MaSSSoftech

Posted by Peter Krouse / Plain Dealer Reporter August 03, 2009 08:59AM

CLEVELAND -- 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.

In July, three former employees of the County Engineer's Office pleaded guilty to steering work on a computer mapping project to Ma's company in return for $175,000 in bribes. While Ma is not identified by name in the plea agreements, contracts and descriptions of an unnamed company official match him.

Ma, who has not been charged with a crime, said any payments he made on the mapping project were legitimate fees, not bribes.

"I don't think that I have done anything wrong," said Ma, who lived in University Heights for many years before moving to Moreland Hills about five years ago.

Neither Broma's work for the Recorder's Office nor the Prosecutor's Office has been implicated in any corruption allegations. But those contracts have ended.

Broma's dealings with the County Recorder's Office began in 1997 after Patrick O'Malley was named by the county Democratic Party to replace outgoing recorder Frank Russo, who became auditor.

O'Malley told The Plain Dealer in 1998 that he selected Ma as a consultant because he was the best person for the job. O'Malley acknowledged he would take some heat because Ma had been recently convicted of obstructing justice in a corruption investigation into Cleveland Municipal Clerk of Courts Benny Bonanno.

Ma ran the clerk's computer department. The charges against him stemmed from the answers he gave to a grand jury.

Before going to work there, Ma held other government jobs, including planning director for Youngstown and executive director of the Regional Income Tax Authority.

Records show Broma received more than $3.8 million in largely no-bid contracts over the past 12 years to integrate and maintain the Recorder's Office computer system. Because of Broma's early involvement, it was only practical that it be the one to maintain the system, said Jim Zak, information technology administrator for the Recorder's Office.

"To the best of my knowledge, it wouldn't have made much sense going out to bid," Zak said.

County Recorder Lillian Greene, who replaced Patrick O'Malley last year after he resigned amid charges of distributing pornography, said she has not asked for an investigation into Broma's role at the Recorder's Office.

Her chief of staff, John Kandah, said the issue is moot since the Recorder's Office switched to a different vendor this year, a decision made before it was known Broma was under investigation.

Zak said Broma did an excellent job, and about two years ago it developed a new system for the office that uses Microsoft, which meant others beside Broma could do the work.

Broma also ended its work with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office this year, wrapping up a nearly $3 million contract that it inherited from CGI-AMS Inc. More than $2.6 million of that contract went to Broma, but Ma said most of what he received was paid to a subcontractor called Point Blank.

In light of the corruption probe, County Prosecutor Bill Mason had a private attorney investigate a newly proposed contract with Point Blank to make sure everything was in order. The attorney, former federal prosecutor Richard Blake, said he found no problems.

The recommendation to use CGI-AMS, with Broma as a subcontractor, was made by the architecture and technology committee of the county's Automated Data Processing Board, which reviews and approves all technology initiatives and hardware purchases in the county, said Ryan Miday, Mason's spokesman.

CGI-AMS' selection of Broma as a subcontractor on the project was not influenced by any county officials or outside influences, said Greg Robinson, who was director of government solutions for CGI-AMS at the time.

Robinson said he recalls getting a list of certified subcontractors from the county. At least three on the list, including Broma, were invited to apply, he said, and Broma was selected. Ma made the pitch for Broma.

Ma said he knows that the investigation has ruined any hope of securing new contracts in Cuyahoga County, but he still hopes to find work with surrounding communities or with private companies.

Throughout his career, Ma said he ran a loose organization, believing it was best to give people plenty of freedom. He also enjoys seeing others do well. One of his goals, he said, is to help others so they can improve their own lives.

"Because I am at the end of my life," Ma said.