Former US Congressman From Georgia Pat Swindall Has Died

A former congressman who was a Republican trailblazer in Georgia politics before his career was derailed by a perjury conviction has died at age 67.

Pat Swindall died Wednesday. Swindall's former campaign manager and chief of staff, Robb Austin, confirmed his death Thursday to The Associated Press.

A Republican from Atlanta's eastern suburbs, Swindall served two terms in Congress from 1985 to 1989. When Swindall was elected in 1984, Newt Gingrich was the only other Georgia Republican serving in the U.S. House.

Swindall was convicted in 1989 of lying to a federal grand jury about a loan for construction on his luxury Stone Mountain home he negotiated with an undercover agent posing as a drug-money launderer. He lost his seat in 1988 to former "Dukes of Hazzard" actor Ben Jones.