In bribery charge, bill refers to 2 city officials

A contractor is accused of paying a public official in exchange for contracts.
& lt;a href=mailto:sinkovich@vindy.com & gt;By PEGGY SINKOVICH & lt;/a & gt;
and DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CLEVELAND -- Two unidentified Warren officials participated in a scheme to profit from public contracts in Warren, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
References to the city officials were contained in a bill of information filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cleveland by federal prosecutors as part of a bribery charge made against James F. Nicolaus, 46, of Hazelwood Drive, Warren.
Nicolaus is identified as having owned and operated T & amp;J Construction and J & amp;J Enterprises. He could not be reached, but Atty. Sam Bluedorn, who represents Nicolaus, said his client cooperated fully with federal officials.
"I think it's a shame a contractor has to pay a bribe to do work," Bluedorn said.
The six-page information document says Nicolaus conspired with two public officials and others to obtain city contracts.
Accusations
Nicolaus is accused of paying thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for the contracts in a scheme that began in the early 1990s and lasted until June 2000, according to the government.
In one case, for example, in 1999, Nicolaus, at the request of a public official, created fictitious invoices totaling $70,000 to an identified contractor falsely stating that T & amp;J had performed work for that contractor.
After receiving payment on the invoice from the ghost contractor, Nicolaus kept $1,500, gave the remaining $6,000 to the first public official who said he was going to share that money with a second public official, according to the information.
The $6,000 was for help from the officials in obtaining a a $1.1 million contract to clean up Mahoningside Power Plant for the unidentified contractor.
Mayor Hank Angelo said it's the first he's heard of the involvement of a second public official.
The Mahoningside project was bid as one contract, but McCabe Engineering of Richfield and Innerscope Technical Services of Austintown both were doing work.
The two companies later had a falling out and Innerscope sued the city, contending it wasn't paid for its work.
Mayor's frustration
Angelo said he is frustrated and doesn't understand why the public official, who has been referred to in previous charges against other contractors, hasn't been identified.
It paints all employees and officials in those departments with a broad brush, he said.
He believes one official referred to in court documents no longer works for the city. He said the city has taken measures to reduce the possibility of similar occurrences.
Because it was difficult to get contractors to bid on the city's housing rehabilitation program through a request for proposals, it's been changed to a formal bidding process.
The mayor said T & amp;J Construction was a subcontractor on the Mahoningside project, not the main contractor.
The city now requires general contractors to register subcontractors working on their projects to ensure work is getting done and that city income tax is being paid.
The information also refers to T & amp;J's involvement with building a clubhouse at the city owned Avalon South Golf Course.
"That was prior to my term, and it's part of the ongoing investigation to the best of my knowledge," the mayor said.
Third contractor indicted
This is the third contractor to be indicted on federal charges.
James Matash, owner of M & amp;M Construction, which demolished the Regency Hotel in 2000, was sentenced in 2001 to more than a year in prison for unlawfully acquiring that contract.
He was convicted of one count of bribery for agreeing to pay a city official $5,000.
Dante Massacci Jr., 34, of Shadowwood Lane, Howland, and Dante "Dundy" Massacci Sr., 79, of Central Parkway Avenue Southeast, pleaded guilty in December to one count each of violating the Hobbs Act, a federal law targeting public officials who extort bribes.
The two operated South Main Sand and Gravel, which is no longer in business.
They were accused of paying off a Warren city official to get a half-dozen city construction contracts over three years.
Each was sentenced April 1 to a year and one day in prison. They were scheduled to report to prison June 3 but were granted an extension to July 14.
"I just wonder when they are going to indict the city official," Massacci Jr. said.
& lt;a href=mailto:sinkovich@vindy.com & gt;sinkovich@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;
denise. & lt;a href=mailto:dick@vindy.com & gt;dick@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;