An open letter to John Ashcroft

Dear Mr. Attorney General:
This letter is being written on behalf of all responsible Mahoning Valley taxpayers in the private sector (as opposed to the folks in the public sector who have no concept of the real world) to urge you to investigate Youngstown's expenditure of $1.5 million in public funds for 26 acres that once accommodated a major steel mill.
The $1.5 million is part of a $26.8 million federal Economic Development Initiative grant secured by former Congressman James A. Traficant Jr. for the construction of a convocation/community center in Youngstown. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is administering the grant, has determined that the definition of a convocation/community center can include a sports arena.
Traficant, who is serving an eight-year sentence in federal prison for racketeering, bribery and tax evasion, and other criminal charges, was opposed to the city's buying the land between the Market Street and South Avenue bridges for the convocation/community center project.
Hastert's thanks
It is significant that neither the mayor of Youngstown, George M. McKelvey, nor city council had anything to do with the grant's coming to the city. The money was given to Traficant by Speaker Dennis Hastert as a thank-you for the then 17th District Democratic congressman's vote for him as speaker.
Traficant had intended for the project to be located on the West End of downtown, so as to take advantage of the cultural centers that exist and to create a link with Youngstown State University.
The sports arena was just one element of an entertainment complex envisioned by the congressman. He also believed that a conference center and a 150-room hotel were necessary to make the project profitable. He argued that without all three elements, a sports arena on its own would not succeed.
However, city council and the mayor purchased the former steel mill land between the bridges for $1.5 million.
Private sector taxpayers have questioned that transaction because there were no formal appraisals conducted to determine the true value of the property. It has been vacant for more than two decades, and there were no buyers who were a threat to the city's gaining possession.
Neither members of city council nor McKelvey has provided a satisfactory answer to the following question: Who negotiated the purchase price?
They contend that the property owners demanded $1.5 million and that is what the city paid.
An 84-inch sewer line bisects the land, which is an impediment to the arena's being built in the center of the site.
Wasted land?
Last week, city officials announced that the structure would be located on the north east quadrant of the property and that there would be parking for 350 cars. In other words, most of the land would not be used.
Thus the public concern over what has transpired and a request for your office to launch an investigation to determine once and for all whether the land transaction was legal and proper.
This isn't about casting aspersions on the mayor and city council -- even though their decision to move forward with the construction of a 5,400-seat arena will result in the wasting of a huge federal grant. There is nothing to suggest that an arena of this size will succeed.
Traficant had envisioned an 8,000- to 10,000-seat facility because market research shows that is what's needed to attract top-rated entertainment and major professional ice hockey and arena football franchises.
A 5,400-seat arena, which will be no bigger than Beeghly Center at YSU, will attract second- or third-tier events.
Why involve the attorney general? Because the federal government has in its custody George Alexander, a disbarred lawyer with ties to local Mafia boss-turned government snitch Lenine Strollo, who can shed light on the history of the land. Alexander arranged for a distant relative, Joe Alexander, a local businessman, to buy the property between the bridges. For years, George Alexander tried to sell the land to Youngstown and the federal government, but to no avail.
Upon Joe Alexander's death, the land was passed on to his two sons, who then sold it to the city for the $1.5 million.
The request for a federal investigation is prompted by the fact that the land deal was consummated even before the decision was made to proceed with the construction of the sports arena.
Why the rush?