[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 73 (Thursday, June 6, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E980-E981]
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

                        Wednesday, June 5, 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.
  Count One--Anthony Bucci. Anthony Bucci testified that he ``owned'' 
me by performing $12,000 of work at the Traficant farm (which is not 
and was not owned by me). Facts in this count are simple and right to 
the point. . . . Anthony Bucci perjured himself and the government 
suborned his perjury
  The most appalling underlying issue behind Anthony Bucci's testimony 
is that it was given as part of Mr. Bucci's third federal plea 
agreement and currently the government is working on another deal with 
Mr. Bucci that would allow Anthony's brother Robert to return to the 
United States, after having fled the country to escape federal charges.
  Anthony Bucci's contention is that he and his company provided 
$12,000 in materials

[[Page E981]]

and services and that these acts let him ``own a Congressman'' was 
refuted and impeached by five defense witnesses.
  First, the majority of the work performed at the Traficant farm was 
done by Mr. Greg Tyson, who was scheduled as the government's witness 
to testify under immunity, but was never called by them. Subsequently, 
I called him to the stand.
  Under oath, Mr. Tyson testified that not only was he accused and 
threatened with an indictment by the government for performing services 
at the farm as a favor to me, he also testified that he was PAID for 
his services.
  Mr. Tyson was a partner with Anthony Bucci and Joe Sattarelle in a 
concrete company and I did arrange for the first ever minority loan to 
be made to Mr. Tyson to finance this investment; Mr. Tyson being a 
black man and not a `front-man' for minority access to contracts.
  Mr. Sattarelle, who was a government witness, testified that Anthony 
Bucci was such a liar that if Anthony Bucci said his name was Anthony 
Bucci, he (Sattarelle) would not believe it and that Anthony (Bucci) 
would lie about anything to avoid problems.
  Mr. Sattarelle further testified that ``Yes, Jim Traficant helped 
[their] company, he helped everybody.''
  Even an employee from ODOT testified that I did help the Bucci's as I 
helped any and all local companies. During this testimony the ODOT 
official stated that I received more federal money for my district than 
any other congressional district in the state of Ohio.
  The truth is that the work Anthony Bucci offered to do at the farm 
ended up creating significant damage to the property, including causing 
the main bank barn to almost collapse, and costing my father, James A. 
Traficant, Sr. a tremendous amount of money to make repairs.
  With regard to Bucci's alleged work at the farm, Sandy Ferrante 
testified that the main bearing stone wall of the barn had caved in and 
the barn was near collapse and that Anthony Bucci feared a lawsuit over 
this incident.
  Another witness and contractor, Harry Manganaro, testified that he 
``helped Jim Traficant jack up the corner of the barn because the barn 
was literally going to collapse'' because of the destruction to the 
property by Anthony Bucci.
  Perhaps the most damaging testimony in this count came from Susan 
Bucci, Anthony's sister-in-law and widow of Anthony's brother, Dan.
  Dan and Susan owned a farm across the street from the Traficant farm. 
Susan Bucci testified that I didn't like Anthony and never did and that 
my friend in the Bucci family was Dan. She further testified that Dan 
and I would go riding cycles together and shared bedding and equipment 
for livestock on a neighborly basis and that ``Jim Traficant performed 
farm services at no cost to our family that far exceeded any of the so-
called work that the Bucci brothers offered to do. And, that if anyone 
was owed money for materials and services, Jim Traficant was owed money 
by the (Bucci) brothers.''
  Additionally, Susan Bucci also stated under oath that Anthony (Bucci) 
was a ``liar'' and lied to her and took advantage of her and her family 
when her husband (Dan) died by ``taking money'' that was due to her and 
her children when the Bucci company was dissolved.
  Susan Bucci's affidavit supports her assertions and reads in 
pertinent part:

           Affidavit by Susan Bucci, Friday, February 1, 2002

       I hereby swear that the following statement is the truth:
       1. Jim Traficant brush hogged 40 acres of land at our farm 
     on Route 165 in Green Township, Mahoning County, Ohio, for 
     seven years.
       2. Jim Traficant mowed, raked and bailed hay for us on 25 
     acres for four years, with his own equipment and provided his 
     own fuel.
       3. Jim Traficant, at his expense, repaired our hay wagons 
     regularly.
       4. My husband, Dan (deceased) told me that when we stopped 
     farming, to ``give Jim the hay wagons.''
       5. Jim Traficant would not take any hay wagons without 
     paying.
       6. Jim Traficant gave me a check for one thousand dollars.
       7. Jim Traficant said, ``$400 for the wagons and $600 for 
     anything I may owe.''
       8. Jim Traficant did not have to do that, but I believe he 
     did that to help me, because I was having a difficult time 
     financially.
       9. The family had asked Jim Traficant to help get Tony 
     Bucci into a halfway house.
       10. Jim Traficant did that, and it was common knowledge 
     that he would help anybody.
       11. Jim Traficant would not accept anything, even though 
     the brothers wanted to pay him.
       12. On occasion, they got Jim some sawdust that my husband 
     also used; my husband would take old hay and straw to bed our 
     cows.
       13. There was a time when Jim asked for help to borrow 
     jackhammers to break up concrete in big, old bank barn.
       In closing, I believe that Jim Traficant was owed money by 
     the family.
       Sworn before a notary on February 1, 2002.

  Aside from the contracts my office assisted with, there were letters 
written on behalf of Anthony Bucci when he was a resident at a halfway 
house, Community Corrections Association (CCA). It is evident, through 
the testimony of Dominic Paolone, Jr. that these letters were not done 
as a favor to Anthony but as a standard procedure by my office when a 
family member contacts one of my district offices.
  Mr. Paolone stated that he was a resident of CCA while Anthony Bucci 
was there and admitted that Mr. Bucci was upset because I wouldn't help 
him unless he followed office policy, which meant a family member must 
make the request on behalf of the individual incarcerated. Eventually 
Anthony's brother contacted me to submit a letter to CCA on Anthony's 
behalf. And, according to his testimony, Mr. Paolone was provided with 
the same assistance when his (Paolone's) father contacted my office.
  Obviously, the jury was misled by Anthony Bucci's uncorroborated 
testimony and overlooked five truthful witnesses simply because the 
government submitted circumstantial evidence in the form of advocacy 
letters from my office to help the Bucci brothers and their respective 
companies. These letters were not in return for favors but because 
these companies employed up to 100 of my constituents and when these 
companies received local contracts, subcontracting and spin-off 
employment affected over 200 families in my district.
  Did I help the Buccis--Yes. I helped hundreds of companies in my 
district, which had a 22 percent unemployment rate when I took office. 
Any member of Congress would have done the same thing.
  As of Tuesday, June 4, 2002, Anthony Bucci, who would have faced 21 
months in prison for defrauding Uncle Sam, instead got a slap on the 
wrist in the form of 6 weeks home detention and two years of probation 
for his participation in my trial.
  At this point, it's obvious what kind of deals the government is 
willing to make to get their #1 target--Jim Traficant, the only one to 
ever defeat the government, pro se, in a RICO trial.
  For the record, the purported services occurred in the early 1990's, 
thus the imposition of a RICO charge was used by the government to 
extend the statute of limitations to accommodate for these ludicrous 
allegations.
  The government provided no physical evidence, no wiretaps, no tapes, 
no hidden microphones and no fingerprints on more than 1,000 documents. 
How is it possible to reach a conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt with 
only circumstantial evidence and the testimony of felons? In a RICO 
case, no less.
  Shove count one up their asphalt. Tomorrow, railroad stop two. . . . 
I mean count two. Sugar coated extortion, prosecutorial misconduct, 
subordination of perjury and other related governmental atrocities.

                          ____________________