The revelation was made in a court exhibit filed Tuesday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

A report filed by an agent of the Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation recounts an incident reported by an unnamed FBI informant who was cooperating with the investigation that led to the indictment of Youngstown Mayor John McNally, Mahoning County Auditor Mike Sciortino and Poland Attorney Martin Yavorcik on May 13 of last year.

The trio is accused of lying about an alleged conspiracy to keep the county from buying the Oakhill Renaissance Center in order to move some offices out of a building being leased from the Cafaro Company.

One week before the indictment was handed up, the informant says he was walking for exercise at the Southern Park Mall when he received what he perceived as a verbal threat from an unidentified male who had joined him and struck up a conversation.

The informant noted that the stranger was approximately 5' 11” tall, 65-68 years old with dark colored thinning hair. Although the man identified himself as a fellow “walker”, the informant says the man was wearing dress pants, dress shoes and shirt and tie. The informant remembered thinking that his new found walking companion was wearing unusual attire for exercising.

After making some general conversation, the mystery man mentioned mall developer Anthony Cafaro and what “a good guy he is.” The informant said that the subject continued by saying that “Tony” Cafaro is a good family man and that the Cafaro Family does a lot of good things for the community.

The man continued to say, “You know, the first Oakhill investigation didn't work out for some people.”

The informant told investigators that the walking companion then spoke about “informants” including local organized crime figure Lenine “Lenny Strollo”, who cooperated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and provided testimony on several Youngstown area murders and related violent crimes.

The report notes that Strollo was a high ranking organized crime boss who ordered the murder of several individuals. Strollo cooperated with federal prosecutors by providing testimony and evidence against those who carried out his orders.

The informant says that the stranger stated, “Look how bad Strollo's life was after he snitched. He will be looking over his shoulder forever.” The man then added, “Who knows what still may happen to him (Strollo).”

The dressed up fellow walker ended the conversation by saying, “The worst thing in the world is a snitch. I can stand almost anything in this world but a snitch. Well, I have to go to a meeting. It was nice talking to you. I'll see you again.”

The unidentified man then exited the mall.

According to the BCI report, law enforcement purposefully relocated the confidential informant from the Youngstown area for several days after the incident due to the expected indictment of McNally, Sciortino and Yavorcik one week later.

Upon returning to his home the following week, the informant reported to investigators that he had discovered plastic rat had been placed between the storm door and the front door of his residence.

The informant said that his encounter at the mall and the discovery of the toy rat at his home caused him to be concerned for his own well-being because it was obvious to him that those responsible know his identity and where he lives.

Prosecutors filed the exhibit to support their argument that it is important for the judge presiding over the Oakhill case to deny defense motions to lift restrictions prohibiting them from sharing tape recordings and other evidence with persons other than their clients.

While defense attorneys claim that the restrictions are hampering their ability to properly defend their clients, the prosecution calls the move legal “gamesmanship” on the part of the lawyers by attempting to find out who the government plans to call as witnesses before a witness list is issued.

Prosecutors say defense attorneys have turned down an offer to allow others to have access to the confidential material, but only if the names of those individuals are provided to the prosecution.

In addition to concerns over the safety of potential witnesses, prosecutors say there are also concerns over sharing some information with individuals who may not yet be indicted.

The prosecutor's brief concludes by asking the court to hold a hearing but then deny the defendant's motions to allow a private early review of which evidence may be classified as restricted.