(Source: crainscleveland) 

A North Royalton contractor was indicted Wednesday, Feb. 6, by a federal grand jury for paying cash bribes to a Cleveland building official. Martin Fano, who owned and operated ABC Construction LLC, was indicted on seven counts of honest services mail and wire fraud.

According to the indictment, ABC Construction, which did demolition work for the city of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga Land Bank and others, paid bribes to Rufus Taylor, chief of the city's demolition bureau, to ensure work performed by Fano's company would be quickly inspected after completion and receive faster payment for demolition jobs.

In September, Taylor pleaded guilty to bribery and extortion charges and is scheduled to be sentenced in April.

"Bribery is not acceptable, whether you are a contractor paying the bribe or a public official accepting the money," said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman in a press statement. "Rooting out corruption is vital to protecting our public institutions."

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General and the Internal Revenue Service.