First Posted: 2/23/2015
YOUNGSTOWN (AP) — A documentary about James Traficant, the colorful Ohio politician whose conviction for taking bribes made him only the second person to be expelled from Congress since the Civil War, is set to premiere at a film festival next month.
The documentary, “Traficant: Congressman of Crimetown” will premiere at the Cleveland International Film Festival on March 21 and will be screened several times throughout the event, the Vindicator in Youngstown reported (http://bit.ly/1ABy0ok). Former Congressman James A. Traficant Jr. died in September at age 73 following a tractor accident on his family’s farm near Youngstown.
The 90-minute documentary will be about Traficant as well as the story of Youngstown, said Eric Murphy, the film’s director, producer, writer and editor.
Murphy said Cleveland’s film festival is a great venue to debut it.
“What better place to have the premiere than northeast Ohio?” he said.
Traficant was a well-known, eccentric and controversial figure in the Mahoning Valley and in Washington. The 17-year congressman was expelled from the U.S. House by his colleagues in 2002 after being convicted of taking bribes and kickbacks.
He served seven years in prison and was released in September 2009.
The film features interviews from world champion boxer Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, Youngstown State University president and former Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel, and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan.
The documentary was largely completed when Traficant died, but Murphy launched a crowdfunding campaign to cover the costs of adding a new ending to include the former congressman’s death.
Northeast Ohio native and “Modern Family” actor Ed O’Neill also helped raise funds to complete the film.
