Traficant Out of the Pokey, Comes Home to a Hero's Welcome

After seven long years in federal prison, James Traficant, the former Congressman with the crazy toupee from Ohio's Mahoning Valley, is home. Not only is he home, he came home to a hero's welcome--1200 fans of the eccentric politico showed up to see their hero.

"'I was a quarterback. I was a congressman. Now I'm a convict,' Traficant said, his signature toupee firmly back atop his head. 'I wouldn't change one single thing. And to the powerful enemies that I have, I'll just say this to you: They had to cheat to convict me.' At times it was hard to tell if Traficant was joking or lashing out. He warned the crowd that agents from the FBI and IRS were probably in the parking lot taking down license plate numbers, to which the crowd laughed. They then grew serious when he said Northeast Ohio had to start changing the country, because so many others are afraid to stand up to the government. 'I think it's time to tell the FBI and the IRS that this is our country and we're tired -- tired of the pressure, tired of the political targeting, tired of a powerful central government that is crippling America,' he said."

"In 2002, in a trial in which Traficant represented himself, he was convicted of 10 felony counts, including accepting bribes and taking kickbacks. Prosecutors and witnesses said he filed false tax returns and accepted free labor and materials for his Ohio farm from contractors in exchange for giving them congressional favors. He was the second House member since the Civil War to be voted out for unethical behavior. Traficant, whose speeches in Congress often drew a crowd because they were so colorful and unusual, frequently made Star Trek references and, on the House floor, signed off by saying, 'Beam me up.'"

It will be fun to watch what he does next. My guess is he will not opt for a quiet retirement...