James Traficant Dies At 73 Years Old

James Traficant, Jr., who is a relatively flamboyant Democrat, has died at 73 years old. He was expelled from the House of Representatives after a bribery conviction back in 2002. He died four days after he was injured in a tractor accident on his family's farm in Youngstown, Ohio.

James Traficant's death on Saturday was confirmed by Heidi Hanni, a spokesperson for the Traficant family.

James Traficant was widely known for his colorful character, highly unique wardrobe, legislative theatrics, and wild mass of hair. It was not so surprising when it turned out that his hair was, indeed, fake. This fact was only confirmed when he was asked to remove his toupee during booking after he was arrested for his counts on bribery and racketeering.

The aforementioned charges actually stemmed from previous accusations that he has been soliciting bribes from certain business executives in exchange for government favors. Interestingly, James Traficant acted as his own lawyer while he was on trial. He was convicted in April of 2002.

Three months after the whole fiasco erupted, the House Committee on Standards and Official Conduct recommended that James Traficant be expelled from the Congress. James Traficant was the only second House Member to have been ousted from his position due to unethical conduct since the Civil War era.

James Traficant was released from prison in 2009 after he served seven years of an eight-year prison sentence. Not for the lack of trying, but he was unable to revive his career in the Congress, running as an independent, in the next year as he only got 16% of the votes in Ohio.

Before he was ousted from the Congress, he was quite known for his loose tongue, a hostility that was reserved for government bureaucracy and regulation, and a relatively combative nature. The voters were very appreciative of him since he displayed aggression in trying to find federal money for certain projects, such as community centers, roads, and bridges.