Tamela Lee

Summit County District 5 Councilwoman Tamela Lee at a council meeting on Monday, June 1, 2015.

(John Harper, Northeast Ohio Media Group)

AKRON, Ohio -- The U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI have sent subpoenas and letters to officials as federal authorities continue a criminal investigation into Summit County Councilwoman Tamela Lee, sources said Thursday.

At least two Summit County officials acknowledged receiving letters from the FBI saying their phone calls with Lee have been monitored through court-approved wiretaps. Summit County Executive Russ Pry said his office also received subpoenas several months ago, when the FBI raided Lee's home on the 900 block of Cortland Avenue in Akron.

One of the letters, sent to Pry's assistant by Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Barr and released by Pry's office on Thursday, says that the FBI monitored Lee's phone calls between June 21 and Sept. 14. It also says the FBI monitored calls from the cellphone of Omar Abdelqader between June 3, 2014 and Aug. 1.

U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi in Akron approved the wiretaps.

It was not immediately clear Thursday the reason or the extent of the FBI's investigation. FBI spokeswoman Vicki Anderson declined to comment Thursday, citing the ongoing investigation. U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Mike Tobin also declined to comment.

Lee's connection to Abdelqader was also unclear. However, an Omar Abdelqader donated $200 to Lee's campaign for state Senate in 2010, and an additional $600 for her county council campaign in 2012, records show. He is listed on one of the forms as "self-employed."

Lee's campaign also paid an Abdelqader $200 in February 2014, and a box on the campaign finance form says the purpose is "clinic."

Lee did not return phone calls placed Thursday afternoon. However, she posted a message on her Facebook page and Twitter account after her house was raided that said "I stand on my name and my reputation."

Abdelqader could not immediately be reached for comment.

Others acknowledged Thursday that they received similar letters to the one released by Pry's office.

Gloria Rodgers, the sole Republican councilwoman on a left-leaning council, said she saw FBI agents deliver letters to councilmen Nick Kostandaras and John Schmidt, as well as a staffer, before Monday's meeting.

Kostandaras also said in an interview that the letter informed him that the FBI had monitored his phone calls with Lee. He said he heard more than 100 letters had been sent out.

He also said he last spoke with Lee in August.

Lee's district includes part of West Akron and all of Fairlawn and Copley Township. She was appointed in 2011 to fill a vacancy left by Cazzell Smith Sr. and was elected to the council in 2012. She is the first the first black woman elected to the council.

She is the second highest-ranking Democrat in the county, serving as the county party's vice chair.

Northeast Ohio Media Group reporters Adam Ferrise and John Harper contributed to this report.