Will Traficant fight funds' garnishment?

The artwork has been sold on eBay and the Web site beammeupart.com.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Ex-congressman James A. Traficant Jr. can request a federal court hearing if he thinks his prison artwork is exempt from government garnishment.
The U.S. District Court clerk in Cleveland has sent Traficant a notice that the government is seeking a garnishment to satisfy his $150,000 fine. He still owes $120,351.
Traficant, 64, of Poland, is incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn. Paintings, mostly horses and barns, that he created in prison have been sold -- some for more than $2,000 -- by a New York friend on eBay and the Web site beammeupart.com.
Michael Truman, federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman in Washington, D.C., has said that inmates are permitted to engage in hobbies, such as painting, but are not allowed to operate a business.
"There are exemptions which may protect some of the property if you can show the exemptions apply," the clerk wrote in her notice of garnishment. "If you want a hearing you must notify the court within 20 days after receipt of this notice."
The clerk's notice, filed Friday, said an attachment of exemptions was included but they were not immediately available.
A chance to explain
At the hearing, meanwhile, Traficant would have the opportunity to explain to U.S. District Judge Lesley Brooks Wells why he thinks the government is not entitled to the funds garnished. He may request that the hearing take place in his federal jurisdiction instead of Cleveland.
Sybille Oelschlager of Schuyler Falls, N.Y., his penpal and fellow artist, has said she sold the paintings on eBay and beammeupart.com with the idea of giving some of the proceeds back to him for art supplies.
Last month, after learning about the artwork, the government applied for a writ of garnishment, naming Oelschlager as the garnishee. Writs allow the government to determine if anyone is holding items of value for Traficant that could be used to satisfy his $150,000 fine.
This month, Traficant's projected release from prison was extended by more than two weeks, meaning the ex-congressman's behavior has failed to earn him "good time."
He was sentenced to eight years in prison July 30, 2002. A jury in Cleveland federal court convicted him of racketeering, bribery, obstruction of justice and tax evasion.
With "good time," which inmates earn by following prison rules, Traficant's projected release was originally set for July 17, 2009, shaving a little more than a year off his sentence. In late December 2003, the Bureau of Prisons extended his release to Aug. 10, 2009. He's now confined until Sept. 2, 2009.
The BOP will not disclose the reason for the added time.
Oelschlager has suggested that 500 Christmas cards he hand-painted had something to do with the added time.
The beammeupart.com Web site proclaims that he allegedly lost phone, commissary and visitor privileges for six months.
The Web site also proclaims that a trust fund is being established for Traficant with profits from the art sales.