WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren OhioValley bookstore sells out of Jim Traficant book in 15 minutes

Valley bookstore sells out of Jim Traficant book in 15 minutes

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BOARDMAN TOWNSHIP, Ohio - The new book by former Congressman and convicted felon Jim Traficant sold out in about 15 minutes at Barnes and Noble on Saturday.

Traficant joked about his ongoing battle with the Internal Revenue Service as he autographed his new book called "America's Last Minuteman."

The line wrapped around book shelves at Barnes and Noble as fans of the former Congressman stood in line waiting for him to sign a copy of his new book they purchased.

"My mother-in-law has to have one with a signature. I couldn't buy it on line. It has to have a signature so it will be well worth the wait," said Warren resident Denny Bailey.

For some one book was not enough. "I have three of them, one for me and two for gifts. One is for the Warren area board of realtors' auction that we have coming up. So I bet it's going to go for a whole lot more than what it's selling for," said Warren resident Darlene Mink-Crouse.

While waiting in line, some perused through the pages looking at Traficant's famous or infamous one minute speeches on the House of Representatives floor that once made headlines across the nation.

Boardman resident Joe Stafford wants to read all the speeches to find out about the trouble our country is in because no one listened to what Traficant was saying. He says Traficant was ahead of his time when promoting buy American and cutting foreign aid. "1997 minute speech he gave. I'm trying to find it. It was about the United States giving billions to Russia and China and then they sell missiles to Iran and Iran uses the missiles to threaten the Middle East. The story goes on," Stafford said.

Traficant, who was wearing a nice suit minus the bell bottoms, was his colorful self and entertained his fans.

Edward Matasy was excited to get the last book. The store sold about 200 copies in 15 minutes. "It's great Jim autographed it and signed it for my dad for his birthday," Matasy said.

"They're all beautiful people; I appreciate them coming out to meet with me like this. I am very surprised. We sold out all the books and I'm upset about that because there's still a lot of people coming," Traficant said.