December 1971: Detective Frank Serpico told the Knapp Commission of his efforts to disclose to high-ranking New York City officials of police corruption. It was believed that Serpico's war against scandalous police activity nearly cost him his life. For a period of five months in 1970, Serpico had complained about police graft to Jay Kriegel, a close aide to the Mayor, and to the City Commissioner of Investigation, but they failed to act on the allegations of corruption. Serpico was shot in the face in February, and while he survived the assault, he was left deaf in one ear from the bullet wound in his head. A film starring Al Pacino was later made about Serpico's ordeal.

June 1972: Five men were arrested when found loaded down with electronic surveillance equipment in Washington's Watergate office building. The men were found in the national Democratic headquarters. It initially was called "a third-rate burglary attempt", but later Watergate proved to be the biggest political scandal in U.S. history, and ultimately destroyed Pres. Richard M. Nixon's political career.

September 1974: U.S. Pres. Gerald Ford granted former-President Richard Nixon a "full, free and absolute pardon" for any crimes he may have committed during the Watergate scandal.

September 1976: Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was sentenced to concurrent sentences of seven years for armed robbery and two years for using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Hearst, at age 19, was kidnapped from her apartment the previous February by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was arrested following a police battle in a Los Angeles suburb, in which six of the fanatical sect members were killed, including psychopathic leader Donald DeFreeze, aka "Cinque." Hearst's kidnapping dominated newspaper headlines for months. She had testified that she was brainwashed, and under the threat of death, was forced into participating in the California bank robbery.

October 1977: California ex-Congressman Richard Hanna was indicted for taking bribes from the South Korean CIA.

February 1979: In an effort to distance himself from the embarrassing antics of his brother Billy, President Jimmy Carter told the press that his brother was seriously ill and that he had no control over him. Billy, who had brought a raucous "red-neck" attitude to the White House, made derogatory comments about Jews, launched his own "Billy Beer," and more importantly, accepted $220,000 from the Libyan government. Even though Billy checked into an alcohol and drug rehabilitation service, Jimmy Carter's chances for re-election were all but destroyed.

Author: Vicki McClure Davidson

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