29 Facts About James Traficant

James Traficant died on September 27,2014, following a tractor accident at his farm in Green Township, Ohio.

James Traficant played quarterback for Pitt's football team, and his teammates included Mike Ditka.

James Traficant was drafted in the NFL's twentieth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1963, and tried out for the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League, but did not play professionally.

At the start of his career, James Traficant was the consumer finance director for the Youngstown Community Action Program.

James Traficant taught courses on drug and alcohol dependency and recovery at Youngstown State University and Kent State University, as well as lecturing on drug and alcohol abuse for colleges and government agencies outside Ohio.

James Traficant was the executive director of the Mahoning County Drug Program from 1971 to 1981, and Sheriff of Mahoning County from 1981 to 1985.

James Traficant, who represented himself in the criminal trial, argued that he accepted the bribes only as part of his own alleged secret undercover investigation into corruption.

James Traficant was acquitted of the charges, becoming the only person ever to win a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act case while representing himself.

James Traficant was elected in 1984 as a Democrat to Congress from Ohio's 17th District, defeating Lyle Williams, a three-term Republican incumbent.

James Traficant usually ended his speeches with the phrase "beam me up", a Star Trek reference.

James Traficant was known for frequently pushing to include "Buy American" provisions in spending bills.

James Traficant twice asked the FBI to investigate the missing persons case of Philip Taylor Kramer, whose family he knew.

James Traficant championed the unpopular case 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 Nazi concentration camp guard nicknamed "Ivan the Terrible".

James Traficant argued that denaturalization had happened because of a "powerful Jewish lobby" influencing Congress.

James Traficant added that it was a violation of a US citizen's civil rights, and he suggested that Rudolph return to the United States nonetheless.

On May 4,2001, James Traficant was indicted on federal corruption charges for taking campaign funds for personal use.

James Traficant was the first person to be expelled from the House of Representatives since Michael Myers who was expelled in 1980 as a result of the Abscam scandal.

James Traficant was one of only a few people in US history to seek federal office while incarcerated.

Tim Ryan, a former aide to James Traficant, won the election.

James Traficant was released on September 2,2009, at age 68, and was subject to three years of supervised release.

Duke posted a letter written by James Traficant stating that he was targeted by the United States Department of Justice for, among other things, defending John Demjanjuk.

James Traficant said he was considering running for his old seat in Congress.

James Traficant's contract permitted him to quit if he chose to run for office.

In September 2010, James Traficant was certified to run for the same seat he held before his expulsion, and said that his platform would be to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

James Traficant lost the election to his former aide, Tim Ryan, to whom he lost an earlier race in 2002.

James Traficant began a grassroots campaign in July 2014, Project Freedom USA, to, among other things, put pressure on Congress to get rid of the IRS and "divorce" the Federal Reserve.

James Traficant continued to live on the farm that he had purchased in 1987.

James Traficant was injured in an accident at his farm in Greenford, Ohio, on September 23,2014.

James Traficant was taken to Salem Regional Medical Center in Salem, Ohio, then airlifted to St Elizabeth's Health Center in Youngstown.