IN: James Anthony Traficant Jr. (May 8, 1941 - September 27, 2014) was a Democratic, and later independent, politician and member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. He represented the 17th Congressional District, which centered on his hometown of Youngstown and included parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley. He was expelled from the House after being convicted of taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering and forcing his aides to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and houseboat in Washington, D.C.

Born into a working-class Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio, Traficant was the son of Agnes (nee Farkas) and James Anthony Traficant Sr. He was of mostly Italian and Slovak ancestry. Traficant graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1959 and the University of Pittsburgh in 1963. He played quarterback for Pitt's football team, and his teammates included Mike Ditka. Traficant was drafted in the NFL's twentieth round (276th overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1963, and tried out for the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League, but did not play professionally. He later obtained a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh (1973) and another from Youngstown State University (1976).  At the start of his career, Traficant worked as consumer finance director for the Youngstown Community Action Program. He taught courses on drug and alcohol dependency and recovery at Youngstown State University and Kent State University, as well as lecturing on drug and alcohol abuse for colleges and government agencies outside Ohio. In addition, Traficant taught at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. He was the executive director of the Mahoning County Drug Program from 1971 to 1981, and Sheriff of Mahoning County from 1981 to 1985. While serving as sheriff, Traficant made national headlines by refusing to execute foreclosure orders on several unemployed homeowners, many of whom had been left out of work by the recent closures of steel mills. This endeared him to the local population, which was dealing with a declining economy following the closures and relocations of steel making and steel-associated businesses.  In 1983, he was charged with racketeering for accepting bribes. Traficant, who represented himself in the criminal trial, argued that he accepted the bribes only as part of his own alleged secret undercover investigation into corruption. Traficant was acquitted of the charges, becoming the only person ever to win a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case while representing himself.  Publicity from the RICO trial increased Traficant's local visibility. He was elected as a Democrat to Congress from Ohio's 17th District, defeating Lyle Williams, a three-term Republican incumbent. He was reelected eight times without serious opposition.

Did he do any other interesting work after that?

OUT: He taught courses on drug and alcohol dependency and recovery at Youngstown State University and Kent State University,


IN: Ryan Matthew Dunn (June 11, 1977 - June 20, 2011) was an American stunt performer, television personality, comedian, actor, writer, musician, and one of the stars of the MTV reality stunt show Jackass. Dunn rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the CKY Crew with his long-time friend, Bam Margera, for their extreme stunts and pranks recorded on camera, which led to the rise of Jackass. Dunn also hosted Homewrecker and Proving Ground, and appeared in the feature films Blonde Ambition and Street Dreams, as well as in Margera's films Haggard and Minghags. Dunn died in a car crash in 2011, on the 10th anniversary of Jackass.

On June 20, 2011, at around 3:30 a.m. EDT, Dunn and Zachary Hartwell, a production assistant on Jackass Number Two, were killed when Dunn's Porsche 911 GT3 veered off the road, hit a tree, and burst into flames in West Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Dunn turned 34 nine days prior. He was buried at Highland Drive Cemetery, Brecksville, Ohio.  Hours before the crash, Dunn had posted a photo to his Twitter account of himself and Hartwell drinking at a West Chester bar. Dunn was identified in the police report as the vehicle's driver, and a subsequent toxicology report showed Dunn had a blood alcohol level of 0.196 g/dL - more than twice the state's maximum legal limit of 0.08%. The police report stated "speed may have been a contributing factor in the crash" and preliminary investigations suggested the car had been traveling between 132 and 140 miles per hour (212 and 225 km/h) in a 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) zone.  In August 2012, the parents of Zachary Hartwell filed a civil suit in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, naming the co-administrators of Dunn's estate as defendants, along with Barnaby's West Chester, the Pennsylvania bar where Dunn drank prior to the fatal crash. The suit claims negligence and recklessness, as well as wrongful death in the incident that killed 30-year-old Hartwell.  The plaintiffs claim that Mr. Dunn displayed negligence and recklessness in failing to have his vehicle under adequate and proper control, operating his vehicle under the influence of alcohol, operating his vehicle at an excessive speed and violently veering off a road and into a tree, among other alleged transgressions. They are seeking unspecified punitive and compensatory damages, as well as interest, court costs and "delay damages as the law may allow."

What was the outcome of the lawsuit?

OUT:
The suit claims negligence and recklessness, as well as wrongful death in the incident that killed 30-year-old Hartwell.