Forbes magazine has released its 3rd annual list of America's 20 most miserable cities. Cleveland tops the list, and three other northern Ohio cities also made this infamous list: Canton, Youngstown and Akron. A variety of factors contribute to a city's quality, and one of them is corruption. Perhaps it's no coincidence that, as Forbes notes:

Northern Ohio has seen 309 public officials convicted of crimes over the past 10 years according to the Justice Department.

A current FBI investigation of public officials in Cuyahoga County (where Cleveland is located) has ensnared more than two dozen government employees and businessmen on charges including bribery, fraud and tax evasion.

Last month, we noted that convicted ex-Rep. James Traficant (D-OH) vowed to attempt his political comeback by running for a House seat in Ohio. Well, today the man with the strange hair who was expelled from the House of Representatives in 2002 made it official. CNN reports:

"I will be running for congress ... as an independent," Traficant told CNN's Kyra Philips. "I have been a Democrat all my life, and quite frankly I am disgusted with both parties. I hate to say this. My father is rolling over in his grave, a truck driver."

... Ohio television station WFMJ reports Traficant is eyeing a campaign in either the state's 6th or 17th congressional districts.

The 17th district, the seat Traficant formerly held, is currently represented by Rep. Tim Ryan -- a 36-year old former aide to Traficant who is considered to be a rising star in the Democratic Party.

Traficant will have until May to decide which House seat he is seeking. He served a seven-year prison sentence after being convicted of racketeering, tax evasion and bribery charges. He was released from prison in September.

Traficant isn't the only ethically challenged person running for a prominent political office this year. Click here to learn about others.

Convicted felon and former Rep. James Traficant of Ohio plans to run for a Congressional seat, but he isn't saying which House seat he's eyeing. Traficant served as a Democrat congressman from 1985 to 2002, when the House of Representatives voted to expel him after his conviction on corruption charges.

Speaking on a Cleveland radio station, Traficant declared himself a "very bitter man." But he did not tip his hand as to which House seat in northeastern Ohio he would seek in this year's election.

Traficant can't wait long to pick his target seat. Ohio's election filing deadline is Feb. 18 for major-party candidates and May 3 for independent candidates.

After his conviction on bribery, racketeering and tax evasion, Traficant served a seven-year sentence. He was released from prison in September.

It's not clear exactly how Democratic or Republican voters feel about Traficant, but at least this third party in Ohio likes him well enough to have invited him to speak at a fundraiser.

Another scandal in Ohio.  This one involves the state's Attorney General, Marc Dann, who was elected in 2006:

All statewide Democratic elected officials and legislative leaders are calling on embattled Attorney General Marc Dann to resign from office. 

"The work of the Office of the Attorney General matters more, and is far more important, than any one person," Gov. Ted Strickland and a who's-who of Democratic state leaders wrote to Dann. "In many, many cases it is all that stands between the people and the powerful. Sadly, we no longer have even the most remote hope that you can continue to effectively serve as attorney general and that is why we are asking for your resignation."

Dann did not immediately respond to the letter today, but in a text message shortly before it was made public, he answered "no" when asked if he intends to step down.

The letter also said Democratic members of the House will begin impeachment proceedings if Dann doesn't resign.

The letter, prepared last night, was signed by Gov. Ted Strickland, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Treasurer Richard Cordray, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, the two Democratic legislative leaders, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, and Sen. Ray Miller, D-Columbus, and Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern.

Strickland told Dann last night the letter was coming and verbally asked him to step down. Dann refused.

The move came after multiple conversations over the past two days among the top Democrats.

The pressure for Dann to resign began rising after developments Friday when two of Dann's top staffers were fired and two others resigned at the conclusion of a sexual harassment investigation triggered by an April 6 story in The Dispatch.

Dann confessed, for the first time, to having an affair with a young female staff member and set the tone for a hostile work environment that resulted in sexual harassment.

Tom Noe became the symbol of political corruption in Ohio. In April of 2005, The Toledo Blade broke a story about a $50 million investment by the Ohio Workers Compensation Board in a rare coin fund managed by Noe. Within two months, it became clear that Noe had stolen millions of dollars from that fund and the state of Ohio. Yesterday, Noe was sentenced to 18 years in prison for these crimes:

Judge Thomas Osowik, citing the “overwhelming evidence” against Noe, 52, sentenced him to serve 18 years in a state prison, and for the sentence to begin after he serves 27 months on an unrelated federal offense.

Noe would be 72 when released.

Judge Osowik said Noe, the former Republican fund-raiser who helped the successful campaigns of Gov. Bob Taft and President Bush, took the money from the rare-coin funds he managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation “for one purpose: to present some type of facade that you had this bottomless cup of wealth and luxury at your disposal when in fact it was at the state’s expense.”

Judge Osowik said the evidence showed that Noe “cooked the books” in “an elaborate scheme” that was premeditated. He expressed surprise that Noe continued stealing even after a midlevel bureau auditor started asking tough questions about the wisdom of investing public money in rare coins.

That scandal and its fallout brought down the entire GOP statewide hierarchy. Along the way, Governor Bob Taft was convicted of breaking several ethics laws :

Facing Judge Mark S. Froehlich of Franklin County Municipal Court yesterday morning, Mr. Taft, with his wife, Hope, sitting behind him, apologized for violating the state’s ethics laws by failing to file complete financial disclosure statements. Visibly shaken in the courtroom, Mr. Taft, pleaded no contest to four first-degree misdemeanor ethics violations, which carried maximum sentences of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine each.

“As governor, I have made it clear that I expect all public employees to follow both the letter and the spirit of the ethics law and have demanded no less from myself,” he told the judge. “I have personally failed to live up to those expectations, as well as the expectations of the public, and I am disappointed in myself.”

Prosecutors on Wednesday charged the governor with breaking state law by knowingly failing to disclose dozens of golf outings and gifts he received from lobbyists and businessmen. State officeholders are required under state law to disclose the source of gifts valued above $75.

 The entire catologue of articles on this issue by the Toledo Blade can be found here.