揭开《美国骗局》中的真实故事
"You set a crook to catch a crook. We put the big honey pot out there and all the flies came to us." ——Mel Weinberg, 60 Minutes, April 12, 1981“你设陷阱要套出坏蛋。我们把装满蜂蜜的大罐子放在外头，然后一群苍蝇就朝我们飞过来了。”——梅尔·温伯格，《60分钟》，1981年4月12日
1. How long had Mel Weinberg been living a life of crime prior to his capture?1. 梅尔·温伯格被逮捕之前有多长的犯罪生涯？
As indicated in the American Hustle movie, prior to his capture by the FBI, Mel had been living a life of delinquency ever since he was a boy growing up in the Bronx. It was then that he stole gold stars from his teacher's desk in order to show his mother what an excellent student he was. When his father's window-glass business was on the rocks, a helpful Mel drove around town in a Cadillac, shooting out windows with his slingshot. His father's business surged. His delinquency as a juvenile eventually evolved into large scale swindles as an adult. -Washington Post正如电影《美国骗局》里描述的那样，被FBI逮捕之前，梅尔在布朗克斯长大，从小就开始了违法犯罪的生活。那时候他偷了老师桌上的金制的星星，只为让妈妈知道他是一个好学生。当他爸爸的窗玻璃生意不景气时，一心想帮助爸爸的梅尔开了一辆凯迪拉克在镇上转悠，用弹弓打破了别人家的窗户。于是爸爸的生意红火起来。梅尔青少年时期的不良行为最终升级到成年时期的诈骗犯罪。——《华盛顿邮报》
2. Why did confessed con man Mel Weinberg agree to help the FBI? 2. 为什么承认犯罪事实的诈骗犯梅尔·温伯格同意帮助FBI?
The real Irving Rosenfeld, Mel Weinberg, had been running get-rich-quick schemes that mainly included insurance fraud and various other investment scams. His swindling days ended when the FBI nabbed him for operating a bogus international banking and investment firm, London Investors, out of a furnished leased office in Melville, Long Island.欧文·罗森菲尔德的原型，梅尔·温伯格，当时正在捣鼓保险诈骗和其他的投资骗局为主的、所谓“一夜致富”的犯罪计划。他在长岛的梅尔维尔租了一间办公室，挂名“伦敦投资公司”，其实就是一个空壳的国际银行和投资公司，后来FBI查出他的犯罪行径，温伯格的诈骗生涯也就告一段落。
Weinberg's luck ran out in 1977 when a real estate man from Pittsburgh reported him to the FBI. Arrested along with his mistress Evelyn Knight and conspirator Patrick Francis, he was indicted by a federal grand jury for mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. Unlike what is seen in the movie, the real FBI agent behind Bradley Cooper's character Richie DiMaso, whose actual name is Anthony Amoroso, was not on hand for Mel and Evelyn's arrest. Agent Amoroso didn't meet con man Mel Weinberg until after Weinberg agreed to a deal to help the FBI. -NJ.com1977年温伯格的好运终于走到尽头。匹兹堡的一名房地产商人向FBI举报了他。他和情妇伊芙琳·奈特、共犯帕特里克·弗朗西斯同时被逮捕，温伯格被联邦高级陪审团以邮件诈骗、汇款诈骗和阴谋骗局的罪名起诉。与电影有所不同的是，布莱德利·库珀扮演的里奇·迪玛索的原型——FBI特工安东尼·阿莫罗索，他并没有接手梅尔和伊芙琳的逮捕行动。直到温伯格同意帮助FBI时，阿莫罗索特工才第一次见到温伯格。——NJ.com
Knowing that prison was Weinberg's only option, FBI agent John Good, who was in charge of the Abscam operation, made a deal with Weinberg in hopes that he could lead the FBI to more white collar prey. Like what is shown in the movie, Weinberg agreed to work on four cases in order to keep himself and his mistress out of jail. Once those cases were completed, Weinberg agreed to continue to work for the FBI, leading them to uncover the political corruption that the Abscam operation became known for. -60 Minutes负责阿伯斯坎行动（Abscam）的FBI特工约翰·古德明白，锒铛入狱是温伯格唯一的选择，于是他与温伯格做了一场交易，希望温伯格能够帮助FBI查出更多的“猎物”。与电影中所呈现的一样，温伯格同意参与四件案子，使自己和情妇免受牢狱之灾。一旦完成这些案子，温伯格同意继续为FBI效劳，在他的协助下就有了以揭露政治腐败而著名的阿伯斯坎行动。——《60分钟》
3. Why was the FBI operation called "Abscam"?3. 为什么FBI把此项行动称为“阿伯斯坎（Abscam）”？
As we probed the American Hustle true story, we quickly learned that the FBI sting operation that was nicknamed Abscam is a contraction of Abdul Scam, which refers to the phony company set up by the FBI, Abdul Enterprises.在深入了解《美国骗局》背后真实的历史故事时，我们很快就发现了FBI突击行动的代号“阿伯斯坎（Abscam）”的由来。Abscam其实是Abdul Scam的缩写，它是FBI建立的一间虚假公司，即阿卜杜勒集团（Abdul Enterprises）。
4. Was Mel Weinberg paid for helping the FBI?4. 梅尔·温伯格协助FBI有报酬吗？
Yes. With regard to the American Hustle true story, not only did Melvin Weinberg avoid a three-year prison sentence, he was paid $150,000 of taxpayers' money for helping to stage and execute the Abscam operation. This was also due to the fact that after he had helped the FBI with the four cases he agreed to as part of his deal to avoid jail time, they offered to pay him to stay on and help them with Abscam. -60 Minutes有的。《美国骗局》的真实历史中，梅尔·温伯格因为帮助FBI策划并实施了阿伯斯坎行动，他不仅免受了3年的牢狱之灾，同时还拿到了由纳税人缴纳的15万美元税金。温伯格在协助FBI完成了4件案子而免于坐牢之后，FBI提出让温伯格继续在阿伯斯坎行动帮助他们，并会支付他相应的报酬。
5. What role did Mel Weinberg play in the Abscam operation?5. 梅尔·温伯格在阿伯斯坎行动中扮演了怎样的角色？
Like Christian Bale's character in the American Hustle movie, the real Irving Rosenfeld, Mel Weinberg, was instrumental in staging the Abscam operation. He assisted the FBI in selecting potential targets and contacted a variety of individuals to tell them that his principals (in this case the concocted Arab sheik) were looking to invest large sums of money in exchange for various political favors. -Justice.gov正如克里斯蒂安·贝尔在电影中表现的一样，欧文·罗森菲尔德的原型，梅尔·温伯格在策划阿伯斯坎行动中起了很大的作用。他协助FBI选择有嫌疑的目标，并联系了一大批人，告知他们他的委托人（即捏造出来的阿拉伯酋长）想要投资一大笔钱以换来可观的政治优惠条件。
6. Why was the Abscam operation so controversial?6. 为什么阿伯斯坎行动争议性很大？
Abscam generated controversy in part due to the lengths that the FBI went to in order to ensnare its targets. This included the use of the "sting" technique and allowing Melvin Weinberg, a known con man and informant, to be involved in selecting the targets. Questions emerged about whether the undercover tactics used, including the creation of attractive criminal scenarios, led to entrapment. In the end, the courts upheld all of the convictions on appeal, even though some judges scrutinized the FBI's strategies and lack of FBI and DOJ supervision. Abscam was considered a success by the FBI, despite the controversy. -Justice.gov由于FBI为诱捕目标而实施大量的钓鱼执法手段，令阿伯斯坎行动引起了很大的争议，包括使用“欺诈”手段、以及让诈骗犯梅尔·温伯格参与确定行动目标。在FBI行动中是否应该使用卧底，包括是否应设置诱人犯罪的圈套等等引发了很多问题。最后，尽管一些法官审查了FBI的行动策略，这个行动确实缺少了FBI和司法部门的监督，法庭还是支持所有提交的犯罪事实。相对于争议性的事件，FBI认为阿伯斯坎行动更是一次成功之举。——Justice.gov
Others wanted more oversight and in the wake of Abscam, U.S. Attorney Benjamin Civiletti issued "The Attorney General Guidelines for FBI Undercover Operations" ("Civiletti Undercover Guidelines") on January 5, 1981, which formally laid down ground rules regarding procedures necessary to carry out undercover operations. Congressional hearings were held to discuss Civiletti's guidelines, at which time concerns were expressed over the undercover agents' involvement in illegal activity, the prospect of damaging the reputations of innocent civilians, the possibility of entrapping individuals, and the opportunity to undermine legitimate rights to privacy. Ultimately, these concerns led to at least three more sets of stricter guidelines being issued in the years that followed. -Justice.gov阿伯斯坎行动曝光之后，有人建议应加强对FBI的监管力度。1981年1月5日，美国司法部长本杰明·希弗莱蒂下发了“总检察长联邦调查局的秘密行动准则” （ “希弗莱蒂卧底准则” ），明确了进行秘密行动的正式的必要程序。国会听证会开会讨论了希弗莱蒂卧底准则，当时引起关注的有使用曾进行犯罪活动的卧底，损害无辜公民的名誉、诱使无辜个人犯罪、无视个人隐私权的可能性。最终，这些关注的问题使得三套更为严格的行动准则在之后几年陆续颁发。——Justice.gov
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