[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 74 (Friday, June 7, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E997-E998]
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

                         Thursday, June 6, 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 Two--David Sugar.
  David Sugar was indicted for backdating invoices for his company, 
some of which concerned me and Mr. Sugar ended up getting caught up in 
making false statements about these invoices.
  To avoid perjury, Mr. Sugar stated he was pressured into doing quid 
pro quo favors at the Traficant farm.
  Be advised that David Sugar testified that he received $1,400 in one 
payment and accepted a Steinway piano, appraised for between $6,000 and 
$7,000 and claimed the same on his tax records.
  In my trial, the judge did not permit the testimony, or consensual 
taped phone call with Harry Manganaro, friend of David Sugar, in whom 
Sugar confided after being visited by the FBI for a second time. 
Clearly under the circumstances, Mr. Sugar's discussion with Mr. 
Manganaro should have fallen under the hearsay rule and been permitted 
as evidence.
  On Sunday, January 27, 2002 I had the following conversation with 
Harry Manganaro regarding Mr. Sugar's situation:

       JT: This is what, the twenty-seventh? Sunday, January 
     twenty seventh? Okay now, Harry do you want to spell you last 
     name?
       HM: M-A-N-G-A-N-A-R-O.
       JT: Manganaro. Yea. We've known each other for a lot of 
     years, but you work for Dave Sugar right? You used to?
       HM: I used to.
       JT: And on or about the time that Dave ah, has gone through 
     this ordeal with me, you were his employee?
       HM: Yea, when I was there I was just a consultant on 
     demolitions.
       JT: Yea, you wanna move a little closer? And you realize we 
     are taping this conversation?
       HM: Yes.
       JT: Okay. Ah, in fact, you mentioned, there, you came to me 
     yesterday to my house at about what, 10:00? This is the first 
     you divulged that information to me.
       HM: Right.
       JT: Okay. And you realize I represent myself, I'm my own 
     attorney.
       HM: I do.
       JT: Now, I've asked you to meet me here today and you told 
     me that basically Dave Sugar had made statements to you 
     relative to this case. I want you to just in short, brief 
     terms tell me what Dave Sugar said.
       HM: Well first of all, he had people coming in, they came 
     in two times.
       JT: Who were the people?
       HM: That was the FBI people. I don't know exact names.
       JT: That's fine.
       HM: The first time they came in they were questioning what 
     he did for ah, you and (sounds like transport machinery) and 
     ah, they didn't charge you for it. And Dave is bad on keeping 
     some records and things like that. There was stuff on my desk 
     where I didn't even bill people yet, but I got the bills. And 
     he probably had your bill on there too. And they were aware 
     of that, basically they left that time. Then they came back 
     when Dave wasn't there and they went through the whole 
     office, and ah (unintelligible).
       JT: Well, what they did to him was they charged him with 
     some offense involving me, quite frankly I'm not even up to 
     date on his offense, but then at some point he said to you 
     that he had to make statements.
       HM: Right, basically they told him that if he doesn't 
     cooperate with them, he was going to get his wife involved 
     and ah, his son

[[Page E998]]

     involved with the business and everything like that so, he 
     didn't want anybody else to get involved with business or he 
     pleaded guilty, he doesn't want to get his wife involved and 
     have problems. They gave him the opportunity.
       JT: Who is they again?
       HM: They is the FBI.
       JT: Now, did ah,.
       HM: I know one thing, he has been nervous ever since then 
     cause they've got the threat of going to jail over his head 
     and ah.
       JT: If he don't do what?
       HM: If he doesn't cooperate.
       JT: Did he tell you that, well what did he tell you, did he 
     tell you he broke the law with me, what was the statements to 
     you?
       HM: Basically he don't feel that he broke the law because 
     ah, your dad and his dad were friends for years and years. 
     And he thought he was helping a friend but he did say that 
     whatever he did for you, he was paid because he had gotten 
     some money, I'm not sure of an exact amount, I don't know 
     fourteen, eighteen hundred dollars, something like that, plus 
     a piano that's worth more than what these people are saying.
       JT: Well, he mentioned to you that it was an eighteen 
     fifty-six Steinway that was registered in the book?
       HM: Right, I moved it out of your house.
       JT: Yea, and it was registered in the book only two made in 
     eighteen fifty-six, but there was other antiques too. Did you 
     help move those things from the barn and from the house?
       HM: Yes I did, you had them in the barn, we went to the 
     barn, we got stuff up in the attic.
       JT: There were several other antique pieces that he had 
     taken, but basically all he did there, was he laid, you guys 
     spread the concrete, he did not have anything to do with 
     paying for the concrete.
       HM: No, he didn't buy the concrete. The concrete was bought 
     by a guy in Struthers, I believe it was.
       JT: T.C. Ready Mix delivered it. And ah, I paid T.C. Ready 
     Mix and he had nothing to do with paying that. But the point 
     I'm making is, did he say look, I had to lie or they were 
     going to put me in jail, bring my son involved.
       HM: Yep.
       JT: Tell me exactly what he said.
       HM: That's what he said. What your saying is that he was 
     deathly afraid that they were going to bring his son in, his 
     wife in, and ah, if he didn't cooperate with them, he was 
     going to go to jail.
       JT: And by cooperating, what does that mean?
       HM: Well by cooperating, right now he is not in jail.
       JT: Yea, by telling them...
       HM: Whatever they want to hear, he had to tell them. And at 
     this point, he is still worried about going to jail, because 
     if he doesn't cooperate in the courthouse he has got that 
     threat lingering over his head about going to jail.
       JT: When did he tell you this, do you recall?
       HM: Oh, it had to be after the second meeting with the FBI. 
     I can't give you a specific date, but it was right after 
     that. It was actually before he went to jail on ah, another 
     offense, I think they had something with his old DUI.
       JT: Against the father? Dave senior?
       HM: Dave senior, yea he had one.
       JT: Yea he had one too.
       HM: And they pushed that issue.
       JT: They were pushing that. But they indicted him on, was 
     supposedly he backdated a bill to me and he supposedly said 
     he didn't backdate the bill, and then they found that he did 
     backdate a bill or whatever the hell it was and they were 
     going to get him for perjury, that was technically the count 
     so, is that what you recall?
       HM: Right, but the bill, as I said before, Dave was bad, 
     he'll do work for other, and he even explained to the FBI 
     people that he has done work for New Middletown and different 
     things like that, and he'll forget to send a bill, or he'll 
     have it out but he won't put a date on it and it might be a 
     month later that he'll decide to put a date on it to send it 
     for when he did the work. And it's backdated, but on the same 
     token, ah, a lot of times its just forgetfulness.
       JT: But ah, evidentally Dave was concerned cause he knew 
     they were after me so, he said that he didn't backdate the 
     bill right?
       HM: Right. Correct.
       JT: And that was the technicality that got him indicted.
       HM: Right that was just...
       JT: Bull sh--?
       HM: Him protecting an old friend, that's what it, amounts 
     to. Myself, for the petty little thing that he did, I don't 
     think that....
       JT: But he said to you that he felt bad that he had to do 
     this, because it wasn't truthful, and he and I did nothing 
     illegal, is that in fact what he said?
       HM: That's it. Because the point is that you know, he can't 
     figure out why he can't help people and still get some money 
     for it, which he did, and ah, get in trouble for doing 
     something he didn't do.
       JT: There were no intentions to do something for me because 
     I was doing something or helping him.
       HM: Right.
       JT: That's exactly what he said?
       HM: That's about the extent of it. And ever since then he 
     has been really worried.
       JT: I know he feels bad. Everybody is saying you can see he 
     don't want to do what they are forcing him to do. But he is 
     forced to this, is that what he told you?
       HM: That's it.
       JT: And were he not being forced with these technicalities, 
     he would tell the truth in Cleveland, wouldn't he?
       HM: Yea he would.
       JT: And he's still real worried that he may tell the truth 
     and if he does, they are going to send him to jail, don't 
     they?
       HM: That's the problem right now that Dave has. If he tells 
     the truth, he goes to jail, if he lies about it he goes to 
     jail. He's caught in a nutshell and he don't know which way 
     to go.
       JT: He has to go the way they want him though, don't he?
       HM: You got that right.
       JT: But he told you that explicitly?
       HM: Yes he did.
       JT: And you are willing to testify to that?
       HM: Yes I will.
       JT: Thank you Harry, I think today is Sunday, January, 
     what's the date, the twenty-seventh?
       HM: The twenty-seventh I think.
       JT: Is there anything else you want to say Harry?
       HM: Ah, not really, unless you want to hear about that 
     ah,..
       JT: About the city of Youngstown and their deals they had 
     going, no. That's something that, I got an investigation 
     going on and I may go over that with you at some point, but 
     right now, I'm more concerned about his case here and what 
     they have done with witnesses.
       HM: One more about Dave, you know that he doesn't need any 
     trouble.
       JT: He certainly doesn't need any trouble, is that what you 
     said?
       HM: No he's a very good guy, hard worker at times, and he's 
     still a good guy.
       JT I know that.
       HM: I Don't believe that by him supposedly talking to you 
     about out of town people at one time for a job, could justify 
     all the problems that he has coming.
       JT: Yea, and he in fact was right the rightful bidder. And 
     there was some hanky panky in the city wasn't there?
       HM: There definitely was.
       JT: And he told it to me didn't he?
       HM: Yes he did.
       JT: And I looked into it.
       HM: Yes you did, and there was nothing promised, anywhere 
     along the line.
       JT: And as soon as I looked into it, they changed the whole 
     ball game down there didn't they?
       HM: Right. They got some out of town firm that went 
     bankrupt.
       JT: The out of town firm did go bankrupt didn't they?
       HM: Yea they did, I went to the auction.
       JT: Well thank you Harry, I appreciate you coming to me by 
     your own volition.
       HM: Yes I did.
       JT: Thank you and this is Sunday, January twenty seventh, 
     approximately Eight fifty-five a.m., is that the time you 
     got? Eight fifty-five a.m., alright.

  There are also contract issues relative to Sugar and the city of 
Youngstown, in which the government maintained that I leveraged the 
City to give Sugar the contract.
  I did try to help Sugar get that contract. There was no quid pro quo. 
David Sugar and his company pay more than $100,000 in taxes into 
Mahoning County, where the city of Youngstown is located. And, because 
the need for employment in my district, I always support good quality 
bids from local companies, which hire my constituents and pays taxes 
into this community. The contract was eventually awarded to a company 
from Buffalo, New York for a difference of $14,000.
  The poor quality of the company that was granted the bid for the City 
is evidenced by it's bankruptcy auction, in which Harry Manganaro 
attended at the request of David Sugar. Additionally, the company's 
performance created a fire at the work site causing damage after 
smoldering for a lengthy period of time.
  Did I help David Sugar? Answer--Yes. I helped thousands of my 
constituents in similar situations and David Sugar was paid for any 
services he may have provided at the Traficant farm.
  The sugar count has been manipulated so much it's more like 
NutraSweet
  Next week . . . Pinocchio, Attorney at Law.

                          ____________________