The part of Mr. Traficant’s political moxi that irked other politicians was his open door policy . He would listen to just about anyone’s concerns . If your issue was valid in his eyes he would champion the cause .

As a Sheriff he refused to sign foreclosure deeds and serve eviction notices on the unemployed being foreclosed. That earned him a 100 day sentence for contempt of court . He was released after three days on a stay appeal and with the agreement to comply with the local court orders to sign and serve . He immediately sought a 60 day moratorium on foreclosures , and was denied .

He was shortly thereafter charged with RICO violations involving received bribery , false tax returns and I forget what else . He defended Pro Se and won .

The next year he ran as an independent Democrat and went to the House .

When he got to D.C. he maintained his openness . Individuals from outside of his representative District could easily get his ear . Even people who were not from Ohio could send a letter and not be rebuffed .
Bringing up bankruptcy the way he did was maybe the last straw . His little speeches were already quite popular with the “voting public” , causing questions to be raised all over the country .

Might find these sites interesting :

http://www.jim-traficant.com/

http://privateattorneygeneral.spruz....nt--speaks.htm