12292006 - News Article - Panel clarifies court probe - Commission issued a 'caution' to judge while dismissing a complaint - ROBERT CANTRELL

Panel clarifies court probe 
Commission issued a 'caution' to judge while dismissing a complaint
Post-Tribune (IN)
December 29, 2006
A state ethics commission cautioned Lake Superior Court Judge Julie Cantrell for improperly using money from driving school fees to give her staff $20,700 in salary bonuses.

Breaking with the panel's usual practices, a spokeswoman for the Commission on Judicial Qualifications issued a public statement about an investigation into Cantrell's office, a response to statements by Cantrell last month that said the commission "dismissed" complaints against her.

"Short of filing charges (the commission) can express a private caution. (A caution) is an expression of the commission's finding that the complaint was not unfounded or groundless," said Meg Babcock, counsel for the commission. "Typically that is a private communication. Because Judge Cantrell stated publicly the complaint was dismissed, I determined it was appropriate to speak publicly to correct the impression made by her public statement," Babcock said.

Cantrell referred questions to her attorney, Terry Smith, who said a letter from the commission said the case was "dismissed with caution."

"The case was dismissed. Dismissed means dismissed," Smith said. "They said don't pay bonuses with (money from the driving school) even though she got authority from the (Lake County) Council ... They said, if you do it again, just let us know about it."

Cantrell said in November she had received a letter from the commission and "they said they had looked into it, and they had dismissed the complaint."

A 2003 audit report showed that Cantrell had used funds from driving school fees collected from traffic court defendants to fund $900 bonuses paid to 23 employees, Babcock said.

Cantrell's Superior Court colleague, Judge Jesse Villalpando, filed a wide-ranging complaint against her, including a claim she was overcharging students in her driving school and diverting the excess funds to other uses. After Cantrell made statements to the press about the outcome of the ethics investigation, Villalpando sent a letter to Babcock.

A longtime rival of Cantrell's father, political fixer Robert Cantrell, Villalpando said issues with the driving school became apparent to him after Robert Cantrell threatened to back candidates against Villalpando to use a politically connected firm for defendants in his courtroom.

Villalpando said it was his duty to report possible ethical lapses by Cantrell or any of his peers.

"Her father was trying by coercion to force me to do some of the same things that he was getting, without complaint, in her court," he said.

Traffic court defendants can be assigned to take driving school courses instead of having an infraction put on their record. Judge Cantrell said last month she had put her driving programs "on hiatus" because of bad publicity.

Federal investigators also have reviewed Cantrell's driving school records. Cantrell has said the federal investigation "didn't find anything wrong, either." David Capp, spokesman for U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen, would not comment on whether the Justice Department was investigating Cantrell.

12222006 - News Article - Fromm's would-be business partner backs out - EAST CHICAGO: E.C. native denies having any plans to take over counseling business - ROBERT CANTRELL

Fromm's would-be business partner backs out
EAST CHICAGO: E.C. native denies having any plans to take over counseling business
NWI Times
Dec 22, 2006
The day after news broke that politically connected addiction counselor Nancy Fromm was handing over the reins of her faltering business to a friend, that friend said he was shocked by the announcement.

"I am not taking over her business. I have not made any arrangements to take over her business," said Richard Mamula, an East Chicago native who lives in California. "Her entire statement is salacious."

Mamula said Fromm has contacted him in the past about possibly taking over the business, but he never agreed to anything.

In a two-sentence letter to Lake County Commissioners Wednesday, Fromm wrote that Mamula was taking over Addiction and Family Care.

Fromm has been indicted on charges of obstructing a grand jury that is investigating a "pay-to-play" scheme involving kickbacks from contractors to government officials.

In the past, her business has enjoyed lucrative contracts with local courts. However, Lake County commissioners recently postponed a request to renew Fromm's contract with Lake County Community Corrections.

Fromm has said her firm's business has suffered as a result of the indictment, and she hoped new leadership could help restore its reputation. But her deal with Mamula was not in writing before she told the commissioners and news media about it.

Fromm said she was troubled Thursday upon learning of Mamula's statements that he will not take over the business.

12212006 - News Article - Fromm to step down as leader of firm - NANCY FROMM -- She says her federal indictment has made it too difficult to run the firm - ROBERT CANTRELL

Fromm to step down as leader of firm
NANCY FROMM -- She says her federal indictment has made it too difficult to run the firm
NWI Times
Dec 21, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/local/fromm-to-step-down-as-leader-of-firm/article_3e19d5f9-8652-5ae8-ac08-5dc3e922823e.html
Nancy Fromm said she's letting someone else take the reins of the counseling firm she has built during the past 10 years because her federal indictment is making it difficult for the company to operate.

Fromm's politically connected company, Addiction and Family Care, did not receive a contract extension from Lake County Community Corrections on Wednesday. The contract is expected to come up again for discussion next month.

By that time, Fromm said, the firm is expected to have a new leader -- Richard Mamula, a retired psychologist who lives in California.

"I've really hurt the company with all this publicity and politics, and I want it to keep going," Fromm said Wednesday. "I do love the business. It's not for the money. I love being a therapist."

Fromm said she believed county commissioners were "in a bind" because they had cancelled the contract of indicted tax collector Roosevelt Powell while Fromm's contract was allowed to go on.

Fromm said her firm has fallen on hard times since she was accused of obstructing a federal grand jury by not turning over information sought by investigators. She said she has gone from 15 employees to eight since the indictment.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen said Fromm's company was part of a "pay to play" scheme in which kickbacks were paid by government vendors to municipal, township and county officials. The rest of the scheme has not been disclosed.

Fromm has publicly acknowledged paying political operative Bob Cantrell a consulting fee for using his contacts in local judicial circles to get judges to send drug-addicted offenders to Fromm's firm for counseling.

Cantrell has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

12212006 - News Article - Another judge levels allegations against Robert Cantrell - EAST CHICAGO: Political operative denies trying to influence court to hire friend's firm - ROBERT CANTRELL

Another judge levels allegations against Robert Cantrell
EAST CHICAGO: Political operative denies trying to influence court to hire friend's firm
NWI Times
Dec 21, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/local/another-judge-levels-allegations-against-robert-cantrell/article_27804ff0-4b1d-5d51-a809-0acaa3d3d9da.html
EAST CHICAGO | Political operative Robert Cantrell is denying allegations from a second judge that he tried to cajole the court into hiring a counseling firm that was paying Cantrell fees.

In a sworn deposition, East Chicago Judge Sonya Morris said Cantrell threatened to run a challenger against her during the 2003 election unless she agreed to send all of her drug-addicted criminal defendants to treatment at a firm owned by a friend of Cantrell's.

The firm, Addiction and Family Care, is paid to treat clients for court-ordered addiction counseling. At the time, Cantrell was receiving a finder's fee from the firm for each person he could convince judges to refer to them.

Morris said in 2003, she received a message that Cantrell was threatening to put former city judge Eduardo Fontanez in the race against her unless she agreed to make Addiction and Family Care the court's sole counseling provider.

"If she got a message from somewhere, it wasn't coming from me. That's a fact," Cantrell said Wednesday. "I don't have to send messages. I'm a grown man. I can talk to people."

Morris stands by the allegations in her sworn testimony, said Jon Schmoll, a legal adviser for Morris who also works for the East Chicago court.

Nancy Fromm, owner of Addiction and Family Care, said she was not aware of whether Cantrell had made political threats against Morris.

"(Morris) didn't say that to me, and I didn't know (Cantrell) did it," Fromm said. "He didn't tell me if he did that."

Like many courts in Lake County, East Chicago's city court today includes Addiction and Family Care as one of several counseling providers on a list from which defendants can choose, Fromm said.

The firm no longer pays Cantrell for referrals, Fromm said.

Morris' comments echo accusations from Lake Superior Court Judge Jesse Villalpando, who said Cantrell tried to convince him to hire Addiction and Family Care for his court.

Fontanez, who did not return a call for comment Wednesday, ran against Villalpando this year and lost. Villalpando has said Fontanez was put into the race by Cantrell because of the judge's flat refusal to refer business to Addiction and Family Care.

Morris' comments about Cantrell became public as part of an unrelated civil lawsuit for wrongful termination that Cantrell's son, John, filed against Morris after she fired John Cantrell from the city court.

John Cantrell filed suit in U.S. District Court in Hammond saying Morris fired him for political retribution and hired one of her own campaign workers to replace him shortly after her election.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Rodovich declined to dismiss John Cantrell's case Friday, saying there was enough evidence for a jury to decide whether John Cantrell was the victim of political retribution.

12182006 - News Article - Will vote fraud acquittal affect future cases? VOTE FRAUD: 41 cases still pending, prosecutors say one loss doesn't change a thing - ROBERT CANTRELL

Will vote fraud acquittal affect future cases?
VOTE FRAUD: 41 cases still pending, prosecutors say one loss doesn't change a thing
NWI Times
Dec 18, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/local/will-vote-fraud-acquittal-affect-future-cases/article_c2a361a5-a868-5df1-a6e3-4782300b7ba3.html
CROWN POINT | At least one attorney representing a client charged with vote fraud is taking his chances on a jury trial after Robert "Bosko" Grkinich's acquittal last week.

East Chicago Police Officer Lester Chandler is charged with two counts of voting in a precinct in which he didn't reside.

Defense Attorney John Cantrell said it's "make it or break it" for Chandler because he loses his law-enforcement job if he's convicted of a felony.

Schererville Democratic Precinct Committeeman Grkinich successfully fought off 20 counts of vote fraud when a jury of six found him not guilty on all counts Dec. 8.

So far, the Joint Vote Fraud Task Force of Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter and County Prosecutor Bernard Carter has leveled charges against 52 Lake County citizens. The task force spent the last couple of years looking into the 2003 Democratic Primary, in which the election results for two races were overturned: the Schererville Town Judge and East Chicago Mayoral races.

Eleven have been convicted to date.

Only Grkinich won an acquittal, despite what looked like a strong case against him.

Cantrell said the Grkinich verdict could be an indication of how many in Lake County feel about vote fraud.

"I do think the Grkinich case was a test case to see voters' opinions on whether minor, innocent, technical violations of Indiana voting laws should cause someone to be convicted of a felony and subject to prison," Cantrell said.

One of Grkinich's lawyers, Thomas Mullins, disagrees.

"I think the verdict was specific to my client and is not political," Mullins said. "Jurors found the state didn't prove it's case beyond a reasonable doubt."

The Indiana Attorney General said jurors indicated otherwise.

One juror told prosecutors the not guilty verdict was designed to "send a message to the legislators that the voting laws were too complicated," Steve Carter said.

Bernard Carter said the Grkinich verdict was a clear case of jury nullification -- a jury not wanting to convict a defendant despite evidence of guilt.

"We presented uncontroverted evidence. They had to convict him on some of the handling of the ballot charges. But they refused," Bernard Carter said. "They may have thought the law wasn't fair or was too harsh."

The Lake County Prosecutor said defense attorneys may feel the Grkinich verdict gives them a stronger position in plea negotiations, but Carter argued it doesn't.

"The electoral process is the basis of our freedom, and not to protect that system and that process hurts us all," he said.

Both Carters said the task force is still investigating, and more indictments are forthcoming.

Cantrell agrees that voting is important, but charging people with things like voting in a different precinct than the one in which they live isn't helping.

11302006 - News Article - North Township jobs change focus - HAMMOND: New positions take aim at education, job development - ROBERT CANTRELL

North Township jobs change focus
HAMMOND: New positions take aim at education, job development
NWI Times
Nov 30, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/local/north-township-jobs-change-focus/article_a02a5968-56c8-5f0f-9c6e-71ccc8b83362.html
HAMMOND | North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan has eliminated the jobs held by two East Chicago insiders who recently left their township positions, creating three new jobs at less cost.

Gone are the positions of East Chicago office manager, a post formerly held by political insider Robert Cantrell at a salary of $41,216, and communications director, a job formerly held by Myrna Maldonado at a salary of $35,000.

Replacing those positions are a full-time employment coordinator at a salary of $26,500, a full-time secretary-receptionist at $20,000 and a part-time clerk at $14,976 -- for a total of $61,476.

Cantrell and Maldonado each left township employ in October, Cantrell to retire and teach part-time at Purdue University Calumet.

Hired last year by the former trustee, Greg Cvitkovich, just prior to Cvitkovich pleading guilty to tax fraud charges, Maldonado has left the township to take a public relations position with the East Chicago Public Library. Maldonado previously served as spokeswoman for the city of East Chicago under Mayor Robert Pastrick.

The new employment coordinator will work under the supervision of job coordinator Dean Johnson to establish relationships with area employers with the goal of creating a database of job openings available to township clients.

It's Johnson's role to assess township clients before placing them in educational facilities to prepare clients for work opportunities, Mrvan said. Currently, 56 clients are in programs at Sawyer Business College, Ivy Tech, GED programs and apprenticeship programs.

The full-time secretary will take up roles formerly performed by Mrvan's administrative assistant, who has taken on additional duties, he said.

Mrvan said the part-time clerk's position will be filled by a Workfare client, who had been training with the township at no cost because of the township's participation in the Workfare program that seeks to place welfare recipients in jobs.

"We evaluated her as far as being an asset to the township," Mrvan said. "We're offering her this as a beginning step in hopes of her becoming full-time."

Mrvan said it should be part of the trustee's job to assist people in becoming self-sufficient and off the tax rolls.

"That's part of my job," he said.

11242016 - News Article - Indictment cleaned North Township system - ROBERT CANTRELL

Indictment cleaned North Township system
NWI Times
Nov 24, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/mark-kiesling/indictment-cleaned-north-township-system/article_958a3be8-d531-5b9a-b484-d43ca3bd0019.html
Nothing clears out the system quite like a habanero burrito or a federal indictment.

At least that seems like it was the case in North Township, where there may not have been any chili, but a federal tax-fraud indictment lopped off the leadership of former Trustee Greg Cvitkovich.

Cvitkovich was indicted in December 2004. In October 2005, he pleaded guilty, quit and was replaced by the current Trustee, Frank J. Mrvan. In April 2006, Cvitkovich was sentenced to five months in prison.

Not exactly the shining Camelot moment the township could've hoped for -- at least not until last week, when the Indiana Township Association named North Township its "township of the year."

So in less than a year, the township has gone from the wall of shame to the hall of fame.

When asked why North Township merited the honor, ITA President Debbie Driscoll said from her Fishers office that the honors committee was struck by the teamwork of the board, the trustee and the staff under "trying" circumstances.

"Do you mean the indictment?" I asked. Driscoll hesitated a moment.

"Well, yes," she finally said, apparently unaware from the safety of her suburban Indianapolis workplace that an indictment in Lake County is less embarassing than a case of bad breath.

Leaving aside for a moment the necessity of township government, particularly in places like North Township -- which is totally within incorporated cities and towns -- the committee's decision last Wednesday was not really a bad choice.

The indictment "really shakes you at the core of leadership. It shakes the board, and it shakes the staff," Driscoll said. "The trustee is the chief executive officer and the leader, and certainly Frank Mrvan is noteworthy. But I don't believe any one person could have done this by himself."

The "this" to which Driscoll referred was the turnaround in the aura in North Township. After Cvitkovich left, it took Mrvan a while, but he downsized the controversial office "liaison" Robert Cantrell, the former East Chicago Republican Party Chairman turned Democratic advisor extraordinaire.

Cantrell, who has made a lifetime career out of landing on his feet, is now teaching a political science course at Purdue University Calumet. And quite honestly, it would be difficult to think of a more qualified instructor on local politics.

"I'm very proud of North Township," Mrvan said, politely sidestepping the indictment of his fellow Democrat. "This shows what happens when a governmental entity works together with the community to improve a quality of life."

Of course, sometimes it takes a federal habanero burrito to get things going.

11102006 - News Article - Investigators seek Cantrell records - A.G., State Police want to know where Cantrell lived during 2003 EC primary - ROBERT CANTRELL

Investigators seek Cantrell records
A.G., State Police want to know where Cantrell lived during 2003 EC primary
NWI Times
Nov 10, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/local/investigators-seek-cantrell-records/article_83801b8a-7217-5c95-8dd8-8e9e02b367fa.html
The far-reaching investigation into vote fraud in the 2003 East Chicago mayoral primary has come to Robert Cantrell's doorstep.

As part of the continuing probe into that infamously flawed election, the Indiana Attorney General's Office last month requested all information from the North Township Trustee's office regarding where Cantrell lived in 2002, 2003 and 2004, according to a letter obtained by The Times.

The Oct. 11, 2006, letter, which is addressed to North Township attorney Kevin Smith and sent by the state attorney general, seeks all documentation showing where Cantrell lived, including emergency contact information, W2 and 1099 tax forms, employment applications and all correspondence mailed to Cantrell's home.

Neither Smith nor Township Trustee Frank Mrvan returned calls for comment regarding the letter Thursday. Attorney General spokeswoman Staci Schneider declined to comment.

The letter -- which is not a formal subpoena -- states that detectives are seeking the information on Cantrell "in connection with our investigation" into vote fraud in the 2003 city mayoral primary.

Indiana State Police investigator Al Williamson declined to comment on the request for information pertaining to Cantrell.

"This is a very sensitive investigation, and this information should not have gotten out," Williamson said of the letter. "We'll have to do an investigation as to how that got out."

Cantrell was manager of the township's East Chicago poor-relief office until this fall, when he left there and began teaching an introductory American history class at Purdue University Calumet.

Although Cantrell had been the on-again, off-again chairman of the East Chicago Republican Party, he was living and voting in Schererville during those years, Lake County voting records show.

Cantrell's listed address in county voting records is 5011 Gull Drive in Schererville, where he voted in the Republican primary in 2003. Cantrell is co-owner of the house at 4306 Ivy St. in East Chicago but is not registered to vote there.

Cantrell said Thursday he was aware of the probe but declined to comment on the investigation or say whether he voted in the East Chicago election. His attorney, son John Cantrell, could not be reached for comment.

"I was aware of that. That's no problem," Robert Cantrell said Thursday after being told of the request.

The 2003 East Chicago mayoral primary was overturned by the Indiana Supreme Court after lower courts concluded that a sweeping pattern of fraud pervaded the balloting. In the 2004 do-over special election, eight-term incumbent mayor Robert Pastrick was defeated by Democratic challenger George Pabey, who went on to win the general election and become mayor.

But a joint public-corruption task force of officials from the Attorney General's Office, the Indiana State Police and the Lake County Prosecutor's Office is investigating vote-fraud allegations that came to light in the litigation that overturned the 2003 election.

So far, 53 people have been charged with various violations of absentee balloting in the 2003 East Chicago primary, many on accusations they voted where they didn't live or signed or fraudulently delivered other people's absentee ballots.

Nine people have pleaded guilty.

10292006 - News Article - Trustee race raises questions - ELECTIONS: North Township incumbent disputes opponent's claims - ROBERT CANTRELL

Trustee race raises questions
ELECTIONS: North Township incumbent disputes opponent's claims
NWI Times
Oct 29, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/local/trustee-race-raises-questions/article_8cb2b684-2c32-5be4-9d2e-d2b8d064fdb8.html
NORTH TWP. | The race pitting incumbent Democratic North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan against Republican opponent Sandra Pitzer heated up last week as Pitzer widely disseminated a flier contending Mrvan's tenures as township board member and trustee have drawn the attention of state and federal authorities.

Mrvan fired back Friday, charging Pitzer with misrepresenting the interest on the part of the State Board of Accounts and federal investigators.

Pitzer is making her first run for office since returning from Illinois to her Northwest Indiana roots. Pitzer said she's more than qualified for the trustee's post having served four terms beginning in 1989 as one of five trustees for Lyons Township, based in Countryside, Ill.

Mrvan served on the three-member North Township board before assuming the trustee's office upon last year's resignation of longtime Trustee Greg Cvitkovich.

Interviewed last week, Pitzer spoke softly, saying she had many concerns about the township's fiscal management but would leave the specifics to the flier distributed through the media.

Still, Pitzer did say her top concern was "absolutely the spending."

Pitzer's flier urges voters to vote for the "lower taxes team," identified as herself and a roster of Lake County Republicans, including banker Chris Morrow, who is opposing Mrvan's father, state Sen. Frank Mrvan.

The flier indicates the township was cited for such things as overpaying a contract, not submitting receipts and other supporting documentation for some activities and incomplete annual reports.

In addition, the flier quotes from a story published in The Times in which it is reported federal investigators retrieved internal documents from the township office.

Mrvan, however, said it's the job of state auditors to point out what is not being done correctly according to accounting procedures.

"We fixed it," Mrvan said of any irregularities. "No one's going to question my oversight (as a board member). I've been more vocal than anyone had ever been."

As to any interest on the part of federal authorities since he's been trustee, Mrvan said what the flier failed to say was the investigation was mentioned in connection with political veteran Robert Cantrell, the longtime manager of the township's East Chicago office.

"Bob Cantrell as of today is a retired employee of the trustee's office," Mrvan said.

Cantrell had been expected to leave the office for some time, confirming recently he is retiring.

Mrvan said his No. 1 priority has been the budget, which has been held to $6.8 million for the last three years despite increased expenses, such as utilities. He has held the line partially through eliminating wasteful contracts inherited from the previous administration, he said.

Pitzer, meanwhile, said her experience as a Lyons Township trustee, with its 16 communities compared to North Township's five, gave her oversight of a $300 million budget.

Lyons Township documents, however, show major differences in the operational structure of the two townships, and the size of Lyons Township's budget could not be substantiated Friday.

While the North Township trustee, as the township's chief executive, oversees the fiscal and other day-to-day operations of the township, trustees in Lyons Township are the legislative arm, comparable to North Township's three-member advisory board.

Lyons Township trustees have the authority by law to set policy and procedures for the township's chief executive, known as the township supervisor. Trustees meet monthly to approve bills but play no role in administering general or emergency assistance. That role belongs to the supervisor, who is chairman of the board of trustees and treasurer of all township funds.

10252006 - News Article - Cantrell leaving township job - Political insider says it's time for him to retire, takes teaching job at PUC - ROBERT CANTRELL

Cantrell leaving township job 
Political insider says it's time for him to retire, takes teaching job at PUC
Post-Tribune
October 25, 2006
Still under the cloud of a federal investigation, political power broker Robert Cantrell is leaving his job in North Township for a teaching assignment at Purdue University Calumet.

Cantrell's last day is Friday. He said he is officially retiring after five years, just ahead of his 65th birthday Nov. 19.

The political fixer has been a lightning rod of controversy since former North Township Trustee Greg Cvitkovich brought him into the township office five years ago. Cantrell held a number of job titles but had been running the East Chicago poor-relief office in recent years.

"I decided that it was time. I've done my thing. I've had a good stay here. It's time to retire," Cantrell said.

Cantrell stayed on after Mrvan replaced Cvitkovich, who resigned after pleading guilty to federal corruption charges in 2005.

Mrvan did not demand Cantrell's resignation, Cantrell said. Mrvan could not be reached for comment late Tuesday afternoon.

"I could have stayed if I wanted to, but I've had my day," Cantrell said.

Without giving details, Cantrell said the two had an agreement he would eventually leave after Mrvan won the 2006 primary.

Over the last four years, federal investigators have carted away boxes of records from North Township. Word has leaked out of two grand juries looking at Cantrell, though no charges have ever been filed. Sources inside the North Township office said state and federal investigators have recently carted away more records pertaining to Cantrell, including time records.

Though he has never been charged, Cantrell has been linked to accusations of ghost payrolling for possibly campaign on township time, and has been linked with Addiction Family Counseling, which has won several lucrative contracts with public agencies including North Township.

Beginning this semester, Cantrell is teaching two classes in American history up to 1877, at Purdue Calumet.

Cantrell has a Ph.D in school administration, but his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan is in history.

Cantrell was also one of the architects of McDermott's successful bid for mayor in 2004 but Cantrell said the mayor played no role in him getting the teaching assignment.

10032006 - News Article - Housing board slip up repaired - Two appointees did not live within city limits, Clay reappoints GHA members

Housing board slip up repaired 
Two appointees did not live within city limits, Clay reappoints GHA members

Post-Tribune (IN)
October 3, 2006

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=114F86FEF8A9EF88&p_docnum=42&p_queryname=1

Gary Mayor Rudy Clay removed two people from the Gary Housing Authority board Friday after discovering they don't live in Gary. 

Under Indiana law, all GHA board members must live within the jurisdiction of the housing authority, said GHA Attorney Jim Meyer. 

Clay said he assumed that Jacquelyn Drago - Hunter and the Rev. Raymond McDonald lived within the borders, but discovered late last week that he broke the law by hiring them. 

"I assumed they lived in Gary," Clay said. "It was an assumption on my part." 

When he discovered his mistake, Clay said he immediately replaced the non-Gary members with Gary residents. 

He said the new appointees are the Rev. Pharis Evans of the Clark Road Baptist Church in Gary and Gary Thompson. 

Clay appointed five new board members Thursday after essentially firing five former members, whom he said mismanaged the agency's money. 

"I assumed they lived in Gary. It was an assumpt-ion on my part." 

09302006 - News Article - 2 taken off GHA board - Mayor Clay assumed that two of his five new appointees lived in Gary

2 taken off GHA board 
Mayor Clay assumed that two of his five new appointees lived in Gary

Post-Tribune (IN)
September 30, 2006

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=114F34DD3AE92570&p_docnum=45&p_queryname=1

Mayor Rudy Clay is removing two people he appointed this week to the Gary Housing Authority Board of Commissioners after learning they don't live in Gary's city limits. 

Clay said he assumed Jacquelyn Drago - Hunter and the Rev. Raymond McDonald lived in Gary when he made the appointments. 

"Assumption is the mother of all mess-ups," Clay said. 

Drago - Hunter , Clay said, lived in Gary for 45 years. However, he said, she recently moved out of the city. 

As for McDonald, Clay said, he lives just outside Gary. 

"I'm going to have to change those two appointments," Clay said. 

Although the law would allow them to stay, Clay said, he wants the board to be made up of Gary residents. 

The mayor said he has spoken to Drago - Hunter and McDonald, and he said they were understanding about his decision. 

"The fault's all mine," Clay said. 

Drago - Hunter and McDonald were appointed this week along with Victor Thornton, Clark Metz and Margo Richmond. 

They are replacing a board that was essentially fired two weeks ago by a special hearing officer after Clay leveled charges against its members. 

Thornton, Metz and Richmond remain, but four board members will be needed at a 6 p.m. meeting Monday to continue the stalled business of the housing authority. 

Clay said he would work through the weekend to find another person to appoint, so a quorum can be reached Monday. 

"I want to have at least four people in place by then," Clay said. 

08252006 - News Article - No charges in Cantrell case - CANTRELL CASE: Prosecutor finds insufficient evidence for obstruction charges - ROBERT CANTRELL

No charges in Cantrell case
CANTRELL CASE: Prosecutor finds insufficient evidence for obstruction charges
NWI Times
Aug 25, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/local/no-charges-in-cantrell-case/article_0413fbfd-459a-5775-8317-ae3bf911abed.html
Special Prosecuting Attorney Jud Barce will not file charges against East Chicago political operative Robert Cantrell and his son, Hammond attorney John Cantrell, in connection with last November's arrest of another family member.

The three-page report, filed Thursday in Lake Superior Court, says Barce found there to be insufficient evidence to proceed with felony obstruction charges against the Cantrells.

"We never did anything," Robert Cantrell said Thursday. "My son's an attorney and was just concerned with helping his sister."

Cantrell said the investigation was handled thoroughly and he had no problem with the naming of a special prosecutor.

"Let an unbiased party investigate," he said. "Chief Miller just overreacted."

With Jennifer Cantrell charged in City Court with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, Police Chief Brian Miller had asked state police to investigate the actions by Robert and John Cantrell at the time of her arrest.

The men were alleged to have interfered with the drunken driving arrest of Jennifer Cantrell, Robert's daughter and John's sister.

According to the special prosecutor's report, the investigation shows Hammond police Cpl. Dan Kender responded to a traffic accident at 1:10 a.m. on Nov. 15, 2005. He encountered Jennifer Cantrell, one of the two drivers involved in the accident. and suspected Cantrell had been drinking.

Robert Cantrell arrived at the scene and observed the sobriety tests, according to the investigation. Arriving after his father, John Cantrell also observed the tests, objecting periodically and requesting a second portable breath test with a new mouthpiece. John Cantrell, however, then told police his sister would not submit to the second portable breath test.

Based on the failed sobriety tests, Jennifer Cantrell was taken to the Hammond Police Department for a certified breath test at 2:30 a.m. At the station, Robert Cantrell was not permitted to see his daughter, but asked the booking officer if she could see her attorney.

Barce's report says the booking officer was unsure whether that was permitted and decided to allow it, permitting John and Jennifer Cantrell to talk for about one hour and 15 minutes, resulting in the test not being administered until three hours and two minutes after Kender's arrival at the scene of the accident.

"It is not clear how much time these family interruptions caused during the three-hour presumption period, and how much delay was caused by other circumstances," Barce wrote.

Barce also noted three of the five videocassette recorders that were to be recording the events failed due to operator error so there is no record of the conversations between the Cantrells or the officers. In addition, there is no clear time record of the interactions at the station.

"As a result, I am unable to determine whether either Robert J. Cantrell or John Robert Cantrell removed a 'thing' such as blood alcohol evidence with the intent to prevent it from being produced or used in an official proceeding, as required by (state law)," Barce wrote.

Neither did Barce find evidence to suggest either man committed any "forceful" act which interfered with the officers or that either man "knowingly or intentionally" resisted law enforcement as required by the code.

Indiana State Police Detective Rick Bonesteel, who investigated the actions of both the Cantrells and the Hammond police officers, said Thursday the police actions contributed to the delay by affording John Cantrell the opportunity to talk to his client at length, but he found they had erred on the side of caution, not out of any conspiracy.

07302006 - News Article - Political fixer Cantrell to keep his job for now - North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan plans to reorganize his office - ROBERT CANTRELL

Political fixer Cantrell to keep his job for now 
North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan plans to reorganize his office
Post-Tribune (IN)
July 30, 2006
Robert Cantrell will keep his job with North Township, at least for now, according to North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan.

Mrvan won the Democratic primary in May after being appointed North Township trustee in November, when Greg Cvitkovich resigned as part of a plea agreement to federal corruption charges.

"He's still there for the simple fact, that the record will show, I haven't fired anyone," Mrvan said of Cantrell.

Cantrell is lumped into a blanket policy Mrvan said he has instituted to review all North Township employees before reorganizing the office. Instead, Mrvan has implemented a new time-card system, which requires employees to log in with an electronic thumb print.

Speculation continues to swirl around Cantrell. Federal agents continue to interview North Township employees about the legendary political fixer, who manages the East Chicago Poor Relief Office. He has held a number of positions since being hired by Cvitkovich in 2001.

In the past, the Post-Tribune found evidence of Cantrell politicking while he was scheduled to work for North Township. He also has been tied to the contracts won by Addiction Family Counseling, run by Nancy Fromm. Fromm is under indictment for obstruction of justice for impeding a grand jury investigation. Her trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 5.

Fromm had 12 to 18 similar contracts with various government entities around Lake County, including Cantrell's daughter, Superior Court Judge Julie Cantrell.

Fromm's indictment was widely seen by court observers as a way to put pressure on her to testify against the people who may have helped her secure a number of government contracts in Lake County, most notably Cantrell.

That pressure may have subsided, at least in the short term.

Friday, Fromm's attorney, J. Michael Katz, filed a motion to continue her trial, based on the volume of documents, including more than 10,000 hand-written cards Fromm used for her accounting. The motion had the support of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District, according to court documents.

Katz said he could not comment on whether his client has cooperated in another federal investigation but he believed Fromm's case will go to trial.

Shortly after taking office in November, Mrvan said he canceled Fromm's $37,000 contract to provide stress and addiction counseling to North Township employees.

Cantrell has been quoted as supporting Mrvan's campaign though the trustee said Cantrell played no major role in his campaign.

Within the next two months, the trustee said, he will begin a reorganization of his office, including putting his own people in key positions.

"I'm going to do it at my own pace. We are going to do the right thing and not expose us to any risk," Mrvan said.

Until then, he said, he plans to proceed cautiously with replacing anyone in his office. Cantrell has worked full eight hour days since Cvitkovich left office, Mrvan said.

"I'm not put on this earth to answer for Mr. Cantrell's past behavior," Mrvan said.

06102006 - News Article - Former judge admits extortion - ROBERT CANTRELL

Former judge admits extortion
Post-Tribune (IN)
June 10, 2006
Deborah Riga, the former Schererville Town Court judge, admitted Friday that she systematically defrauded the town during her time on the bench.

Riga pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to four of the eight counts in the federal indictment against her. She also agreed to cooperate with U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen's continuing public-corruption investigation.

A federal grand jury indicted Riga in August 2004. Her trial was scheduled to start Tuesday.

The U.S. attorney's office will ask the court to dismiss four other counts against Riga when she is sentenced Sept. 8 by Judge Philip Simon. Riga, who lives now in Sarasota, Fla., will remain free on bond until the sentencing.

Riga was judge of Schererville's town court -- which hears traffic offenses, minor drug and alcohol cases and small-claims cases -- from January 2000 to December 2003.

She admitted, in Friday's plea agreement, that she "devised a scheme to defraud the public and the Town of Schererville of their right to my honest services" when she was judge.

She said she took control of the court's Crossroads counseling program and driving school and set up a bank account in which she secretly had an interest.

Through that, she received about $12,000 in payments from the court's defendants. She also stopped paying rent to the town for her courtroom and made the town pay court employees who should have been paid out of the Crossroads program, Riga said.

Each mail-fraud charge carries a maximum term of 20 years, but the U.S. attorney agreed to a sentence "at the low end" of the sentence range.

Riga also is to make restitution to the town, but the agreement doesn't specify the amount. One count to be dismissed is a charge that Riga made Nancy Fromm -- whose Addiction and Family Care firm provided court-ordered counseling -- pay $2,000 to Riga's father to continue doing business.

Riga was in court Friday with her attorney, Alison Benjamin.

Assistant U.S. attorneys Orest Szewciw and Wayne Ault prosecuted the case.

The current Schererville Town Court judge, Kenneth Anderson, defeated Riga in a closely contested Democratic primary election in May 2003.

Riga originally was declared the winner by 11 votes, but that result was overturned when Anderson showed that 22 absentee votes were fraudulent.

06102006 - News Article - Riga pleads guilty - SCHERERVILLE: Former town judge will probably face jail time - ROBERT CANTRELL

Riga pleads guilty
SCHERERVILLE: Former town judge will probably face jail time
NWI Times
Jun 10, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/local/riga-pleads-guilty/article_b7577cfb-aee2-5fd3-afb2-d2f59833e413.html
Deborah Riga, who once presided over hundreds of small-time offenders as the judge of Schererville Town Court, is probably heading for jail herself.

On the eve of her public corruption trial next week, Riga pleaded guilty Friday afternoon to four counts of felony mail fraud.

Federal prosecutors agreed to drop four other charges against her two years ago, including one count of extortion, in exchange for her guilty plea and cooperation in future investigations.

"I'm saddened that it came to that, and that there was a problem in Schererville," said sitting Town Judge Kenneth Anderson, whose contested election victory over Riga in 2003 spurred the federal probe.

Federal and state investigators accused Riga of concealing profits she earned by sending criminal offenders in her court to two counseling services that she controlled. She pleaded guilty to sending notices through the mail to offenders in her programs.

Riga, 49, faces a maximum penalty of 80 years in prison and $1 million in fines, although her actual sentence will be decided through sentencing guidelines during a hearing in September.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Orest Szewciw said her sentence will be adjusted downward based on how much she cooperates with investigators in future probes.

"It's just one part of what this office is about, in terms of fulfilling its obligation to root out political corruption," Szewciw said, adding that four agents from the FBI and state police worked "tirelessly" to assemble the case.

Riga's father, Anthony -- who was named as having taken part in the scheme but not charged with any crime -- declined to comment.

Riga's attorneys did not return calls Friday, and Riga herself could not be located for comment.

In 2000, Riga became the second person ever elected to Schererville's court, which was created in 1995 to handle low-level offenses like traffic violations and small drug charges.

Within two years of taking office, she had replaced the former businesses that provided driving education and youth addiction counseling services with businesses that she controlled.

Riga collected the profits from both businesses, had town employees work to staff the businesses, and stopped paying rent that the former services had paid, the indictment against her said.

The scheme eventually netted her more than $30,000 in profits, some of which was used for her re-election campaign in 2003 against Anderson, the indictment said.

When federal agents froze the account that contained the profits, only about $12,000 remained -- money that will be forfeited to the U.S. government, Szewciw said.

Riga will also be forced to pay restitution to Schererville for the lost rent her businesses did not pay to the town, which ranged from $150 to $250 per counseling session or class.

The scheme came to light during the 2003 Democratic primary, which Riga "won" by 11 votes until a Lake Superior judge threw out 23 fraudulent absentee ballots and gave Anderson the victory.

Anderson said a team of Democrats in the town, including Democratic Chairman and City Councilman Mike Troxell, worked hard to unseat Riga after her first term.

"I don't think any of us knew the level of the activity that was going on, but we knew the court was being administered poorly," Anderson said. "The people of Schererville should be happy to see that their elected officials saw that there was a problem in their own party, and worked to remove it."

05282006 - News Article - Special county prosecutor assigned to Cantrell case - COURTS: Father, son accused of interfering in OWI arrest of family member - ROBERT CANTRELL

Special county prosecutor assigned to Cantrell case
COURTS: Father, son accused of interfering in OWI arrest of family member
NWI Times
May 28, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/local/special-county-prosecutor-assigned-to-cantrell-case/article_968fbf39-bbb0-5445-940d-716d149e4397.html
Based on a recommendation from Indiana State Police, Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter has requested a criminal investigation into whether John and Robert Cantrell obstructed justice last year.

Hammond police administrators said the politically connected father and son may have tried to improperly intervene after Robert's daughter Jennifer Cantrell, 28, was arrested on drunken driving charges.

State police Detective Rick Bonesteel confirmed Friday that he investigated the concerns of the Hammond police and concluded there was evidence the men tried to obstruct justice or interfere with Jennifer Cantrell's arrest Nov. 15.

Diane Poulton, spokeswoman for the Lake County prosecutor, said the entire case file was transferred to a special prosecutor -- Benton County Prosecutor Jud Barce.

Although the Cantrell family has numerous political affiliations in Lake County government, Poulton could not comment on precisely why the case was transferred. Barce's role is to eventually decide whether to charge anyone with misdemeanor interference or felony obstruction.

The two suspects listed in the case file are John Cantrell and Robert Cantrell, he said.

Neither Cantrell returned calls for comment Friday, and neither has commented publicly on the incident.

Since the 1960s, Robert Cantrell has been involved in the inner workings of county and municipal governments. He has worked as a political operative and campaign adviser to scores of candidates, including his daughter, Lake Superior Court Judge Julie Cantrell.

His son, John Cantrell, is a defense attorney and former law partner of Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., who said he has not played a role in any part of the case.

In the early morning Nov. 15, Jennifer Cantrell was involved in a fender-bender near 169th Street and Kennedy Avenue. No one was injured, but the city police officer's field test determined Jennifer Cantrell had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.12. In Indiana, a person is considered intoxicated with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08.

Hammond police Cpl. Dan Kender later told investigators that he felt intimidated when John and Robert Cantrell came to the scene of the accident, but he arrested Jennifer Cantrell anyway and took her to the city jail for booking, Hammond Sgt. Michael Jorden has said.

At the station, John Cantrell made the unusual request of asking booking officer Cpl. John Peck for time to consult with Jennifer Cantrell, his client and sister, before she was formally tested for her alcohol concentration.

By the time she was tested, almost three hours had elapsed from the time that the crash took place. Indiana law says a person suspected of drunken driving must be tested on a certified analysis machine within three hours of when an officer had suspicion of probable cause.

Jennifer Cantrell was charged in city court with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and Police Chief Brian Miller asked state police to investigate whether John or Robert Cantrell's actions constituted malfeasance.

"We just wanted to do the right thing," Miller said. "If something was there, something was there."

05182006 - News Article - Cvitkovich reports to prison in Ohio - Former township trustee to serve five-month sentence on tax-evasion conviction

Cvitkovich reports to prison in Ohio 
Former township trustee to serve five-month sentence on tax-evasion conviction

Post-Tribune (IN)
May 18, 2006

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=11220DFE98D2B4B0&p_docnum=35&p_queryname=1

Greg Cvitkovich reported to prison in Ohio on Wednesday to begin a five-month sentence on tax-evasion charges. 

The former North Township trustee reported to the federal correctional institute in Elkton, Ohio, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. 

While many of the major figures sentenced in the recent federal corruption probes have been sent to Oxford, Wis., including Kevin Pastrick , son of the former East Chicago mayor, the 49-year-old Cvitkovich will spend his time in northern Ohio. 

The prison is 30 miles south of Youngstown and 45 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. 

According to the prison Web site, Elkton is a low-security prison, with a small minimum-security camp for male offenders. 

Cvitkovich was sentenced April 12 to five months in prison, after pleading guilty to one count of income-tax evasion. 

He had already stepped down as North Township trustee as part of a plea agreement. 

Cvitkovich must also pay $22,160 restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and a $2,000 fine, in addition to his prison time, followed by five months of home detention and a year of supervised release. 

05112006 - News Article - Judges should monitor traffic offense schools - ROBERT CANTRELL

Judges should monitor traffic offense schools
Post-Tribune (IN)
May 11, 2006
We learned a couple weeks ago that the state Commission on Judicial Qualifications was looking into the driving school operated by Lake Superior Court, County Division, Judge Julie Cantrell.

That investigation may have been prompted by fellow County Division Judge Jesse Villalpando, who was targeted for defeat in last week's primary by the judge's father, Robert Cantrell.

Villalpando contends Cantrell has been overcharging those taking part in the driving school. Those who pay the fee and go to the school avoid having traffic tickets appear on their driving records.

The driving school issue raises a number of questions.

We know that some or all of the money Cantrell raises goes back into her budget to offset the cost of operating the court. However, there isn't any oversight as there is with other operations of local and county government. If the driving school is to continue, there should be a more structured operation.

There also is the question of fairness. It would appear that the driving school is nothing more than a way for the judge to raise money. If a person was ticketed for speeding, going to driving school isn't going to stop him or her from doing it again. We all know what a speed-limit sign means. The same with a stop sign. And we know we must use turn signals.

There also is a question of fairness. Is it right for those who pay for Cantrell's school to avoid having points against their licenses, when someone convicted of the same thing in a court without a school can be in jeopardy of losing his or her license?

While judges, unfortunately, are free to do pretty much whatever they please, there ought to be uniformity. We encourage John Pera, chief judge of the Lake Superior Court system, to bring the judges together and make those decisions.

05052006 - News Article - Article showed how Cantrell batters region - ROBERT CANTRELL

Article showed how Cantrell batters region
NWI Times
Tim SchillingHammond
May 5, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article-showed-how-cantrell-batters-region/article_85303b12-8ea1-54ad-b084-df4acb336d5f.html
The April 30 article on Robert Cantrell was explicit on what is wrong with both him and the system of electoral politics he represents. Suppressing the vote and encouraging voter apathy through rigged elections and self-serving government is the evil behind the throne.

Cantrell revels in all of this. Would you believe a sinner who said an empty church was a good one? Why believe a supposed advocate of democracy who says an empty voting booth is a good one?

From the outsider he brought in to run Hammond for the benefit of the construction and gambling industry, to the disappearance of mention of his children's legal problems, Cantrell has demonstrated his contempt for the ordinary citizens of the lakefront communities.

He claims the corruption is all behind us now as more of his handpicked candidates move to control our community's destinies. These people all talk about their financial knowledge, yet they take lakefront resources to create immediate, high-paying jobs for the south Lake County workers and tell us to wait 10 to 15 years for our return on investment.

In ordinary politics and business, this is totally unacceptable, but here it's a reality.

04302006 - News Article - The face of Lake County politics - Candidates scamper for Bob Cantrell's support, even as they denounce his old-style politics - ROBERT CANTRELL

The face of Lake County politics
Candidates scamper for Bob Cantrell's support, even as they denounce his old-style politics
NWI Times
Apr 30, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/local/the-face-of-lake-county-politics/article_729cf219-431f-50a4-b49c-90fb58778458.html
In the shadow world of Lake County politics, people do funny things around Bob Cantrell.

Some fresh young Democrats say they want a new era of cleaner, leaner government, but behind closed doors they welcome Cantrell's support and whatever connections and tactics may come with it.

Meanwhile, otherwise-rational Republican lash out in attacks at each other over alleged secret alliances with Cantrell, who has haunted the GOP like a ghost since officially leaving the party three years ago.

That's the paradox of Bob Cantrell: So many officials fight the label of "Cantrell's candidate," even though he's routinely called one of the most influential unelected men in Lake County politics.

And Cantrell said that as long as voters continue to turn out to the polls in low numbers, as he predicts they will Tuesday, they give up their right to take part in their governments.

"If they voted, and came out, they could pick who they wanted. But they don't do that," Cantrell said. "You'll see it Tuesday more than anything else. People by nature don't care. The apathy runs high. They don't give a darn about who's in there."

His critics contend that the fewer people who cast votes, the more power and influence accrues to backroom figures like Cantrell, which is bad for good government.

"He treats it as a sport, and the full object seems to be to win. Public service is an afterthought, and ethical behavior is not a consideration," said George Van Til, a Democrat and the county surveyor.

"Is he brilliant and effective? Yes. But part of his effectiveness comes from ... his view that the end justifies the means."

Cantrell said such sentiments sound like sour grapes from candidates who he has opposed during his 40 years in politics.

His ability to befriend county party chairmen and pick promising candidates and, as he said it, "maneuver to win," has made him influential in scores of political races. But he has never served in elected office.

"Bobby is a very interesting person," said Peter Thayer, another Republican operative and a decades-long enemy of Cantrell. "He is a political operative of the first order. He is a master."

Plagued by his success
Cantrell said he's a victim of his own success. Resentment from his conquered competitors follows him like it follows the New York Yankees.

"They resent that I can take a Philpot, I can take a Petalas, I can take a Ralphie Flores, a Mrvan, and maneuver to win," Cantrell said. "The most unique win was McDermott," he said.

For those keeping scorecards, those candidates, in order, are: County Clerk Tom Philpot, County Treasurer John Petalas, North Township Advisory Board member Ralph Flores Jr., North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan and Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., all of whom Cantrell said he supported, and all of whom won their office.

Whether they mind being associated with Cantrell varies. Philpot did not return a half-dozen calls for comment; Petalas and Flores both said Cantrell had small involvement in their races as one of many supporters; and Mrvan, who is Cantrell's boss at the township, said Cantrell's support was just one of many factors that won him his seat.

McDermott, who is also deputy chairman of the state Democratic Party in northern Indiana, said he's comfortable with his relationship to Cantrell, who does not oppose him or actively work on his behalf.

"Nobody likes to be associated with him right now because there's a lot of speculation, and maybe he's under investigation," McDermott said. "Among elected officials, people want Bobby on their side. But it's a double-edged sword ... because the media views Bobby in a negative light."

Regardless, Cantrell is entering his fifth decade of politics now without any sign of slowing.

While he acknowledges that the Democrats have had rocky years with their frequent interactions with prosecutors, he maintains that the purging process is complete. And the new guard doesn't play the old games, he said.

"The Democrats here have cleansed their problems," Cantrell said. "They got all young guys, sharp guys, tough guys, good guys. ... They don't have these problems anymore. It's all gone now."

Fortunes rising or waning?
For nearly all his adult life, Cantrell was cast as a double-agent for the Democratic Party working to weaken local Republican organizations from the inside, according to press accounts from decades ago to the recent past.

Now that he's officially registered as a declared Democrat, leaders of that party deny working with him.

It makes for an odd public reception of someone who is perceived as a ringleader or even kingmaker in the Lake County political universe after decades in power.

Cantrell said he was among "a team of us" who put together the "package" of many uncontested races that voters will see Tuesday.

The comment came during a wide-ranging interview with The Times, a transcript of which is posted on The Times' Web site, www.nwitimes.com.

Observers said Tuesday's primary will be an interesting test of Cantrell's new role as an independent operator.

In every election since then 1960s, Cantrell has had alliances through political heavyweights like former Democratic Chairman and Sheriff Stephen "Bob" Stiglich and longtime East Chicago Mayor Robert Pastrick.

Stiglich died last summer; Pastrick is no longer visible in local politics; and scores of other party figures are indicted, jailed or living abroad to avoid prison time.

Whether Cantrell has become more or less powerful these days is a matter of debate; the 20 people interviewed by The Times for this article differed. Some said Cantrell is now unfettered and is more influential, while others said he has far fewer allies to rely on and has become weaker.

Whichever is true, Cantrell-watchers agreed with near unanimity that whether you love Cantrell or hate him, you can't afford not to know what he's up to. And it's a sentiment apparently shared by government prosecutors, who even Cantrell admits have been investigating him with considerable vigor.

Federal investigators don't say what they're looking for. But late last month, the North Township trustee's office -- Cantrell's employer -- cooperated with a request to turn over various internal records to federal investigators, Trustee Frank Mrvan confirmed.

Cantrell has been advised by his attorney not to comment on any investigation into his activities, except to say that he has not received any target letters.

Cantrell has also been an inside player in political organizations that have been accused of vote fraud over the years, but he said the constant investigations have shattered the machines and made stealing votes too risky for any unscrupulous individuals who might try it.

"There's no conspiracy. In the old days, when you had the machines, it was organized and it was tough. But now, there's no machines left," he said. "You don't do it. But you don't sell newspapers if there's no fraud."

D or R? Does it matter?
Cantrell now admits that his nearly lifelong Republican affiliation on the voter rolls was an accident of fate.

When he returned from college in 1964 to become a teacher and school administrator, he was persuaded by a couple of friends to join the political game as a Republican.

He was still widely known in the community for his abilities playing basketball, which helped take his East Chicago high school team to a state title and his University of Michigan team into a Big Ten championship. But his name failed to carry him onto the County Commission.

He quickly became chairman of the East Chicago Republicans, a title he would hold four separate times between 1966 and 2003. Being a Republican in East Chicago also meant he had to work heavily with Democrats, which he admits freely today.

"See, what people don't understand is, when it's Democrat versus Democrat, it's a different fight than when it's Democrat versus Republican," Cantrell said. "I believe all the Republican chairmen and myself as city chairman fought the Democrats in November. It's just in May, there's a lot of interworking between county chairmen, Republican and Democrat."

That attitude never sat well with Republicans who ran the state party in Indianapolis. The state party chiefs also disliked the fact that Cantrell's daughter, Julie, had been elected to a county judgeship as a Democrat. Finally in 2003, Cantrell was asked to leave the party, and he did.

Now that he's officially a Democrat, the people who are supposedly close to him today treat him like he's radioactive. His successful candidates downplay his role in their campaigns, and leaders in the county and city Democratic parties denounce contact with him.

"A lot of people think many of the things he does represents the Democratic Party. (But) he's just a Democrat," Lake County Democratic Party Chairman Rudy Clay said. "I haven't heard from him, haven't seen him. I don't know what he's doing."

Meanwhile, each of the two warring factions within the county Republican Party say Cantrell is working with their opponents.

Depending on who is talking, Cantrell is either trying to re-elect current Chairman John Curley, or he is trying to undermine him and install challenger Rick Niemeyer.

"I'm going to support someone, but I haven't made up my mind," Cantrell said. "There are still some things out there that have to be straightened out."

Effective, but destructive?
There's no question his tactics have been effective in the past, observers said. When asked to describe specifics, detractors and supporters alike tend to clam up.

Observers suggestion Cantrell might put disingenuous "splitter" candidates on ballots; he might exert influence within a precinct organization or on the county election board to get his way; he might use political favors as currency to control jobs or achieve other goals.

He has testified in court and confirmed to reporters that he used his position in township government to recruit absentee voters and poll workers for the East Chicago mayoral primary of 2003.

His critics said that his win-at-all-costs approach to elections are disgusting to voters, who, incidentally, have never elected Cantrell to any office.

"The voter apathy has made it easier for him to thrive. The more people don't want to care and pay attention, the easier it is for a handful of personalities to exert their will," said Ron Tabaczynski, the former county councilman who lost an internal Democratic Party contest for county treasurer to Cantrell-backed candidate John Petalas.

His supporters said he only wants to win races, and is not afraid to use the tactics that have been handed down through the years of Lake County politics.

Alvin Cheeks, a Hammond man with family roots in the East Chicago political environment that produced Cantrell, admitted that Cantrell uses tactics that leave "dirty hands," as everyone does who wants to win races.

"Have you ever worked for a company and taken an ink pen home? Does that make you corrupt?" Cheeks said. "Bobby just wants to win. That don't make him corrupt."