duty as a seaman in the United States Naval Reserve in 1941 and...