TRAFICANT CASE Ex-assistant admits perjury

By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
CLEVELAND -- The amount is uncertain, but Henry A. DiBlasio now admits he kicked back a portion of his congressional paycheck to U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr.
DiBlasio, who uses a cane, opted to sit throughout what had been scheduled as a final pretrial Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court. Instead of a pretrial, the 72-year-old retired lawyer decided to plead guilty to perjury.
The decision was made sometime within the last two weeks because his lawyers filed a motion June 7 asking that the July 8 trial be continued to a later date.
U.S. District Judge Lesley Brooks Wells accepted DiBlasio's plea and allowed him to remain free on $30,000 bond until sentencing Sept. 26. He faces six to 12 months in prison and, at that level, is eligible for probation or home confinement.
If convicted at trial, DiBlasio faced a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $250,000 fine.
DiBlasio left court in a taxi with his wife and Cleveland lawyers James M. Kersey and David Grant. As they left, Kersey said everything that needed to be said has been said.
Craig S. Morford, an assistant U.S. attorney, said he had no comment as to the amount of money DiBlasio gave Traficant over the 14 years the lawyer was on staff.
Morford added that he's satisfied that DiBlasio "acknowledged the truth and the case is resolved."
New trial denied
In an order filed Tuesday, Judge Wells denied Traficant, of Poland, D-17th, a new trial based on two Columbus lawyers' contention that the jury selection process was unconstitutional. The 61-year-old congressman will be sentenced July 30.
A jury found him guilty April 11 of 10 counts, including racketeering, bribery and tax evasion. He served as his own lawyer at trial but has hired Cleveland attorney Richard E. Hackerd for the sentencing phase.
DiBlasio, meanwhile, was indicted Jan. 4 and charged with lying to a federal grand jury in March 2000. The government said he falsely denied kicking back part of his congressional salary to Traficant and lied about discussing the payments with other staffers.
DiBlasio invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to testify as a defense witness at Traficant's trial.
Jackie Bobby, a Traficant staff member, testified for the prosecution and told of a conversation she had with DiBlasio about his kickbacks to Traficant. She also recalled conversations she had with Charles P. O'Nesti, now deceased, who gave Traficant $1,000 each month for 131/2 years when he served as the congressman's district director.
Administrative assistant
DiBlasio served as Traficant's administrative assistant in Boardman from January 1985 through December 1998. He lives in Riviera Beach, Fla.
The government proved at trial that DiBlasio met in November 1998 with Boardman attorney R. Allen Sinclair and acknowledged that DiBlasio had diverted a portion of his salary to Traficant and explained the kickback procedure.
Sinclair, hired then as administrative counsel, was to cash his check each month, put $2,500 in an envelope and slip it under the door at 11 Overhill Road in Boardman, once a Traficant district office rented from DiBlasio, then from Sinclair's wife.
Sinclair's kickbacks to Traficant began in December 1998 and continued until early January 2000. Sinclair also testified for the prosecution at Traficant's trial.
DiBlasio, meanwhile, falsely told the grand jury that he would convert his federal paychecks to cash and spend the money. The retired attorney said he spent $600 to $800 each month on lottery tickets.
DiBlasio sent Traficant a letter in January 2000, lamenting coercion by the FBI and IRS to confess to kickbacks.
Traficant filed the letter in U.S. District Court in August 2001, saying it was proof of the intimidation used on witnesses in his case.
DiBlasio said IRS and FBI agents pressed him to admit things he did not do, such as giving back part of his pay and part of the Overhill Road office rent to Traficant.