<p>FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Longtime Congressman Alcee Hastings of Florida has died after a two-year fight with pancreatic cancer. He was 84.</p>
<p>The Palm Beach County Democrat died Tuesday, according to his chief of staff, Lale M. Morrison. Hastings had been a reliably liberal voice on Capitol Hill since he first won his seat in 1992, becoming an outspoken advocate for minorities, gays, immigrants and the elderly.</p>
<p>But for just as long, he was dogged by ethics questions, stemming from his impeachment from a federal judgeship prior to his election.</p>
<p>Hastings was acquitted of charges that he solicited a bribe from two convicts seeking to shorten their sentences. The House impeached him anyway and the Senate convicted him, but in 1992, he won a seat in Congress, taking his oath before the same body that had impeached him. </p>
<p>The case remained a nagging footnote throughout his career, and was seen as derailing his ambitions for a greater leadership role in the Democratic Party.</p>
