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.