Pat Swindall, Former DeKalb Congressman, Dies

DECATUR, GA — Pat Swindall, a Republican lawmaker from DeKalb County whose time in Congress was marred by corruption charges, has died, according to his former campaign manager. He was 67.

Political consultant Robb Austin said on Facebook that Swindall died in his sleep Tuesday night.

"We fought many political battles and boy did we have fun," Austin wrote. "But more than that we were friends and amazingly very connected. He was more of a big brother to me."

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Swindall was elected to Congress in 1984, defeating five-term incumbent Democrat Elliot Levitas. Swindall ran on a socially conservative platform that political analysts say marked the leading edge of the "religious right" movement in Georgia.

A native of Gadsen, Ala., and graduate of the University of Georgia, Swindall would go on to defeat Ben Jones — best known for his role as Cooter on "The Dukes of Hazzard" — in 1986. But, in a rematch, and with legal troubles mounting, Swindall lost to Jones by a 20-point margin in 1988.

Swindall was indicted in October 1988 on 10 counts of perjury regarding a money laundering scheme in which he was accused of accepting an $850,000 loan from an undercover IRS agent posing as a representative of the Colombian drug cartel. The money allegedly was to work on his luxury home in Stone Mountain.

A jury convicted Swindall on nine of the 10 charges (the 10th had been dropped) and he served a stint in prison and was disbarred as a lawyer by the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Upon his release from prison in 1995, Swindall began hosting a conservative radio show that covered religion and politics.

In more recent years, Swindall's skirmishes with the law continued. He was indicted in 2009 on charges he made illegal contributions to an Atlanta city council race. The month before, he sued his homeowners association over speeding tickets.

As owner of Greenbriar Discount Mall, an indoor flea market, he was sued in 2016 for selling counterfeit sunglasses.

Funeral information for Swindall was not publicly available Thursday.

Photo courtesy Austin Communications