MaSSSoftech

Tony Ma tries not to think about his fate as the federal public corruption probe unfolds.

He knows he could be in trouble, having been implicated in a bribery scheme involving Cuyahoga County officials, but he doesn't want to ponder the consequences.

So he meditates, driving out all thought and leaving his mind blank. It's an aspect of Taoism, said Ma, 74, who was born and raised in Hong Kong but has lived in Northeast Ohio for most of his life.

So, does it help?

"I don't know about helping," Ma said, "but I'm a lot more peaceful."

Ma still goes to work every day, hoping to rebuild his small business, Broma Information Technology, on the third floor of a red-brick building at the corner of East 34th Street and Perkins Avenue. The company collected $9 million worth of contracts from Cuyahoga County over the years.

He keeps going despite the fact that virtually all of his contracts have dried up in the wake of the federal investigation and allegations that he paid bribes to get lucrative public contracts.

His only remaining employee spent much of the past week gathering documents in response to a federal subpoena stemming from work performed on the $4.3 million computer system at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court

The court's administrative judge, Thomas F. O'Malley, recently declined to renew Broma's maintenance contract amid concerns.

Federal agents previously pored over Broma records they subpoenaed related to the company's dealings with the county recorder, auditor and engineer.