09272011 - News Article - Philpot attorney: Federal charges ‘absurd’

Philpot attorney: Federal charges ‘absurd’

Post-Tribune (IN)
September 27, 2011

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An attorney for Lake County Coroner Thomas Philpot said his indicted client sought legal advice before taking the $25,000 at the center of his federal charges. 

Leonard Goodman, who is representing Philpot, said the entire case against Philpot was a waste of federal resources. 

“It’s absurd,” Goodman said Monday. 

According to an indictment filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Hammond, the case against Philpot centers around his time as Lake County clerk. Philpot oversaw federal funds to be used as incentive money for county employees who helped collect child support payments. However, according to the indictment, elected officials must get approval from their fiscal body, in this case the Lake County Council, before they can pay themselves money from the fund. 

The indictment claims Philpot never did, then sent fraudulent claim forms to the Indiana Department of Child Services saying he did indeed have permission from the council. 

When the Post-Tribune first broke the story in January 2010, Philpot said he had a legal right to the money and wasn’t doing anything wrong. 

Now Goodman says Philpot made the decision to take the money starting in December 2004 after first seeking legal counsel. It wasn’t until after questions about the payment started popping up that Philpot decided to seek a second opinion, Goodman said. That attorney told Philpot he should not have taken the money. Philpot then repaid all the money with interest, Goodman said. 

“It doesn’t even make sense, what they’re saying,” he said. “Instead, it appears the prosecutor’s office is putting on a show to convince the public it’s cracking down on public corruption.” 

Goodman said his client will plead not guilty and he sees no reason for Philpot to resign from office. Goodman said Philpot would have his initial appearance before the court later this week. 

In another public corruption case also announced Thursday, two former Lake County Sheriff’s Department officers will officially plead guilty Tuesday, according to court records. Joseph Kumstar and Ronald Slusser are accused of conspiring to give false information to a licensed gun dealer, conspiring to defraud the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and lying on their federal tax returns. According to their indictment, the men used their positions with the sheriff’s department to order fully automated machine guns, which individuals are not allowed to own. They would then break up the guns and sell parts of them online. 

Edward Kabella , also a former officer who was charged in the case, had his Tuesday change of plea hearing changed to Thursday, according to court records. 

The men had already signed plea agreements with prosecutors when their indictment was announced Thursday. The men, who resigned from the department effective Friday, were released Friday on a bond of $20,000.