JIM TRAFICANT New prison home was used in '80 Olympics

The prison in upstate New York has a clothing-textile factory.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Former U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr.'s new prison once housed athletes for the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.
The Federal Correctional Institution at Ray Brook, N.Y., is between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. The prison, which double-bunks its inmates, is classified as medium security.
"Part of the Olympic complex was converted to a federal prison and opened in 1980," Dan Dunne, Bureau of Prisons spokesman in Washington, D.C., said Wednesday.
"It was always the idea that the [athletes'] facility would be converted to a federal prison."
Ray Brook was built on land once designated as a forest preserve.
Dunne declined to say why Traficant was moved to Ray Brook from the Federal Correctional Institution at Allenwood in White Deer, Pa., a low- to medium-security facility. Traficant has been at Ray Brook since March 11.
"There was no reason; they just moved him," said Tish Traficant, his wife. "It's prison policy. They move them all the time."
Dunne said inmates can request a move, be moved because of overcrowding or for disciplinary reasons.
While at Allenwood, Traficant, 62, of Poland, received discipline, including being placed in lock-down isolation because he refused to work in the kitchen, according to Vindicator files.
Last December, his projected release from federal prison was extended by 24 days, meaning the ex-congressman's behavior failed to earn him "good time." His projected release is Aug. 10, 2009. It had been July 17, 2009.
Conviction
A jury found him guilty of racketeering, bribery and tax evasion, and he has been in federal custody since July 30, 2002. A week earlier, the U.S. House of Representatives expelled him. Traficant has appealed his conviction.
"There was an issue sometime back when he lost good time. I'm not aware of any recent discipline," Richard M. Kerger, Traficant's appellate lawyer, said Wednesday.
"Sometimes it's as simple as they need the space. In his case, they don't like him. He's not the poster boy for getting along."
Dunne said the prison at Ray Brook, in upstate New York, has a clothing-textile factory. The garments made are sold to federal agencies.
Traficant, like all inmates, is required to work 71/2 hours a day, Dunne said.
If not chosen to work in the garment factory, Traficant could find himself doing food service (preparation, cooking, baking, serving, cleanup), groundskeeping, plumbing, painting or carpentry chores.
Each month, the government takes $770 from Traficant's federal pension and $50 from his prison-work earnings and applies the money toward his fine. The Poland Democrat, who served 171/2 years as 17th District representative, has an annual pension of roughly $40,000, which kicked in May 8, 2003, when he turned 62.
At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Lesley Brooks Wells ordered Traficant to pay a $1,000 special assessment, $150,000 fine and $96,000 forfeiture. The jury that found Traficant guilty determined that he owed $96,000 derived from cash bribes, gifts, services and a staffer's kickbacks.
The judge ordered that Traficant begin paying the fine while incarcerated.
meade@vindy.com