James Traficant

Captain James Traficant was a Starfleet Officer in the late 24th century.

Starfleet Career

In 2355, he was accused of and accepting bribes from the Orion Syndicate. He was acquitted of the charge at court-martial. (USS Baldwin: "Shadow Justice")

Traficant came aboard the USS Hood to fill the executive officer's position in 2364. (USS Baldwin: "Shadow Justice")

Presumably, the vacancy was caused by the departure of Will Riker to the Enterprise-D

He was moved up to commanding officer of the Hood when Captain Robert DeSoto was reassigned to the new USS Edmund Fitzgerald. (USS Baldwin: "Wartime Productions").

In 2376, an assassination attempt was made on Dr. Julian Bashir aboard Deep Space 9. Early evidence implicated Captain Trafficant. Squadron commander Patrick Ingrum was forced to relieve him of command pending a court-martial. Captain Ingurm did not think that Captain Traficant was behind the assassination attempt, but hewas aware of Trafficant's somewhat flamboyant temper, and made sure he had council by bringing in Starfleet JAG officer Harmon Rabb. Ingrum and Rabb were able to discover sufficient evidence to acquit Captain Trafficant on all charges. (USS Baldwin: "Shadow Justice")

Background

In a early version of the USS Baldwin story "The Find", the Hood was so severely damaged, Baldwin had to torpedo Hood, leading to DeSoto being given command of the USS Edmund Fitzgerald. After the Hood made apperances in Dominion War episodes of DS9, the story was rewritten to salvage the ship, but DeSoto's reassignment, and the Edmund Fitzgerald, were kept. As such, the Hood needed a new CO. I chose to name the Hood's new captain after the then-Congressman from Ohio who was known for using the phrase “beam me up” on the floor of the House during one-minute speeches.

A few years after I created the character, the real-life James Traficant was charged with corruption, convicted, and expelled from the House. The story "Shadow Justice" was written as a reference to the congressman's trial. Congressman Traficant represented himself in his trial. Even if he truly was 'dirty,' I felt his trial strategy didn't help matters, which is why the fictional Captain Traficant had a lawyer thrust upon him.