Facing public corruption trial, candidate Soderquist asks for delay
Post-Tribune
March 16, 2015
Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist wants to delay his two criminal trials again, claiming the current trial date is too close to the May 5 primary.
The trial for both cases is set to start April 27.
Soderquist's attorney, Scott King says in the motion to delay, filed Saturday in the U.S. District Court in Hammond, that the mayor, who is up for re-election, will be too busy to help prepare his defense. The motion also argues that the government still has not turned over all of its evidence, which increases the burden on the defense.
The motion also notes that Lake Station City Judge Chris Anderson, who is running against Soderquist, will likely be a witness in the trial.
King's own trial calendar is also cited. He says in the motion there are three other trials he's involved in that will take place before then, including a murder trial set for the end of March.
Federal attorneys object to the delay, according to the motion.
Soderquist and his wife, Deborah Soderquist, were charged a year ago in two separate criminal cases. The first one claims they used money from Soderquist's campaign fund and city money meant for the Lake Station food pantry to go on gambling trips. The second one involves Deborah Soderquist's daughter, Miranda Brakley, who used to work for the city. She is charged with stealing money from the city. The Soderquists are charged with acting as accessories after the fact and trying to hide banking activity from the federal government by breaking up one large transaction into several smaller ones.
All three have pleaded not guilty in the case.
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