Are feds investigating latest bribery claims?

A former paving contractor who has pleaded guilty to racketeering and is cooperating with the federal government dropped a bombshell last week during his testimony in Congressman James A. Traficant Jr.'s trial in Cleveland.
James R. Sabatine, who once owned Hardrives Paving and Construction Inc. in Mineral Ridge, said under oath that he not only bribed Traficant, but also other current and former public officials, including Daniel Sferra when he was mayor of Warren. Sferra is now a member of the Ohio House of Representatives.
Sabatine also said he paid a bribe to a New Castle mayor, whom he did not name, and that he gave campaign contributions to Trumbull County Auditor David Hines.
Sferra, Hines, and the current and former mayors of New Castle, Timothy Fulkerson and Richard Christofer, have all strongly rejected the former paving contractor's assertions -- and that prompts the question: Given that Sabatine has been providing the FBI and the United States Attorney's Office in Cleveland with information about government corruption in the Mahoning Valley, what steps has the federal government taken to confirm the claims he has made?
During the testimony, Craig S. Morford, the lead prosecutor in Traficant's trial -- the congressman faces criminal charges, including racketeering, bribery and tax evasion -- cautioned Sabatine not to reveal any names that were not already listed in an FBI report. In the report, which Traficant used during his cross-examination of the witness, some of the individuals who purportedly received bribes were named, while others were referred to by title only.
Morford did ask Sabatine if there were other ongoing investigations, to which the ex-contractor replied, "Yes, there are."
Re-election bids: While that answer does shed some light on what is taking place, we believe the residents of the Mahoning Valley, especially the voters in Trumbull County, have a right to hear from federal officials. Why the voters? Because both Sferra and Hines are on the ballot this year seeking re-election.
We are well aware of the fact that the FBI rarely, if ever, talks about specific investigations -- the agency has publicly acknowledged that it is now targeting Trumbull County in its crackdown on government corruption in the Mahoning Valley -- but once again there is the issue of the timing of Sabatine's allegations.
While we can understand the federal government's reluctance to take any extreme action against an officeholder just before an election, we have to wonder about the fairness of letting allegations of bribery, as in the case of Sferra and Hines, just hang in the political air.
Indeed, neither is opposed in the May primary, so there would be no harm in the FBI's releasing its findings -- either through indictment, or through a clean bill of health for the two officeholders.