James Traficant, convicted ex-congressman, dies

CLEVELAND (AP) — A former Ohio congressman who lost his political career after being convicted of taking bribes and kickbacks has died. James Traficant was 73.

Traficant was injured Tuesday when a vintage tractor flipped over on him as he tried to park it inside a barn on the family farm near Youngstown.

Dave Betras (BEE’-trahs), the Mahoning County Democratic Party chairman, says Traficant died Saturday in the hospital. Betras says he was notified by the Traficant family attorney.

The Democrat’s expulsion from Congress in 2002 came three months after a federal jury convicted him. Prosecutors said he used his office to extract bribes from businesspeople and coerced staffers to work on his farm and his house boat in Washington. He spent seven years in prison.

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