Ex Valley crime fighter tells unvarnished truth about us

Wednesday’s front-page story about the Mahoning Valley bearing the “stigma” of government corruption could not have come at a better time. As the Oakhill Renaissance Place government corruption case plays out in the court of law, and other state and federal investigations unfold, area residents could be lulled into thinking that such crimes are commonplace in many communities around the country. They aren’t.

But don’t take our word for it; consider what the man who spent 25 years as one of the most prominent crime-fighters in the Valley has to say.

“Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and I’m not convicting these people, but there is a stigma that comes with these charges,” said retired FBI Special Agent Robert Kroner.

Kroner made that comment and others at the annual meeting of the Trumbull County Homicide Investigation and Prosecution Unit. He is the national director of security for the B.J. Alan Co.

During his illustrious career with the FBI, Kroner, with Special Agent Larry Lynch and others, focused on organized crime and its long association with local governments.

While Mafia bosses and other mobsters were their primary targets, elected officials who were willing to do the mobsters’ bidding in return for campaign contributions and bribes were caught in the federal dragnet. At one time, more than 70 government officials, La Cosa Nostra members and business people were convicted of participating in the corruption of local governments.

One of the most prominent officeholders nabbed was the late James A. Traficant Jr. when he was sheriff of Mahoning County. Traficant took money from local Mafia bosses during the campaign in return for protecting their gambling and other illegal business interests. He defended himself against the criminal charges in federal court in Cleveland and upon his return to Mahoning County a free man warned Korner and other FBI agents that their days were numbered.

Traficant contended that organized crime had existed in the Valley for so long because local FBI agents were in the pockets of mob bosses. Kroner and his colleagues denied the charge and several years later were witness to Traficant again being hauled into federal court to face criminal charges of government corruption in his capacity as a member of Congress.

He was convicted by a jury in federal court in Cleveland and spent more than seven years in federal prison. He also was expelled from Congress.

OAKHILL CASE

The Oakhill Renaissance case is the latest manifestation of ourside law-enforcement agencies seeking to clean up local government.

We have long encouraged the U.S. Justice Department others to come into the Valley, and were unwavering in our support of Kroner and his FBI colleagues.

“Youngstown had a well deserved reputation for a lot of years,” Kroner told the gathering, referring to the unholy alliance between the mob and local elected officials.

Today, as a result of the sustained effort by state and federal law enforcement agencies, there is real progress being made to remove public officials who accept bribes, and to round up those who do the bribing.

We encourage all honest Valley residents to support the efforts of the FBI, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Retired FBI Agent Kroner is right: the Oakhill-linked criminal charges against Youngstown Mayor James A. McNally, relating to his tenure as a county commissioner, county Auditor Michael Sciortino and Youngstown Atty. Martin Yavorcik are a “stigma” our community bears.