Melvin Weinberg (December 4, 1924 – May 30, 2018) was an American con artist, charlatan and federal government informant who is known for his involvement in a sting operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s known as Abscam.
At the time of the scandal, he was a convict hired by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct the operation in exchange for probation.
The two-year investigation initially targeted trafficking in stolen property and corruption of prominent businessmen, but later evolved into a public corruption investigation.
The FBI, aided by the Justice Department were able to videotape various politicians and other officials accepting bribes from a fictitious Arabian company in return for various political favors.
This led to the convictions of seven members of the United States Congress, among others.[2]