04122009 - News Article - Feds vow to keep heat on, even though original docket is almost clean, 'public corruption a priority' for U.S. Attorney's office

Feds vow to keep heat on, even though original docket is almost clean, 'public corruption a priority' for U.S. Attorney's office

Post-Tribune (IN)
April 12, 2009

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HAMMOND -- Federal prosecutors say they will press on with Operation Restore Public Integrity, even as the docket of cases filed in the public corruption investigation is nearly bare. 

With the conclusion of a trial involving former Calumet Township Trustee Dozier T. Allen and two former deputies last week, only one defendant faces corruption-related charges in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. 

Federal grand juries have handed down more than 40 indictments of public figures since Restore Public Integrity began in 2001. To date, nearly every defendant charged has been convicted or has pleaded guilty -- the only blemish on the U.S. Attorney's record came when charges against three Gary officials were dropped. 

U.S. Attorney David Capp, who took over the investigation launched by his predecessor Joseph Van Bokkelen, declined comment on whether more indictments are coming, but said his office will continue to prosecute "crimes where we see them." 

"Public corruption is a priority for this office and it will continue to be," said Capp, a longtime staffer who led previous corruption probes. 

Public corruption cases have come under scrutiny in other parts of the country. The conviction of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was thrown out this week at the request of newly appointed Attorney General Eric Holder, after questions about prosecutorial misconduct were raised by defense attorneys. 

In 2007, several U.S. Attorneys claimed they were ousted by President George W. Bush, in some cases for investigating Republicans or because they did not respond to pressure from administration officials to pursue misconduct investigations against Democrats. 

Holder reportedly met with dozens of U.S. Attorneys this week to urge them to press on with investigations of political figures. Holder began his career as a federal prosecutor in the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section in the mid-1970s. 

A change in presidential administration typically means turnover in most federal appointments. Capp, a Democrat, could remain in his post in the Democratic Obama adminstration, but several local Democrats want the job. 

FBI agents in recent months have interviewed city employees in East Chicago and subpoenaed records from City Hall, the school district and other government offices in an apparent investigation into Mayor George Pabey 's administration. 

That pattern is a familiar prelude to an indictment, though federal investigators have been known to cast a wide net and spend years preparing charges. 

Whether Operation Restore Public Integrity has cleaned up Lake County's notoriously larcenous political culture is anyone's guess. Pabey swept into office on a pledge to dismantle the political machine of his predecessor, Robert A. Pastrick, who was crippled politically by Public Integrity indictments of his allies and even one of his sons. 

Andrea Lyon, a DePaul University Law School professor who helped defend former Illinois Gov. George Ryan against public corruption charges, says elected officials have a tough case to make once they're indicted. 

Since the mid-1990s, case law has broadened the legal definition of honest services fraud, the crime around which federal prosecutors most often build their cases. 

Government attorneys must only convince jurors that a politician or public official willfully failed to do their best to do their job honestly and for public benefit. To jurors accustomed to thinking of politicians as oily insiders, political behavior that seems unseemly -- albeit, perhaps, legal -- could land someone in jail. 

"When you're part of a despised group, such as our political class, I think it's very hard" to win acquittal, Lyon said. 

"Are these cases getting us better government?" she asked. "I don't know that they are." 

04122009 - News Article - Public corruption investigations ongoing in Lake County - Prosecutor: Cases remain 'the priority' of region feds - ROBERT CANTRELL

Public corruption investigations ongoing in Lake County
Prosecutor: Cases remain 'the priority' of region feds
NWI Times
Apr 12, 2009
nwitimes.com/news/local/public-corruption-investigations-ongoing-in-lake-county/article_f6eedd58-b331-5977-975f-b66547bd0bc6.html
As two major public corruption cases came to a head in Hammond federal court in the past two weeks, the region's acting top federal prosecutor said more cases could be on the Northwest Indiana horizon.

Acting U.S. Attorney David Capp said public corruption cases remain "the priority" in his office, with several cases still being pursued.

The sentencing of convicted fraudulent politico Robert Cantrell on March 31 marked the legal closure -- pending appeal -- of the final corruption case held over from former U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen's housecleaning of public officials who used taxpayer money as their personal allowances.

And on Wednesday, the conviction of former Calumet Township Trustee Dozier Allen Jr. was the government's first courtroom victory against a politician indicted in the post-Van Bokkelen era.

As Northwest Indiana waits for President Barack Obama's administration to name a permanent appointee to the Northern District U.S. attorney's office, the future of local public corruption prosecution remains uncertain.

Capp said he would not speak specifically about ongoing investigations into politicians, but his office now is chasing several public corruption cases.

"We are actively engaged with some of our most seasoned resources. It's been our focus my entire 24 years," Capp said.

East Chicago city officials have confirmed FBI agents are investigating the city engineering department. City officials also confirmed the FBI has sought information regarding a construction contractor, Green Tree, which has worked for East Chicago schools.

The Gary Sanitary District is under investigation for possible environmental crimes, according to federal authorities.

Neither the FBI nor the U.S. attorney's office has the power to indict, but the U.S. attorney's office determines what cases are brought before a federal grand jury, the source of indictments.

While the U.S. attorney is an appointed position and no one can officially declare their candidacy for the office, a field of potential contenders has voiced interest in the job.

Jim Wieser, a Democratically connected Schererville lawyer who worked for the Obama campaign, seeks the office, and he said he would enter the job with corruption prosecutions as a personal priority. Wieser acknowledged the Obama administration would "set the tone" for the office's moves, but Wieser said he would tell U.S. Department of Justice officials that political corruption plagues Lake County.

"I would just simply say that there's obviously been a pretty obvious history of public corruption issues and that if those matters were brought to the office of U.S. attorney, they would be fully investigated like anything else," Wieser said.

Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas P. Stefaniak also wants the job. He said he would not give public corruption prosecutions preference over other matters, but he would not hesitate to act on solid evidence of any crime.

"If I was selected as the U.S. attorney, I would work with law enforcement to guide them through their investigations, and I would follow the evidence wherever that led and regardless of who it led to," Stefaniak said.

Wieser and Stefaniak both say none of their political affiliations would affect their potential work in the office.

Former Indiana Attorney General Karen Freeman-Wilson, a Gary attorney, had voiced interest in the U.S. attorney's job, but she said recently she is no longer interested in the post and doesn't expect the appointment.

04032009 - News Article - Exactly where did Bob Cantrell lose direction? - ROBERT CANTRELL

Exactly where did Bob Cantrell lose direction?
Post-Tribune (IN)
April 3, 2009
Talk about a fall from on high.While it may have been a slow and gradual descent, that didn't lessen the intensity of bottoming out.

Political power broker Robert Cantrell may have seen the rest of his life pass before him Tuesday when he was sentenced to 78 months in prison. That can be an eternity for a guy who is 67 years old. 

One has to wonder where he went wrong. Perhaps he had difficulty coping with life after being put on a pedestal at 18.

In 1960, Cantrell was on top of the world. No one in Indiana Harbor was bigger.

Cantrell that year led the East Chicago Washington Senators to the Indiana high school basketball championship.

Moments after cutting down the nets, Cantrell received the Arthur L. Trester Award for Mental Attitude.

It goes each year to a player based on "mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability."

Cantrell was all of those things and more. If there had been a nationwide search for the all-American boy, they would have found him dribbling

He went off to the University of Michigan, where he shined as well. He also picked up master's and doctorate degrees.

And then he came home to the Harbor. And it all began to unravel for the Trester Award winner.

Cantrell found his way back into the East Chicago athletic environment that had been his springboard to stardom.

He became one of several athletic directors in the East Chicago school system.

There were some who used to complain they had more athletic directors than guidance counselors there. 

That could well have been.

But while he remained a gym rat, he also ventured into politics -- which was even more popular than basketball in the Harbor.

Cantrell fashioned himself as a Republican and even ran for office under the GOP banner. That was all a charade -- little more than a way to ensure that Cantrell was a player in East Chicago.

Bobby Cantrell was a Democrat. Everyone knew it. 

Somewhere along the line he was offered a legitimate job -- although perhaps not for legitimate reasons -- and he took it.

Cantrell, the East Chicago political worm, was named superintendent of the River Forest School Corp.

It lasted less tha a year, and Cantrell bounced around political jobs in Lake County, promising jobs and poor relief for votes. He also became a master at putting bogus candidates on the ballot in an attempt to thwart the interest of his enemies.

Yet he was good at what he did, largely because he was bright and, more importantly, because he never got caught.

But when he started extracting money for getting some elected officials to hire a consulting firm tied to him, people started noticing.

Playing politics is one thing. Extracting a dime for pulling someone's chain is another.

What a sorry end to what was such a promising start.

Breaking the law is one thing. Dragging "Hail Noble Washington" into the gutter is inexcusable.

04012009 - News Article - Cantrell sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison - ROBERT CANTRELL

Cantrell sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison
NWI Times
Apr 1, 2009
nwitimes.com/news/local/cantrell-sentenced-to-years-in-prison/article_ffe958fb-b8d7-5975-98f2-89e92f60cb44.html
HAMMOND | Blasting Robert Cantrell for using his talents to steal from taxpayers, a federal judge sentenced the former Lake County political power-broker to 6 1/2 years in federal prison.

Finishing Cantrell's long-delayed sentencing in Hammond federal court Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Rudy Lozano seemed unconvinced by defense attorney Kevin Milner's portrayal of Cantrell, 67, of Schererville, as a benevolent patriarch, good Samaritan and patriot who deserved no prison time for his 11 fraud convictions.

Milner argued Cantrell's crimes were "victimless" because Cantrell, a former political fixer based in East Chicago, can pay back the $68,000 he took from North Township through contract fraud.

Lozano disagreed. He called Cantrell a "blessed" man who stole from taxpayers.

"You were ahead of what most people had," Lozano told Cantrell. "But from the evidence in this case, it also appears that you fell into that ditch called politics."

Lozano sentenced Cantrell to 78 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Lozano also ordered Cantrell to repay the $68,000 to North Township. Cantrell must report for prison May 13.

Milner drew smiles and quiet chuckles when he requested Cantrell be sent to a federal prison in Oxford, Wis., a common destination for local public servants convicted of federal crimes. Lozano agreed to recommend to the prison bureau that Cantrell be sent to a jail near Chicago.

"There are some people at the (Oxford) facility that are casual acquaintances," Milner said.

Milner said outside court he planned to file appeals to Cantrell's conviction and sentence Tuesday afternoon.

Cantrell was convicted June 6 of four counts of depriving the public of honest services, three counts of insurance fraud using the U.S. mail and four counts of filing false tax returns between 2000 and 2003. The indictment accused him of taking cash kickbacks from a contract between his then-employer, the North Township trustee's office, and a political ally's company.

The sentencing was delayed almost 10 months, most recently so that Lozano could review trial transcripts for evidence relevant to Milner's objections to sentence enhancements proposed in a pre-sentence report prepared by probation agents.

Milner argued unsuccessfully that his "friend Bob" deserved a lighter sentence, claiming the township lost no money in the fraud and that Cantrell had no decision-making or supervisory power at the township. Milner pleaded with Lozano to ignore advisory sentencing guidelines that called for a sentence of up to eight years in prison.

Assistant U.S Attorney Orest Szewciw asked for an eight-year sentence.

"Lake County, Ind., has a history of public corruption, and this case is just one more sordid chapter," Szewciw said.

In his statement to Lozano, Cantrell did not apologize. He reminded Lozano of his military service in the Gulf War.

"No matter what happens here today, I am proud to be an American," Cantrell said.

04012009 - News Article - Cantrell gets 6 1/2 years for fraud scheme - ROBERT CANTRELL

Cantrell gets 6 1/2 years for fraud scheme
Post-Tribune (IN)
April 1, 2009
HAMMOND -- Political insider Robert J. Cantrell received a stern lecture and a stiff prison sentence from Judge Rudy Lozano on Tuesday.

His flushed face and fidgeting were the only signs of emotion the 67-year-old Cantrell showed as Lozano announced the longtime Lake County political operative and legendary high school basketball star would spend more than six years in prison and have to repay the North Township trustee $68,000.

In the courtroom gallery behind the defense table, Cantrell's wife cried, and his daughter, Lake County Judge Julie Cantrell seemed to fight back tears.

Lozano expressed disappointment in Cantrell, his former classmate at East Chicago's Washington High School.

"You were blessed," Lozano said, beginning with a list of Cantrell's accomplishments as a basketball player and school administrator. "But from the evidence in this case, it also appears you fell into the ditch called politics."

Cantrell was convicted in June on seven counts of fraud and four counts of tax evasion for failing to disclose his financial ties to a counseling firm that he helped win contracts with North Township and dozens of other local schools, judges and government agencies.

Cantrell collected half the fees the company collected from contracts he won through his political connections, had two of his adult children placed on the company insurance plan even though they did no work, and failed to report some $189,000 in income from the business on his taxes.

Cantrell's attorney, Kevin Milner, argued that Cantrell should be sentenced to probation or house arrest, reminding the judge Cantrell was a devoted family man who served as an officer in Operation Desert Storm and had never been convicted of another crime.

Cantrell himself spoke briefly before Lozano read off his sentence.

"I was born and raised in East Chicago, and I was raised right by my mother and father, and I raised my family right," Cantrell said. "I love my country and I will always love my country. No matter what happens here today, I'm proud to be an American."

However, Lozano seemed to weigh heavily testimony from Cantrell's former business partner, Nancy Fromm and statements from witnesses about Cantrell's wide-ranging, and apparently nefarious influence in local politics. 

An attorney who wrote a letter to the judge recalling Cantrell's positive influence in his study of law and career, Lozano pointed out, was the same person Cantrell had threatened to install as a vote-splitting sham candidate in a race for Lake County judge.

"For every star I put up for you helping an individual, in many cases I took it away, because it appears you helped the individual to help yourself," Lozano said.

Cantrell declined comment as he left the courtroom. Milner said the harsh sentence was a shock.

"This was a case of someone who should not have to go to prison," Milner said. "His 'crimes' were minimal and it seems like his name was a factor more than his actual conduct."

Cantrell was ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on May 13. Milner requested Cantrell serve his time at a federal prison in Oxford, Wis.