MAHONING VALLEY Traficant items to be auctioned

The ex-congressman's personal property is subject to government seizure.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Who'll start the bidding?
For anyone who ever wanted a piece of Jim Traficant, your chance is Dec. 1.
Items belonging to the expelled and imprisoned ex-congressman will be auctioned at 1 p.m. that day at 7281 Warren-Sharon Road in Brookfield. Jeff Anglin Auction Facility is in the rear of Valley View Antique Mall.
Anglin said Traficant's wife, Tish, and daughter Elizabeth consigned furniture, including antiques, artwork, prints, collectibles, church pews, conference table and chairs, a 100-year-old Victorian parlor suite, china and much more.
Anglin estimated there are 70 items -- "too many to count" -- but couldn't guess how much money the lot will bring in.
Some people, he said, may think of the items as having historical value.
Most of the household goods came from the Traficant farmhouse on state Route 165 in Greenford, Anglin said. The 76-acre horse farm is owned by Traficant's daughter.
Some of the items, such as a desk with marble top and matching credenza, were retrieved from Traficant's former 17th District office in Washington, D.C.
Had been in storage
Anglin said the Traficant collection had been stored in a huge garage at the farm until about two months ago, when he was asked to take it on consignment. Traficant's family, Anglin said, needed the garage space to store the ex-congressman's "umpteen" cars, not wanting them exposed to winter weather.
Anglin said the Traficant family kept living room and bedroom furniture, enough to set up another household.
In April, a federal jury found Traficant, 61, of Poland, guilty of racketeering, bribery and tax evasion. The jury concluded that he owes the government a $96,000 forfeiture.
The government filed liens in August against any property in Traficant's name. The liens were filed without the government's knowing beforehand if, for example, Traficant owns property in Mahoning, Trumbull or Columbiana counties or anywhere else, William J. Edwards, first assistant U.S. attorney in Cleveland, has said.
More money owed
Traficant also owes a $1,000 special assessment and $150,000 fine. In an order filed July 31, U.S. District Judge Lesley Brooks Wells authorized the federal government to seize the money.
The forfeiture amount, decided by the jury that convicted Traficant on 10 counts, reflects illegal gifts, cash bribes and kickbacks from a staffer. The fine is the cost of his incarceration, $1,848 per month, with a $150,000 cap.
Traficant's congressional pension is about $39,000 annually. Edwards has said it's uncertain if the pension can be seized.
The government will go after real estate and any personal items that have value.
Edwards could not be reached Thursday to say if proceeds of the auction items qualify for seizure.
Traficant also owes $19,580 in unpaid taxes, which the IRS, not the U.S. attorney's office, will collect, Edwards has said.
Edwards said in August that the search for property could take a long time. The collection will be handled by the civil division of the U.S. attorney's office and the investigation by the FBI and IRS.
The investigation will include finding out who's paying property taxes, utility bills and so forth. It's possible, Edwards has said, that property fraudulently conveyed to someone else could be seized.
Mahoning County records show that Traficant's home on Main Street in Poland, worth about $160,000, is in his wife Tish's name. The horse farm is worth about $150,000.
The House of Representatives expelled Traficant on July 24. He began serving an eight-year prison sentence July 30 and is incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution at Allenwood in White Deer, Pa.
meade@vindy.com