Traficant Must Doff His Famous Coif In Prison (!!!)

Columbus Dispatch ^ | August 1, 2002 | Mark Niquette

[gdani]

Traficant must doff his famous coif in prison

Thursday, August 1, 2002
Mark Niquette
The Columbus Dispatch

Ex-congressman James A. Traficant Jr. lost his freedom this week, and he'll soon lose his trademark hair, too.

Traficant, who was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday for bribery and other crimes, became a nationally recognized figure as much for his mop top as for his 1970s wardrobe and "tell-it-like-it-is'' speech.

Although some people thought the famous hair too unruly to be a toupee -- Traficant said he styled it with a Weedwacker -- he had to remove his hairpiece in a routine search for contraband when he was booked for temporary holding at the Summit County jail in Akron, Sheriff Drew Alexander said.

The former Youngstown representative was allowed to keep the toupee in his cell, and jail personnel did not require him to remove it for his booking photo, Alexander said.

But federal prisoners aren't allowed to wear toupees, so Traficant must give it up when he is sent to federal prison soon, said Traci Billingsley, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons.

Through the years, Traficant's hair has been the subject of much discussion in the Youngstown area and nationwide.

"It was so bizarre,'' said Cindy Bauer of Vienna, just north of Youngstown. "I thought if you are going to have a toupee, you'd want it to look like normal hair.''

An Internet search on "Traficant'' and "hair'' returned more than 2,000 hits -- including a recent National Lampoon article with the headline "Traficant Blames Hairpiece for Felonies.''

"I am truly sorry,'' the magazine quotes "Traficant'' in the spoof. "But I hope my esteemed colleagues understand that I cannot be held accountable for the bad actions of my toupee.''

[gdani]

Apparently, prison officials felt that forcing other prisoners to view Traficant's hair would constitute "cruel & unusual punishment".

As a former constituent of Jimbo's, I have to agree.

[BibChr]

PICTURES!! We want PICT...

No, wait.

That's OK.

Dan

[Constitution Day]

Maybe his hairpiece can run for his old seat.
If not, it should be freed into the wild.

[Constitution Day]

Ping

[b4its2late]

Assuming he wears it to make himself more physically appealing, it would probably be in his best interest to make himself less appealing behind bars........ for various reasons.

[Fixit]

House Votes 434-0 to Expel That
Thing From Traficant's Head

From the Daily Probe, a satirical news site that promises to "Outwit, Outmock and Outrage, Because Real News Sucks."

[NeoCaveman]

Maybe his hairpiece can run for his old seat. If not, it should be freed into the wild.

LMAO!!!

[xsmommy]

i am outraged by this stripping of my jimbo's dignity! is there NO indignity that they won't perpetrate on him????

[MinuteGal]

With his hairpiece gone, I'm afraid Jim will lose all his strength and won't be able to bring down the pillars of his prison.

Leni

[gdani]

Maybe his hairpiece can run for his old seat.
If not, it should be freed into the wild.

I detect PETA's involvement in this situation.

[Tony Niar Brain]

It CAN'T be a hairpiece. If I bought a rug and it ended up looking like that, I'd want my money back.

[Constitution Day]

I detect PETA's involvement in this situation.

Can't be PETA.
More like the World Wildlife Fund or National Geographic.

That lid must be the only one of its species... sort of like the last dodo or Tasmanian tiger.

[RckyRaCoCo]

In prison, does the hairpiece get 3 meals a day like Traficant?

[DainBramage]

Ten to one his next rug is made out of feathers.

I hope no legs are sticking out of this one.

[Flashlight]

...i am outraged by this stripping of my jimbo's dignity! is there NO indignity that they won't perpetrate on him????

I think I'm with you on this one. Trafficant is just starting his confinement; he's got seven or more years to go. Maybe I'd think this story was funny if it happened on his last day in jail, but not today.

[amused]

Better check eBay!

[amused]

LOL

[Fzob]

Although some people thought the famous hair too unruly to be a toupee

Seriously, is there anyone that thought that..... thing..fur...roadkill....whatever.. on his head was real?

[NeoCaveman]

Seriously, is there anyone that thought that..... thing..fur...roadkill....whatever.. on his head was real?

Who thought something that ugly would be a hair piece....would any sane person by a rug that looks like that?

Beam me up Pings.

[Fzob]

would any sane person by a rug that looks like that?

You have a point there. But given who we're talking about perhaps there a link between a lack of sanity and looking in the mirror and thinking, "yeah, that rug looks good."