[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 72 (Wednesday, June 5, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E949-E950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRAFICANT TRIAL: A RAILROAD OF JUSTICE

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. JAMES A. TRAFICANT, JR.

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 4, 2002

  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, the government presented a ten-count 
indictment against me on May 4, 2001. And convicted me on those ten 
counts, Thursday, April 11, 2002.
  Initially, the two most significant accusations were a contract 
murder scheme and a purported $150,000 barn to have been built on the 
Traficant Family Farm for supposed favors. Both matters made national 
headlines poisoning the jury voir dire, but after the government's 
intimidation tactics were exposed, I was charged with neither.
  The following affidavit by Mrs. Sandy Ferrante, the supposed target, 
outlines the saga of the alleged murder-for-hire:

         Affidavit of Sandra Ferrante, Tuesday, April 30, 2002

       I hereby swear that the following is a true and accurate 
     statement.
       In middle to late August, 2000, three males arrived at my 
     ex-husband's residence on Applegrove Road in North Canton, 
     Ohio. They identified themselves as agents of the F.B.I., 
     Rich Deholm, Chuck Perkins and Mike Pecunis, and requested 
     that we go into the house so that they may talk to me on a 
     matter of great importance. I suggested that we go to a 
     public location. We, my ex-husband, myself and the three 
     agents met at a nearby Wendy's restaurant.
       The agents proceeded to play a 40-minute tape for me, which 
     intimated that Jim Traficant wanted to have me murdered. On 
     the tape I heard three voices, Clarence Broad, and two 
     unknown individuals which I was told were an undercover agent 
     of the F.B.I. and another male who dropped the agent off to 
     meet with Broad.
       I proceeded to ask if this was something they were using to 
     get me to say something against Jim Traficant. The agents 
     stated that they were only there to protect me. They never 
     stated that Jim Traficant was responsible but led me to 
     believe that he was involved in this conspiracy to take my 
     life.
       After this meeting with the agents, I received a phone call 
     from an F.B.I. agent who suggested that to ensure my own 
     safety that I should go public with this information and 
     announce the conspiracy.
       At some point afterward, an F.B.I. agent notified me that 
     Clarence Broad was moved to Elkton Prison, in Elkton, Ohio 
     and it was unusual that he was moved to this facility. Also, 
     the agent insinuated that his move could have been done at 
     the request of Jim Traficant.
       I testified before a grand jury on two occasions in the 
     matter regarding Jim Traficant. During this time the F.B.I. 
     paid $800 to house my dogs in kennels and also paid for my 
     two round trips to Louisville, Kentucky to testify.
       After testifying truthfully and when the government didn't 
     hear what they wanted to hear the U.S. Attorney, Craig 
     Morford proceeded to demean me in front of the grand jury. In 
     addition, at the time of my testimony in front of the grand 
     jury I publicly apologized to Jim (Traficant) and his wife 
     for allowing the government to trick me into believing this 
     conspiracy.
       When the indictment came down, I discovered that there were 
     no charges filed in association with the murder issue. In 
     addition, I read news articles that had information that were 
     never on the tape.
       Since the time of the first meeting with the F.B.I. agents, 
     my husband has suffered a debilitating stroke and requires 
     constant care and my health continues to deteriorate due to 
     the stress and the traumatic nature of the events in this 
     case.
       Signed and sworn before a notary public on April 30, 2002.

  Then, Henry Nemenz, a man with a conscience, surprised me at a local 
restaurant where I was having lunch with a friend, John Innella. At 
that meeting, Mr. Nemenz apologized for untrue statements he had made 
to the government to avoid indictment. I asked Mr. Nemenz to sit down 
and proceeded to ask him questions regarding the so-called $150,000 
barn deal and at the completion of that meeting, I did the following 
two things, (1) secured an affidavit summarizing what John Innella had 
witnessed take place between myself and Henry Nemenz and (2) telephoned 
Ms. Robin Best, Henry Nemenz's girlfriend, the next day, who confirmed 
that ``Henry told me everything about the meeting and the government 
was furious and hauled him up to Cleveland.''
  The following affidavit by John Innella describes the conversation I 
had with Henry Nemenz:

      State of Ohio, County of Mahoning, Affidavit of John Innella

       After being duly cautioned on my oath in accordance with 
     the law, I, John Innella, hereby depose and say:
       At approximately 1:00 p.m. on Monday, April 30, 2001, I was 
     in the company of James A. Traficant, Jr. and was 
     unexpectedly interrupted by Henry Nemenz.
       1. Henry Nemenz voluntarily told James Traficant in my 
     company ``Morford was trying to put words in his mouth.''
       2. His (Nemenz) attorney told him to ``tell Morford what 
     they wanted to hear so that he would not be indicted.''
       3. In my presence, James Traficant and Henry Nemenz talked 
     about their original deal, which was $17,000 for the barn and 
     additions because Jim Traficant already had the poles and 
     metal for the building.
       4. In my presence, they discussed that the construction man 
     said he would bring in twenty (20) Amish and they would get 
     the job done in a week.
       5. Nemenz said that he eventually got rid of his 
     construction man because of faulty construction and poor 
     management.
       6. Nemenz and Traficant discussed the fact they 
     legitimately came to a reasonable business settlement that 
     Nemenz would have made with anyone under similar 
     circumstances.
       7. Nemenz told Traficant that he was told by Morford ``not 
     to talk to Traficant.''
       8. Nemenz told Traficant that all money Traficant owed, was 
     paid in full, including the truck.
       9. In my presence, Traficant and Nemenz agreed that the 
     stretching out of the work to be performed was the cause of 
     the cost overruns, and that it was not the fault of James

[[Page E950]]

     Traficant, which they had mutually agreed to be $17,000.00 in 
     addition to the truck.
       10. Traficant and Nemenz agreed in my presence that 
     Traficant had settled the accounts in full.
       11. Nemenz stated in my presence that when Morford 
     interviewed him, he had four assistants, and the situation 
     was intimidating. He said that they did not want to hear what 
     he was saying. He said that he basically ``told them what 
     they wanted to hear.''
       12. In my presence, Nemenz also said that the conversation 
     was ``bull shit.''
       13. Nemenz said that he had agreed to sell Traficant a 
     black corvette. He said that he had realized that Traficant 
     had invested money in the car to make repairs because it had 
     sat so long unused. He further stated that he realized 
     Traficant put hardly any miles on the corvette. But when the 
     flap developed over the barn Nemenz decided he wanted the car 
     back, saying that he would give credit for any of the 
     expenses. The real reason he wanted the car back was that it 
     was purchased as a graduation present for his son, and his 
     son was upset because Henry had sold it. Henry also said that 
     he was also upset over the problems that had developed 
     concerning the construction work at the farm. Nemenz admitted 
     that he agreed to sell the car to Traficant, and thanked 
     Traficant for returning the car.
       14. I was present during this entire conversation at 
     Bruno's Restaurant in Poland, Ohio.
       Signed and sworn before a notary public on June 13, 2001.

  In summary, the government had to back off the big barn hoax, but by 
that time the damage had already been done to poison the jury pool.
  Tomorrow, stop one. . . . I mean count one on the government's 
railroad regarding the charges involving Anthony Bucci, who was in the 
process of the 3rd federal plea agreement and perjured himself with his 
testimony against me.

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