CLEVELAND, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Rep. James Traficant compared his racketeering trial to a football game and urged observers not to judge it by the first quarter.
Thursday was the first full day of testimony at the trial on federal corruption charges.
Traficant, who is representing himself even though he is not a lawyer, cross-examined his former legal counsel, R. Allen Sinclair, who testified he was paid $60,000 for a 20-hour-a-week work schedule but was required to kick back $32,000 of that to Traficant.
Traficant repeatedly ran into procedural problems, with the judge admonishing him against trying to discuss documents not yet introduced into evidence.
The Youngstown, Ohio, Democrat asked Sinclair whether he had received immunity for his testimony and Sinclair acknowledged he had.
On Wednesday, Sinclair testified Traficant instructed him to burn the envelopes that held the alleged kickback payments. He said he started to carry out the instructions, then stopped.
"I realized this was wrong and I put them out with water," Sinclair said.
During opening statements, Traficant yelled through much of his presentation, contending the charges against him are nothing short of a government plot.
"I didn't force anybody to do anything," Traficant told the jury. "You know what I did? I fought like hell for my people."
Traficant promised to "fight like a junkyard dog" to prove his innocence. He said the government has been out to get him since his 1983 acquittal on charges he accepted money from mob figures. Traficant claimed he had been conducting an undercover investigation. At the time, he was sheriff of Mahoning County.
"The FBI does not like me," the nine-term congressman said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig S. Morford said witnesses would describe a pattern of bribery and abuse.
"In the domain of Youngstown, Congressman Traficant is a political Goliath," Morford said.
Morford accused Traficant of accepting more than $100,000 in bribes and gratuities.
"I didn't get a damn dime," Traficant said.
