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Jim Traficant’s homecoming should be put in perspective
TweetJames A. Traficant Jr., the disgraced congressman and former sheriff of Mahoning County who epitomized the culture of government corruption in the Mahoning Valley, could be back in our midst in three months. Let us not greet him as a conquering hero.
Traficant is a convicted felon who will have spent more than six years in federal prison by the time he is scheduled to be sent to Community Corrections Association in Youngstown in March.
How we in this region react to his homecoming will be the story line for the national and international media. While Traficant’s family and friends should celebrate, the larger community would do well to take a step back and ponder what this most talented of politicians has done to the reputation of the Valley.
Go anywhere in the country and say you’re from Youngstown (it’s the reference point most people outside the region recognize) and there’s likely to be a question or comment about Traficant.
And, if the individual is thoughtful and is aware of the former congressman’s criminal record, there will be this: “Would the people of your area really elect him if he ran for office after serving time in prison?”
We would like to answer with an unequivocal no, but we’re well aware that Traficant still enjoys widespread support in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. But whether that support would translate into votes in an election is anyone’s guess.
We would rather not see the idea tested.
Half-way house
Traficant has been gone since August 2002 and would be released first to a half-way house from the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn.
The reason for his being incarcerated in a medical facility must be made public when he is released. People have a right to know how a former high-ranking elected official — he was congressman from the 17th District for 18 years — was able to do most of his time in the relative comfort of a medical facility rather than a regular federal prison.
The initial reaction to the announcement of the former Democratic congressman’s impending release from prison in March was not surprising. He is still popular in the tri-county area. But the re-writing of Traficant’s political history cannot go unchallenged.
A review of his record in the House of Representatives will show that he was no more effective in taking care of his district than his peers. To be sure, Traficant did do some good for the region, such as securing millions of dollars for the Air Reserve Base, thus making it all but impossible for the Pentagon to close the facility, and persuading the Veterans Administration to establish VA clinics in the area.
But the idea that he was one of the most effective members of Congress because of his one-minute speeches is not supported by the facts.
In the end, Traficant must be judged on his criminal record, which will not be erased just because he is out of prison.
Comments
Breaking News: The second we stop flocking to the theater to see Tom Cruise, there's no Tom Cruise. Likewise, the second we stop talking about Traficant, he goes away. How do we expect the characterization of this area to ever change if we keep bringing up(and nominating) the political titans who have stumbled.
Has the Vindicator ever questioned the manner in which charges were brought against Traficant? Did you ever wonder just how so many federal resources and officers were devoted to chasing this guy? Might the reason for this federal zeal be centered in the desire on their part to settle an old score from when Traf beat them back in the early 80s? The Vindy had its own beefs with Jim Traficant and perhaps its own justification, but you woefully underestimate why people are still drawn to Jimbo, and some probably feel he got the shaft from the feds that your rant is based on. This may come as a shock to your paper, but many drew inspiration from him, felt he was fighting for us. In the interim, since his conviction and sentencing, we have seen the likes of Bob Ney, Jack Abromoff, Ted Stevens and so many more have their misdeeds revealed. These chaps backed the truck up to the vault and simply started shoveling, public trust be damned. Yet these rogues have received lighter sentences; Ney was released to a halfway house after two years; Stevens, who dipped with the big dipper for 40 years, will probably be pardoned; a who's who of Cleveland area pols are about to be outed for corruption..........and the Vindy is still carrying out its vendetta against Traficant. Lighten up, loosen up and I find the timing of your rant interesting. Remember FDR: the only thing we have to fear is fear itself...
LET'S RECAPITULATE THE TRAFICANT CASE
=====================================
MALICIOUS PROSECUTION
There was no wiretap or physical evidence whatsoever in the Traficant case. The DOJ removed its severest Congressional critic by means of entirely hearsay testimony from Youngstown witnesses who had legal jeopardy for other acts.
GET-OUT-OF-JAIL-FREE
In consideration for their entirely hearsay, unsubstantiated petty-cash bribery testimony:
1) J.J. Cafaro did NOT serve his 18-24 month prison sentence for a previous mob-related perjury conviction;
2) Capri Cafaro was NEVER investigated for the tax fraud and Torricelli money-scrubbing that were whistle blown to federal prosecutors by Richard Detore -- a Cafaro Company employee who remains a patent-holding test pilot with a Top Secret federal security clearance.
3) Allen Sinclair's other bank accounts -- discovered by former Secret Service Agent Mike Robertson -- were never investigated.
WITNESS TAMPERING
The Justice Department declined to investigate sworn allegations of witness tampering, despite a public request from then Congressman (now Ohio Governor) Ted Strickland.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,5...
TRAFICANT/CONVERTINO-SLAYER, PROSECUTOR CRAIG MORFORD
In late-2007 Morford became a national celebrity when the President appointed him Acting Deputy Attorney General -- the #2 man who runs the DOJ on a day-to-day basis.
Shortly thereafter all members of the US House and Senate received faxed documents about the Traficant case, including sworn accusations of Morford's witness tampering -- attempting to coerce Detore to lie about Traficant. http://www.etoys-bankruptcy-fraud.inf...
(N.B. that Morford had LOST his case against Detore, and that the Cafaro brothers were sanctioned by the judge for lying to the Court in Fairfax County, VA.)
In November, the Morford-initiated prosecution of another DOJ critic, Richard Convertino, failed. (In fact, the jury gave Convertino an 'Attaboy' for his original terrorism prosecutions.)
In December, Congress held a rush pre-Xmas committee meeting to endorse AG Michael Mukasey's choice of judge/law professor Mark Filip to replace Morford.
Morford quietly left the DOJ in early 2008, without being interrogated by the Senate about the sworn C-SPAN testimony of his prosecutorial misconduct in the Traficant case. http://www.etoys-bankruptcy-fraud.inf...
(Senate investigation/confirmation would have been required for permanent appointment of Morford as the Deputy AG).