Way back when: Today in history
BY GENE CURTIS
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
4/11/12 at 3:31 AM
1967 - Excluded lawmaker elected
Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a preacher-politician who had represented the Harlem area of New York City in the House of Representatives for 22 years before the House excluded him from his seat on March 1, won his old seat by a 6-1 margin in a special election. The House had voted 307-116 to exclude Powell on the grounds of gross misconduct and the misuse of government funds. Investigators found that he had appropriated $44,000 to his own use by having his ex-wife on his payroll although she lived in Puerto Rico. Powell, who according to Harlem legend could be re-elected even from his grave, did not campaign in his district because of a warrant for his arrest for contempt of court. That legend was disproved in 1970 when he was defeated in the Democratic primary.
1979 - Amin deposed
Idi Amin was deposed as president of Uganda as rebels and exiles backed by Tanzanian forces seized control after a five-month war. Amin was last seen fleeing east toward Jinja, 50 miles from the Uganda capital of Kampala, in a convoy of limousines. He escaped first to Libya and a year later went to Saudi Arabia where he died in 2003. Jubilant residents of Kampala greeted their liberators with flowers and there were reports that some of the stragglers from Amin's army were beaten to death by long-repressed citizens.
1996 - Child pilot crashes
Seven-year-old Jessica Dubroff, who used a booster seat to see over the dashboard and extenders so her legs could reach the pedals, was killed with her father, Lloyd Dubroff, and flight instructor when her plane crashed after taking off from Cheyenne, Wyo., while trying to become the youngest person to fly cross country. They began their trip the day before at Half Moon Bay, Calif., and spent the night in Cheyenne. They had planned to arrive the next day in Falmouth, Mass. The crash prompted new federal rules that require anyone in control of an airplane to have at least a private pilot's license.
2002 - Congressman convicted
U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr., D-Ohio, who served as his own lawyer in a raucous trial, was convicted of taking bribes and kickbacks from businessmen and his own staff. The nine-term Democrat, 60, was found guilty of all 10 federal charges he faced, including racketeering, bribery and fraud. Traficant, one of Congress' most colorful members and known for his wild hair and his penchant for Star Trek references, was sentenced to eight years in prison and was expelled from Congress by a 420-1 vote - only the second time since the Civil War that a member had been banished.
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