Richard Kelly (politician)

Richard Kelly (July 31, 1924 – August 22, 2005) was an American politician from Florida. He was the only Republican convicted of taking bribes in the 1980 Abscam scandal.

Early life and career

Kelly was born July 31, 1924, in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended high school in Florida. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1942 to 1946, attended colleges in Colorado and Tennessee and graduated from the Fredric G. Levin College of Law in Florida with a Juris Doctor in 1952. He was admitted to the Florida bar the same year and practiced in Zephyrhills. In 1953, he became city attorney of Zephyrhills and worked from 1956 to 1959 as senior assistant to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Kelly was appointed circuit judge of the sixth judicial circuit of Florida and served from 1960 to 1974, when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Republican.

Abscam scandal and later life

In 1980, Kelly was involved in the Abscam scandal and failed to win renomination, losing to Bill McCollum. He was convicted of taking $25,000 in bribes.^[1] Kelly claimed he had conducted his own undercover operation and spent part of the money to maintain his cover, but was convicted and spent 13 months in federal prison.^[1]

Kelly died August 22, 2005, in Stevensville, Montana.

See also

References

External links

• Richard Kelly at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Richard Kelly at Find a Grave