Special grand jury to probe absentee ballot scandal
Prosecutor's request also wants jury to investigate misappropriation of public funds, official misconduct and public corruption in Lake County
NWI Times
Aug 9, 2003
nwitimes.com/news/local/special-grand-jury-to-probe-absentee-ballot-scandal/article_e8794a3b-924b-5d0d-84e4-8ecf7c6ba5d6.html
A criminal court judge has ordered a special grand jury to begin this month looking into absentee ballot fraud and public corruption.
Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter is calling a panel of citizen investigators in the midst of revelations from supporters for unsuccessful East Chicago and Schererville primary candidates showing loopholes in the election process that have allowed votes to be cast by people who cannot read English and who don't even live in the state.
Judge Thomas P. Stefaniak Jr. ordered a group of potential grand jurors called for the morning of Aug. 22. They will serve for a term of six months and will hear testimony from witnesses behind closed doors, without the presence of defense lawyers to object to prosecutors' questions.
Carter, who couldn't be reached Friday for comment, publicly called in June for an investigation of vote fraud in East Chicago and Schererville.
Lawyers for East Chicago City Councilman George Pabey argued Friday in a recount suit to overturn Mayor Robert Pastrick's 278-vote victory in the spring Democratic primary that there was "a deliberate, massive effort" to get out the absentee vote through intimidation, coercion and outright bribery of voters.
In a nearby courtroom, lawyers for Kenneth Anderson were making the same argument Friday regarding the Schererville town judge race this spring where incumbent Judge Deborah Riga lost at the poll, but won by a 11 votes thanks to a wave of absentee ballots in her favor.
Anderson's legal team said they found more than 100 violations of election laws, which include forged signatures on behalf of elderly Serbian Americans with so little knowledge of English an interpreter was needed to have their testimony understood.
"The fraud was more than pervasive," Ed Hall, one of Anderson's team, said in closing arguments.
The recount suits could overturn the election results, but a grand jury could seek criminal sanctions against people identified as collecting improper absentee ballots for campaigns.
Pabey's legal team alleges those included Andrew Callas, County Councilman Joel Markovich, D- East Chicago, and East Chicago city employee Allen "Twig" Simmons.
Anderson's team pointed to Schererville Democratic Precinct Committeeman Bob "Bosko" Grkinich who took the Fifth Amendment rather than answer questions that might incriminate him.
Pastrick's and Riga's supporters said they have done nothing wrong.
Absentee ballots may only be legally cast by voters who will be outside of the county on election day or are incapacitated by injury or illness or have jobs that will keep them from the polls during the 12 hours they are opened for voting.
However, a witnesses in the Schererville recount suit admitted Friday they didn't qualify for absentee ballots, but had only applied for and filled them out as a favor to Grkinich, who had collected them. State law requires absentee ballots can only be mailed to the county or delivered by a family member or a member of a county election traveling board.
Carter's petition for a special grand jury also alleges his office "has further received information concerning the misappropriation of public funds in Lake County, Indiana, that include allegations of official misconduct and public corruption."
The petition gives no other details, but county, township and municipal officials already have been under scrutiny for more than a year by the U.S. Attorney's office and federal grand juries investigating public corruption.
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