Thompson with 57% of the vote. Although Thompson maintained his innocence, he was convicted of bribery and conspiracy charges on December 3, 1980. On December 29, 1980, he resigned from Congress. In 1981, an appeals court upheld his conviction and he received a sentence of three years in prison. He served two years at the Federal prison in Lexington before he was granted parole in 1985. Later life After his release, he quietly lived out his days in Alexandria, Virginia. On July 20, 1989, he had surgery for esophageal cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and died there on July 22, 1989, four days before his 71st birthday. See also List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes List of federal political scandals in the United States References External links Frank Thompson Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University Frank Thompson Jr. at The Political Graveyard |- |- |- 1918 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians Abscam Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Deaths from cancer in Maryland Deaths from esophageal cancer Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey lawyers New Jersey politicians convicted of crimes Politicians convicted of bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Politicians convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States New Jersey politicians convicted of corruption Politicians convicted of illegal gratuities under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey Wake Forest University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II