[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
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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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