Government, defense rest in Soderquist trial
NWI Times
September 11, 2015 - 1:00 PM
HAMMOND | A U.S. District jury is expected to begin deliberating Friday afternoon the fate of Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist and his wife, Deborah Soderquist.
Jurors will have to decide if the couple improperly took money from campaign funds and the food pantry while losing more than $100,000 at area casinos, or if ATM withdrawals from the accounts were merely reimbursements for legitimate expenditures.
The defense and government each rested their case Friday morning following seven days of testimony. The Soderquists face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of false filing. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in federal prison and up to $250,000 in fines on each wire fraud charge.
The defense and government are expected to begin closing statements Friday afternoon.
After the defense rested its case Friday morning, the government called two brief rebuttal witnesses.
Lake Station resident Terry Koselke testified he has volunteered at the food pantry for years. He said Deborah Soderquist reimbursed him using checks and cash for mileage he used while picking up bread for the pantry. In 2014, Koselke said he was called to Deborah Soderquist’s office in Lake Station City Hall and asked to sign documents related to the pantry’s financial records.
The government showed him receipts for reimbursements that dated as far back as 2010. However, Koselke said he didn’t recall if the receipts had dates on them, but he told jurors he signed those receipts in 2014.
He recalled Keith Soderquist gave him a turkey or ham after he signing the receipts.
When asked by defense attorney Lakeisha Murdaugh if it was possible he was given the turkey in 2013 rather than 2014, Koselke said it was a possibility. He also said he paid no attention to the dates of the receipts he was asked to sign.
Lori Moro, the secretary for the Dollars for Scholars, program also testified about receipts she wrote for donations to the program.
IRS Special Agent Steve Martinez previously testified he excluded from his examination of Soderquist’s campaign finance records an ATM receipt for $500 alleged to have been donated to the Dollars for Scholars program. The government showed jurors the receipt that went along with the donation, which looked nearly identical to a receipt for a $500 donation from the city to the program that was made on the same day as the ATM transaction.
Moro testified Friday the receipts for the alleged donations do look identical. She didn’t recall a $500 cash donation being made, noting that most donations to the program are under $100.
Soderquist has served as mayor since 2008 and prior to that served on the City Council. Soderquist ran for a third term as mayor this year but was defeated in the Democratic primary.
His wife served as his administrative assistant and was also allegedly involved in the operation of the food pantry. She also served as treasurer of her husband’s election campaign committee.
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