Associated Press Ex-congressman James A. Traficant, D-Ohio, speaks with reporters before a sentencing hearing Tuesday. Traficant was sentenced to eight years in federal prision on corruption charges.

CLEVELAND ÷ James A. Traficant Jr., the maverick Democrat convicted of corruption charges and then kicked out of Congress, was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison for accepting bribes and kickbacks.

Defiant throughout his trial and ethics hearings, he earlier had filed to run for a 10th term in November as an independent, despite the threat of imprisonment and expulsion.

U.S. District Judge Lesley Wells refused the former congressmanās request for bond pending appeal, saying he had threatened federal investigators and had violated his bond by making a brief trip to Pennsylvania.

After a raucous trial lasting about 2 1/2 months, Traficant was convicted April 11 of 10 counts of bribery, tax evasion and racketeering. He was found guilty of requiring staff members to do personal chores for him and kick back a portion of their paychecks and of accepting cash bribes and various favors from businessmen who were seeking his help in Washington.

Wells gave Traficant a longer sentence than the minimum 7 1/4 years prosecutors had requested, saying he had no respect for the government and that he used lies to distract attention from the charges against him.

Wells said Traficant abused the publicās trust, reduced public confidence in government, obstructed justice and took a leadership role in recruiting people to further his scheme.

She also told Traficant, 61, that he believes he is above the law.

"Youāve done a lot of good in your years in Congress," she told him. "The good you have done does not excuse you of the crime you were convicted of."

Traficant accused the judge of aiding the prosecution and complained that he wasnāt allowed to argue during the trial and that the government has a vendetta against him.

"Why did you tie my hands behind my back?" he asked Wells as she sentenced him. Wells then ordered him to sit down.

Earlier Monday, Wells rejected Traficantās argument that he should not be sanctioned because he has already been punished by expulsion from the House.

Traficant had argued that a prison sentence would amount to double jeopardy or being punished twice for the same crime.

Wells agreed with prosecutors, who had argued in a motion that Traficantās expulsion "was not criminal punishment." They argued that if such a motion were upheld, no expelled member of Congress could ever be tried.

Traficant was mostly quiet during the hearing until he abruptly stood up and told Wells he wanted to dismiss the attorney he hired to represent him at the sentencing.

"Take your things and move," he told the attorney, Richard Hackerd, who then switched chairs with Traficant.

Dozens of reporters surrounded Traficant as he arrived on the courthouse steps. He would only repeat, "All of Ohio and America knows Iāve been railroaded."

Since his conviction in April, the Youngstown Democrat has filed a flurry of motions seeking to have his conviction overturned. On Monday, Wells dismissed his request for a new trial, saying a witness who said the government pressured him to lie in the case did not provide evidence.