Lake County Public corruption
Post-Tribune (IN)
June 12, 2002
Lake County has a storied history of elected officials being convicted on various charges involving public corruption. These are some of the most memorable cases:
1961
Following a U.S. Senate investigation into organized crime's link to public corruption, Lake County Prosecutor Metro Holovachka is sentenced to three years for evading income taxes.
1963
Gary Mayor George Chacharis falls victim to the same investigation and gets three years for tax evasion.
Early 1970s
East Chicago Mayor John Nicosia is convicted for his role in a city sewer construction scandal.
Early 1980s
Operation Bar-Tab investigates the fixing of drunken-driving tickets. The probe leads to a host of convictions, including those of County Division Judges Orval Anderson and Steven Bielak and county Clerk Edward Lukawski.
1985
When former County Commissioner and Sheriff Rudy Bartolomei pleaded guilty to racketeering, they claim kickbacks are involved in 85 percent of all contracts handled by county commissioners. Bartolomei turns government witness and enters the federal witness protection program. His testimony brings down several public officials.
1993
Gary City Councilman Clemmons Allen is sentenced to 18 months for providing protection to bar owners in exchange for the purchase of fund-raising tickets.
1998
Gary City Councilman Gerald Hayes is convicted of taking kickbacks on landfill contracts.
2002
Lake Station Councilwoman Roseann Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced this month for misuse of public funds.
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