James Traficant facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jim Traficant
|
|
|---|---|
Traficant's official congressional portrait, 1997
|
|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 17th district |
|
| In office January 3, 1985 – July 24, 2002 |
|
| Preceded by | Lyle Williams |
| Succeeded by | Tim Ryan |
| Sheriff of Mahoning County | |
| In office 1981–1984 |
|
| Preceded by | George D. Tablack |
| Succeeded by | Edward Nemeth |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Anthony Traficant Jr.
May 8, 1941 Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | September 27, 2014 (aged 73) Poland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (until 2002) |
| Other political affiliations |
Independent (from 2002) |
| Spouse | Tish Choppa |
| Education | University of Pittsburgh (BS, MS) Youngstown State University (MS) |
James "Jim" Traficant Jr. (born May 8, 1941 – died September 27, 2014) was an American politician. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He served in the United States House of Representatives for Ohio. He was known for his strong beliefs about the economy and his unique personality. He represented an area around his hometown of Youngstown.
Traficant was removed from the House of Representatives on July 24, 2002. This happened after he was found guilty of several serious crimes. These included taking bribes and misusing his position. He was sent to prison and was released on September 2, 2009. He had served a seven-year sentence. Traficant passed away on September 27, 2014. This was after a tractor accident on his farm in Ohio.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Jim Traficant was born in Youngstown, Ohio. He grew up in a working-class family. He graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1959.
He then went to the University of Pittsburgh. He earned a degree in education in 1963. Traficant was a quarterback for the university's football team. He even tried out for professional teams but did not play professionally. Later, he earned two Master's degrees. One was from the University of Pittsburgh and another from Youngstown State University.
Early Career and Sheriff Role
Before becoming a politician, Traficant worked in finance. He also taught at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. From 1981 to 1985, he served as the Sheriff of Mahoning County.
As sheriff, Traficant became famous for refusing to remove people from their homes. These were homeowners who had lost their jobs and could not pay their mortgages. This made him very popular with local people. The area was facing tough economic times.
In 1983, Traficant was accused of taking bribes. He chose to defend himself in court. He argued that he only took the money as part of his own secret investigation into corruption. He was found not guilty of the charges. This made him the only person to win a major corruption case while representing himself.
The trial made Traficant well-known locally. In 1984, he was elected to Congress. He defeated a Republican who had served three terms. He was re-elected eight times without much trouble.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
During his time in Congress, Traficant was known for his short, often unusual speeches. He would often speak out against things like free trade and the tax agency (IRS). He often ended his speeches by saying, "Beam me up, Scotty," a famous line from Star Trek. He also had a very distinctive style, including his choice of clothes and his toupee.
Traficant supported reducing immigration to the United States. A big achievement for him was getting some of his ideas passed into law. These ideas aimed to make the IRS less harsh on people who owed taxes. He also often pushed for laws that said government projects should "Buy American" products.
After 1995, when Republicans gained control of the House, Traficant often voted with them. This was unusual for a Democrat. However, he voted against removing President Bill Clinton from office. In 2001, he voted for a Republican for Speaker of the House. Because of this, Democrats removed him from his senior positions. He also lost all his committee assignments. This meant he was the first House member in over 100 years to not be on any committees.
Traficant also asked the FBI to look into the missing person case of Philip Taylor Kramer. His office even did some of its own investigations.
Defending John Demjanjuk
Traficant strongly supported John Demjanjuk. Demjanjuk was an autoworker from Ohio. He had been found guilty in Israel of being a brutal Nazi concentration camp guard. He was nicknamed "Ivan the Terrible." For nearly ten years, Traficant argued that Demjanjuk did not get a fair trial. He said it was a case of mistaken identity.
In 1993, Israel's highest court overturned the conviction. This was because there was some doubt about his identity. Demjanjuk was later sent to Germany in 2009. A German court found him guilty of helping with murder. However, he died before his appeal could be heard, so the conviction was canceled.
Legal Troubles and Expulsion
On May 4, 2001, Traficant was accused of federal corruption. This included using campaign money for himself. Again, he chose to represent himself in court. He claimed the trial was a vendetta against him. After a two-month trial, he was found guilty on April 11, 2002. He was convicted of ten serious charges, including bribery and misusing his position.
On July 30, 2002, a judge sentenced Traficant to eight years in prison. He was also fined $150,000. The House Ethics Committee then suggested that Traficant be removed from Congress. On July 24, the House voted to expel him. The vote was 420 members for expulsion and only 1 against. Traficant was the first person to be expelled from the House since 1980.
After being expelled, Traficant ran for his old seat again. He ran as an independent candidate while he was still in prison. He received 15 percent of the votes. Tim Ryan, a former aide to Traficant, won the election.
Prison and Later Life
Time in Prison
Traficant went to prison on August 6, 2002. He served his sentence at a federal prison. During his seven years in prison, Traficant did not allow any visitors. He said he did not want anyone to see him there. He was released on September 2, 2009, at age 68. He then had three years of supervised release.
After Release
When Traficant was released from prison, about 1,200 supporters welcomed him home. There was a banquet with an Elvis impersonator and a Traficant lookalike contest. T-shirts were printed with "Welcome home Jimbo." He told his supporters that it was time to stand up to powerful government agencies. He also said he might run for Congress again. In 2010, he briefly worked as a weekend talk radio host.
In November 2009, Traficant wrote a column. In it, he continued to defend John Demjanjuk.
2010 Congressional Campaign
In September 2010, Traficant was approved to run for his old congressional seat. He said his main goal would be to get rid of the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which allows for income tax. Traficant lost the election to his former aide, Tim Ryan. He received 16% of the votes.
Life After Politics
After his release from prison, Traficant spoke at a Tea Party protest in Ohio. In July 2014, he started a campaign called Project Freedom USA. Its goals included pressuring Congress to get rid of the IRS and to change the role of the Federal Reserve. He continued to live on the farm he bought in 1987.
Accident and Death
Jim Traficant was injured in an accident on his farm on September 23, 2014. A tractor he was driving flipped over and trapped him underneath. He was taken to a hospital and later airlifted to another medical center. On September 27, 2014, Traficant died at a hospice in Poland, Ohio. He was 73 years old. His family held a private funeral, and he was buried in an undisclosed location.
See also
- List of United States representatives from Ohio
- List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded
- List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes
- List of federal political scandals in the United States
Images for kids
-
Traficant's official congressional portrait, 1997
