Ex-Rep. Traficant moved to prison in Pennsylvania

CLEVELAND -- U.S. marshals transferred former Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. on Monday from an Ohio jail to a federal prison in Pennsylvania where he will serve eight years for bribery and racketeering.

Traficant had asked to be placed in an Ohio prison so he can run for re-election Nov. 5 from his Youngstown district. But the sentencing judge made no recommendation either way.

The Constitution states that a congressional candidate must be a resident of the state where he is seeking office. Both Traficant's spokesman and state officials said they did not know if his assignment to a prison outside Ohio would affect his eligibility to run.

"He's still moving forward as if he was running. But it's a gray area. Nobody's ever done this before," said spokesman Dean Caputo.

Traficant arrived Monday afternoon at the minimum-security Allenwood federal prison in central Pennsylvania, about 200 miles east of the congressional district he represented, authorities said. He had been jailed in Akron, Ohio, since his sentencing last week.

Traficant, 61, was to be housed in a locked dormitory-style wing at Allenwood, a federal prison spokeswoman said.

Gov. Bob Taft has said he won't order a special election to fill the last five months of Traficant's term, saying it would cost too much. But the American Civil Liberties Union on Monday sued to force an election.