Sfara Bruno's criminal case turns spotlight on the feds

Given Boardman Atty. Lynn Sfara Bruno's contention that her federal criminal indictment was "vexatious, frivolous and/or in bad faith," we urge U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley to conduct a full hearing on Sfara Bruno's demand for $73,161 from the government for legal fees and other expenses borne in preparing her defense.
Federal prosecutors dropped the charges against her shortly before the trial was set to begin Dec. 4. FBI agents and members of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland, who have remained silent on this surprising development, must be made to explain in open court why they went after the lawyer in the first place.
Sfara Bruno has consistently maintained her innocence since she was indicted in September by a federal grand jury on charges of extortion and conspiracy to extortion. She pleaded innocent at arraignment. The charges stem from the FBI's wide-ranging investigation into government corruption and organized crime in the Mahoning Valley. Sfara Bruno was accused of participating in a case-fixing scheme during James A. Philomena's tenure as Mahoning County prosecutor.
The government alleged that she gave Philomena cash, gifts and campaign contributions in exchange for his directing his assistant prosecutors, including James A. Vitullo, to dismiss or reduce DUI charges for her clients. Sfara Bruno was a magistrate in Youngstown Municipal Court from 1988 to January of this year, when she resigned.
Perjurer: In reaction to the decision by U.S. Attorney Emily M. Sweeney in Cleveland not to pursue the case against his client, Atty. John McCaffrey offered this observation: "Philomana, the convicted perjurer, never had credibility. It's a shame it took the government so long to recognize the fact."
Therein lies the problem for the FBI and prosecutors. Was the indictment based largely or solely on the word of Philomena, who is currently serving a four-year sentence in a federal correctional institution after pleading guilty to federal charges related to fixing cases while he was in office?
The public has a right to know what action, if any, the government took to confirm that the information Philomena was giving them was the truth. After all, he received a huge break in his sentence because he agreed to assist the FBI in its investigation and to testify against others.
It is noteworthy that Philomena had fingered his former assistant prosecutor, Vitullo, and had testified against him. The jury found Vitullo innocent of all charges.
Against such a backdrop, Judge O'Malley has an obligation to delve into the Sfara Bruno case. Was there a legitimate basis for the indictment, or did the FBI and federal prosecutors misuse the power of their offices?