Names In The News : Jenrette Wins Delay in Theft Trial

Former Rep. John Jenrette (D-S.C.), who lost his seat in Congress after he was convicted in the 1980 FBI Abscam operation, won a delay today in his trial on charges of shoplifting a pair of shoes and altering price tags on a pair of pants and a shirt.

Jenrette, now a disbarred lawyer and recovering alcoholic, asked Judge Thomas Rothrock for a delay so he could seek medical treatment for an undisclosed illness. Rothrock postponed the proceedings until Feb. 23. Jenrette’s case has drawn extra attention because of his Abscam conviction and the controversy sparked by his ex-wife, Rita, who posed nude for Playboy magazine and wrote a book about sex, booze and carousing lawmakers in the nation’s capital.