'Silver Fox' dies; led Council in '70s

GEORGE X. Schwartz, the former City Council president who was caught up in the Abscam scandal of the late '70s and early '80s, died yesterday at age 95, said his son, Billy.

Billy Schwartz said his late father, who was living at the William Penn House, on Chestnut Street near 19th in Rittenhouse Square, had recently broken his hip and contracted pneumonia a few weeks ago. He died at home.

"He was someone you could always come to, and he would always have a good solution because he was pretty bright," said Schwartz, 70.

"It was an asset that we all reveled in. He could always figure out a good solution to a problem. He was just a good father," he said.

"He was funny at times, authoritarian at times. He was just the complete picture."

Born in 1915, Schwartz attended West Philadelphia High School, and received his bachelor's degree and his law degree from Temple University, his son said.

Schwartz was elected to City Council in 1960 and served as the body's president from 1972 until he was resigned in 1980, after he was videotaped taking a bribe as part of the FBI's Abscam sting operation.

Schwartz was convicted in 1980 of accepting bribes in the scandal, which involved a phony Arab sheik purportedly interested in building a luxury hotel in Philadelphia.

Two other Council members also were convicted: Louis Johanson and Majority Leader Harry P. Jannotti. Also convicted were U.S. Reps. Raymond F. Lederer and Ozzie Myers and Angelo Errichetti, a New Jersey state senator, among others.

The FBI recorded and videotaped meetings with representatives of the phony sheik, during which Schwartz reportedly accepted $30,000 to speed up the project.

After twice appealing his conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court, Schwartz entered federal prison in April 1985 to serve a sentence of a year and a day.

As news of his death spread, friends reflected on their relationship with the tenured politician.

"He was my mentor; he was my dear friend," said U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, who succeeded Schwartz as leader of the 34th Ward after Schwartz went to prison.

"He was the smartest politician I know. Very smooth, he was the Silver Fox," a moniker that bespoke his silver hair, meticulous dress and shrewd political skills.

Brady said Schwartz took him under his wing in the mid-1970s, bringing him down to Council and helping him get a job as a sergeant-at-arms for Council.

"He taught me one thing and that was all he ever taught me: Keep your word, keep your integrity, no matter what," Brady said. "He never made a permanent enemy."

Brady said that after the Abscam scandal, Schwartz avoided public life. But he attended several fundraisers for Brady during his run for mayor in 2007.

"I would talk to him all the time, and I would bounce things off him," said Brady, who said who talked with Schwartz several months ago.

Besides his son, Schwartz is survived by two daughters, Marjorie and Susan; 10 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.

Services will begin at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Levine's Funeral Home, 7700 Broad St. Burial will be private.