Published Monday, December 2, 2002
Herald Staff Writer
The last time Wilbert L. Shannon of Wheatland stepped into Anglin's Auction in Brookfield was four years ago.
But the local funeral director figured Sunday afternoon was a good time to bargain for a couple of former Ohio Congressman James A. Traficant Jr.'s church pews.
The pews, which Traficant used for meetings, came complete with bookcases and designer upholstery.
"I don't want them all, just a couple," Shannon said before bidding started.
Shannon and his wife Bernice were among about 300 who gathered to wheel and deal on the former congressman's property, along with other estates.
Unfortunately, all seven pews from a downtown Youngstown, Ohio, church went to another bidder -- for $1,715.
Traficant, 61, represented Ohio's 17th District for nine term before he was convicted in April on bribery and corruption charges. He is serving an eight-year sentence in a federal prison in Pennsylvania.
The federal government is collecting any proceeds raised from Traficant's property to apply to fines and other costs he has been ordered to pay.
The items came mainly from Traficant's offices in Washington D.C., and Boardman, Ohio, and his Green Township farm. Traficant's family claimed they had no space to keep the property. Officials said some of the property belongs to the government.
Federal agents were at the auction, said a Brookfield police officer, who was also patrolling the grounds to prevent use of cameras or recording devices at the auction.
Jim Clark of Sharon said he saw federal agents arrive earlier and take away three items that were to be auctioned.
But the feds didn't stop the bidding.
Mike Marketch of Warren, Ohio bought three pieces: a $45 sausage stuffer, a $65 mirror and a $155 antique lamp.
Marketch said he wanted to buy the certified, hand-painted portrait of Traficant but it went for a few hundred dollars, more than he was willing to pay.
"I wasn't paying more than $150 for it," he said.
As for the sausage stuffer, he's still not sure when or what he'll use it for.
"Truthfully, I thought it was a wine press," he laughed.
Betty Wright of Hartford, Ohio, spent $95 on a cherry hall chest. She said she didn't come to bid on anything in particular. She simply liked the chest.
A North Jackson woman's bid captured Traficant's wine-colored Victorian parlor set, featuring a two-seat bench and two side chairs. The set went for $2,000.
"I've been looking for something like this and I love Victorian furniture," said the woman who would not give her name. She said she was surprised it didn't cost more.
Other pieces and their going prices included:
» A framed 65th anniversary federal duck stamp print with stamps dated from 1934 up to 1999 -- $675.
» Four American saddlehorse mugs -- $150.
» two court-scene paintings -- $850.
» A miniature black horse statue -- $130.
» A miniature bowling pin bearing Traficant's signature -- $65.
» A Mahoning County sheriff's hat -- $45.
» An ice cream chair -- $50.