Use debit card focus of Soderquist trial testimony
Chicago Tribune
September 02, 2015 - 8:12 PM
September 02, 2015 - 8:12 PM
Testimony during the trial of Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist focused on campaign finance law and the Lake Station Food Pantry.
Soderquist and his wife, Deborah Soderquist, are accused of using money from the pantry and his campaign fund to pay for more than 50 gambling trips to local casinos.
Former Lake Station Mayor Shirley Wadding and other former food pantry volunteers testified about how they decided to start the food pantry more than a decade ago to address what they saw as a growing need in the city.
Federal attorneys asked each volunteer about how they handled the pantry's money, and all of them said they always paid local grocery stores by a check that Edward Lacko, the pantry's treasurer, would sign. Wadding said none of the volunteers ever asked her to get a debit card because it wasn't needed.
Linda Newton, who oversaw the pantry under Wadding, said she and other volunteers would drive out to Hammond once a week to pick up food from the Greater Hammond Food Pantry, receiving $20 a month in reimbursement for gas and tolls.
The process changed once Soderquist took office. The volunteers left — Newton said she quit because the mayor berated her in front of others soon after he took office — and Ray Ostrander, former superintendent of public works, testified that Deborah Soderquist, who works as her husband's secretary, eventually told him to start making trips to pick up food. During the times he needed to pay, he would use a debit card, Ostrander said.
Federal attorneys claim the Soderquists used that debit card to take money from the pantry's bank account within 24 hours of their gambling trips.
Timothy Cottingham, with the Greater Hammond Food Pantry, testified that it's not normal for food pantries to use a debit card because it's not as easy to track how cash is spent versus a check or credit card.
"In my opinion, I think it opens you up to a lot of questions," he said, adding that he advises others against using a debit card.
However, under cross examination, Cottingham said that he could see some situations where it would make it easier to pay if the account holder couldn't make the purchase.
The government also showed the jury several agreements Lake Station signed with Greater Hammond that listed Deborah Soderquist as the contact person for the food pantry.
Other testimony focused on campaign finance reports. Abbey Taylor, the campaign finance coordinator for the Indiana State Election Division, explained to the jury what candidates are required to report on their finance forms, including each individual donation and expense of more than $100.
Taylor also testified that candidates are allowed to use campaign money to pay their living expenses if they quit their job to run for office but that these expenses and any reimbursements for donations a candidate made to his own campaign must be reported on their financial forms.
The forms tell candidates that other personal expenses are not allowed by law, Taylor said.
Defense attorney Scott King has argued that the couple withdrew money from Soderquist's campaign fund as reimbursement for legitimate expenses. Federal attorneys, however, say these were never recorded in their finance reports.
Under cross-examination by King, Taylor said candidates are allowed to amend their finance reports in case they made a mistake but that they're still expected to do so correctly the first time.
The finance report was the center of a dispute between the two sides. King argued that the form mistakenly tells candidates that it's a misdemeanor crime to not file a complete and accurate report; King claimed the law makes it an infraction, similar to a ticket.
However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson argued that it didn't matter whether it was really a misdemeanor, only that Soderquist believed it was when he signed the reports.
About a dozen people watched the trial throughout the day, including former Lake Station Judge Christopher Anderson, who defeated Soderquist in the May primary for the Democratic nomination for mayor.
The trial is expected to continue Thursday morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment