The Nation - News from April 10, 1989

Former Rep. Mario Biaggi of New York arrived in Grapevine, Tex., to begin his 2 1/2-year prison term for accepting a Florida vacation from former Brooklyn Democratic boss Meade H. Esposito in exchange for Biaggi’s efforts on behalf of a ship repair company. Before leaving for Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport, Biaggi told reporters in Newark, N.J., that he went to church and visited his wife, Marie Wassil Biaggi, who is hospitalized with Hodgkin’s disease. Flanked by family members, the 71-year-old Biaggi smiled often as he used a cane to walk aboard the plane at Newark International Airport. The former 10-term Democratic congressman is expected to turn himself in to U.S. Correctional Facility officials today.