Fromm testimony continues in Cantrell trial
NWI Times
May 30, 2008
nwitimes.com/news/local/fromm-testimony-continues-in-cantrell-trial/article_2635294f-8adc-5e14-9256-f33bef2420e7.html
HAMMOND | Nancy Fromm never negotiated the deals she had with North Township.
In court Friday, Fromm said her friend and consultant "Bobby Cantell" handled all contract dealings, partly because Fromm had a political feud with township Trustee Gregory Cvitkovich.
"The truth of the matter is, I never really looked at these (contracts)," Fromm said, paging through contracts with her signature. "I signed them and did what Mr. Cantrell told us to do."
Vivisecting a dirty deal in Lake County is not as interesting as it might sound. The trial features a blizzard of paperwork and moments of mind-numbing tedium that could challenge even the most caffeinated juror.
Like most white-collar cases, the crimes are alleged to have happened in secret - non-payment of taxes, fraudulent forms sent through the mail - which makes money trails and contracts key evidence.
Defense attorney Kevin Milner said in opening statements that one of Cantrell's key defenses will be trying to show that no dirty money ended up in his client's bank accounts.
Under questioning from prosecutor Orest Szewciw, Fromm talked about how many of the contracts between her business, Addiction and Family Care, and public agencies were politically greased.
For a deal with the East Chicago City Court, she had to make regular payments to court employee Robert Antich. For her North Township deal, she paid Cantrell, via regular checks to his son.
"He asked I pay his son John, because his son was in law school and could use the money, and Bobby said his (own) tax bill was too big," Fromm said.
Often political alliances got in the way of business. For example, she had to part ways with one partner because then-Sheriff John Buncich refused to give Fromm work because her company had hired a political rival.
She even had a rivalry with Cvitkovich because she had supported his opponent in the 1996 election. But Cantrell smoothed over the difficulties.
Later, as Fromm's consultant, Cantrell worked to remove basic protections for taxpayers from her contracts, like a 60-day termination clause.
He also added "classes" to the contract that North Township employees were forced to attend, in some cases duplicating public education they might have already had, such as classes on grammar, spelling and sentence structure.
Meanwhile, defense attorney Kevin Milner was preparing what he hopes to be a devastating cross-examination of Fromm later today or Monday, laying out exactly what points he wants to hit in a detailed outline scribbled onto his yellow legal pad.
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