How did they get any work done?

Last week's column about the extent to which some Mahoning County officials were willing to pay homage to Youngstown developer Anthony Cafaro and other Cafaro Co. officials brought a flurry of responses — most of which were critical of the seemingly unholy alliances.

One in particular offered an important political perspective. It came from Tom Zamary, who has spent a great deal of time analyzing the operation of county government and being part of grassroots organizations, such as the Citizens League of Greater Youngstown, that are committed to exposing the stranglehold special interest groups have on the public sector in the Mahoning Valley.

Here's what Zamary wrote, in part, last Sunday:

"Your column today brought to mind a conversation I had with you in the rotunda of the Mahoning County Courthouse back in September or October 2001. It followed a press conference held by the Citizens League of Greater Youngstown, criticizing the Cafaro family and public officials for the "Cafaro Roundtable" meetings which were then being held at Anthony's on the River.

"One of your admonishments to me and the Citizens League in that conversation was that I needed to make some connection between the meetings and the public's business.

"I accept your column today as a vindication of the efforts of the Citizens League. ...

"One of the reasons why I have a very pessimistic estimate of the future of this area is that any individual or organization which dares to challenge the establishment of the local political world can expect that all the chips will be called in by those who they attempt to expose, and they will receive neither support nor sympathy from the media."

Hundreds of calls

The column last week centered on the more than 200 calls between the Cafaro headquarters and county Auditor Michael Sciortino, Commissioner James McNally, Treasurer Lisa Antonnini, John Reardon, who was treasurer prior to being appointed to a state job, and John Zachariah, former head of Job and Family Services.

The reason for the gabfest: The Cafaro Co. was attempting to block commissioners Anthony Traficanti and David Ludt from moving JFS from its McGuffey Mall on the East Side to Oakhill Renaissance Place, the former Southside Medical Center complex.

While the Cafaros lost — a judge dismissed a lawsuit they filed — the telephone conversations between the company headquarters and county officials demand attention. Why? Because a review of the timeline of the telephone calls triggers the question, "How did these public officials get any work done?"

Hello, hello

Here's a glimpse of what took place in August 2006:

Aug. 1 — Zachariah calls Cafaro at 12:09 p.m.; Zachariah calls Cafaro at 12:10 p.m.

Aug. 2 — Sciortino calls Cafaro 1:04 p.m.

Aug. 3 — Cafaro calls Sciortino at 9:43 a.m.; Sciortino calls Cafaro at 1:27 p.m.; Sciortino writes to commissioners regarding his concerns about the Oakhill transaction; Anthony Cafaro Sr. meets with McNally.

Aug. 4 — McNally calls Cafaro at 3:31 p.m.; McNally calls Cafaro at 3:37 p.m.; Cafaro calls McNally at 2:28 p.m.; Cafaro calls McNally at 4:35 p.m.; Antonnini calls Cafaro at 4:23 p.m.

Aug. 7 — Sciortino sends building assessment to commissioners; Cafaro calls McNally at 9:10 a.m.; McNally calls Cafaro at 9:17 a.m.; Cafaro calls McNally at 9:23 a.m.; Cafaro calls McNally at 3:15 p.m.; Zachariah calls Cafaro at 4:40 p.m.; Cafaro calls Sciortino at 9:05 a.m.; Cafaro calls Sciortino at 3:05 p.m.; taxpayers lawsuit is filed by the Cafaro Co. to block the JFS move.

Aug. 8 — Antonnini calls Cafaro at 9:25 a.m.; Anthony Cafaro Sr. meets with Zachariah; Cafaro writes to McNally, Sciortino and Reardon regarding Mahoning County's bond rating; Cafaro calls Sciortino at 2:09 p.m.; Sciortino calls Cafaro at 2:34 p.m.; Zachariah calls Cafaro at 8:50 a.m.; Zachariah calls Cafaro at 9:37 a.m.; Cafaro calls Zachariah at 10:39 a.m.; Zachariah calls Cafaro at 2:38 p.m.; Cafaro calls Zachariah at 2:46 p.m.

Aug. 9 — McNally calls Cafaro at 9:57 a.m.; McNally calls Cafaro at 12:16 p.m.; McNally calls Cafaro at 1:31 p.m.; Cafaro calls McNally at 1:36 p.m.; McNally calls Cafaro at 1:57 p.m.

Aug. 10 — Cafaro calls McNally at 9:21 a.m.

The timeline of the calls between the Cafaro headquarters and county officials over several months can be found in this writer's blog "Stirfry" on The Vindicator's website, www.Vindy.com.