James Traficant Totally Explained

Everything about James Traficant totally explained

James Anthony Traficant, Jr. (born May 8, 1941) is a former Democratic Representative in the United States Congress from Ohio (from 1985 to 2002). He was expelled after being convicted of taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his aides to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and on his houseboat in Washington, D.C., and is currently serving out an eight-year prison term with a projected release date of September 2, 2009.

Early life and career

Born into a working-class, Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio, Traficant graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1959 and the University of Pittsburgh in 1963 (where he was a standout in football), was drafted into the NFL no. 276 by the Steelers in 1963, and obtained a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh and another from Youngstown State University. He was the executive director of the Mahoning County Drug Program from 1971 to 1981 and sheriff of Mahoning County from 1981 to 1985. While serving as sheriff, Traficant made national headlines by refusing to execute foreclosure orders on several unemployed homeowners, many of whom had been left unemployed by the recent closures of local steel mills. This endeared him to the local population, which had long derived its wealth from steel and steel-associated businesses. In 1983, he was charged with racketeering for accepting bribes. Traficant, who represented himself in the criminal trial, argued that he accepted the bribes only as part of an undercover investigation into corruption. Traficant was acquitted of the charges, becoming the only person ever to win a RICO case while representing himself.
Publicity from the RICO trial increased Traficant's local visibility. He was elected as a Democrat to Congress from Ohio's 17th District, defeating Lyle Williams, a three-term Republican incumbent. He was reelected eight times without serious opposition.
On April 12, 2002, a jury found Traficant guilty of bribery and other charges brought against him after a two-month federal trial. He was sentenced to time at a federal prison where he's currently serving eight years. He was expelled from the U.S. Congress on July 24, 2002.

Independent voice

In the House, Traficant was known for his flamboyant and eccentric style. He was a constant thorn in the side of the Democratic caucus with his eccentric behavior, an image he embraced. Casting himself as a rough-hewn populist and "regular guy," his speeches were far outside the usual staid norms of political speaking. Many people tuned into C-SPAN just to watch his one-minute speeches at the beginning of each day's sitting. His trademark closing rhetoric was "Beam me up... I yield back the fact..." His Website featured a picture of him swinging a two-by-four with the words "Bangin' away in D.C."
After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him a committee assignment. Because the Republicans didn't assign him to any committee, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century without any committee assignment who wasn't in a leadership position.
Traficant championed the unpopular cause of John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian-born autoworker from Seven Hills, who had been convicted in Israel and sentenced to hang for having been the brutal concentration camp guard "Ivan the Terrible." For almost a decade, Traficant was virtually alone (except for columnist Pat Buchanan) in insisting that Demjanjuk had been denied a fair trial and been the victim of mistaken identity; the Supreme Court of Israel eventually agreed and overturned the conviction in 1993. However, US federal judge ruled in 2002 that, although not "Ivan the Terrible," Demjanjuk had actually been a guard at numerous Nazi concentration camps and had in fact been a member of an SS unit dedicated to capturing Polish Jews. Demjanjuk was stripped of his citizenship by the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals in 2004 and was ordered deported to his native Ukraine on December 28, 2005.

Indictment and expulsion

In 2002, Traficant was indicted on federal corruption charges for taking campaign funds for personal use. Again, he opted to represent himself, insisting that the trial was part of a vendetta against him dating to his 1983 trial. On April 15, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. The House Ethics Committee recommended that he be expelled from the House, and on July 24 the House voted 420-1 to expel him. Gary Condit was the lone "no" vote and there were nine members who voted "present." Traficant was the first representative to be expelled since Michael Myers's expulsion in 1980 as a result of the Abscam scandal.
   After his expulsion, Traficant ran as an independent candidate for another term in the House while incarcerated in a federal prison in White Deer, Pennsylvania. He received 15 percent of the vote (27,487 votes) and became one of only a handful of individuals in the history of the United States to run for a federal office from prison. The election was won by one of his former aides, Tim Ryan.
   In March 2004, the Federal Bureau of Prisons moved Traficant to the Federal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook. As of July 2007, the Federal Bureau of Prisons listed Traficant at the Federal Medical Center, Rochester, an administrative facility providing specialized mental health services. Traficant has taken up artwork while in prison.
   In addition to his tirades on the House floor and his independent tack, he was also known for his garish clothes and ill-fitting toupee and his loathing of NAFTA, the CIA, the FBI and the IRS.

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