Art sales shouldn't go for debts, site operator says

The woman says paintings by Traficant are hers to do with as she pleases.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A New York state artist who befriended imprisoned former congressman James A. Traficant Jr. doesn't understand why paintings given to her by Traficant -- or proceeds from eBay sales of some of the paintings -- should be used to pay his federal debts.
The artist -- Sybille -- who asked that her last name not be used, and her friend, Jane Moore, operate the Web site www.beammeupart.com.
The women used the Web site to show and offer for sale on the eBay auction site paintings purportedly done by Traficant at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., where he has been for the past year with an undisclosed medical condition.
Attorneys filed an application for writ of garnishment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division against Traficant and on behalf of the federal government.
According to the application, Traficant owes the federal government $120,351.70 of a $150,000 judgment against him. Sybille is named as a garnishee who "is believed to owe or will owe money or property" to Traficant or "is in possession of property" of Traficant's.
How she compares this
"I find it unusual and weird," she said of being named the garnishee by the court. "It's like someone who has a Picasso hanging on their wall that was given to them by Picasso, and then one of Picasso's debtors comes and says they are taking the painting.
"These are my paintings sent to me [by Traficant] over several months," Sybille said. "I should be able to do with them as I please."
She said her intent in offering some of the artwork on eBay was to try to get enough money to buy art supplies so Traficant could continue to paint.
"I didn't think they were worth anything," she said. Some of the paintings, however, sold on eBay in the $1,800 to $2,000 range.
The Web site states Traficant is no longer allowed to participate in workshop activities in prison, so he can no longer paint. Prison officials have said inmates are allowed to paint but are not allowed to operate a business.
Sybille lives on a farm in upstate New York and has described herself as a pen pal of the imprisoned congressman. She said she had a chance meeting with Traficant in 1980 in Washington, D.C., and they have kept in touch.
Traficant, 63, was convicted in 2002 of racketeering, bribery and tax evasion and began serving his sentence that year. Traficant is projected to be released from prison Aug. 10, 2009.
The Web site states Traficant began painting in January 2005 at the Minnesota facility. The 64-year-old Schuyler Falls woman said the art kept him upbeat and diverted his rage at being imprisoned. Painting, she said, was getting his frustrations out.
tullis@vindy.com