11032015 - News Article - Soderquists' trial now slated for February 2016

Soderquists' trial now slated for February 2016

NWI Times
November 03, 2015 - 11:45 pm  

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/soderquists-trial-now-slated-for-february/article_bb5b2d7d-c443-545c-a7a3-f8bb7c518dd0.html

HAMMOND | A federal judge on Tuesday agreed to postpone an upcoming trial for former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist and his wife and stepdaughter, and seal court filings about why they sought the delay.

Keith Soderquist, Deborah Soderquist and her daughter, Miranda Brakley, are now scheduled to stand trial Feb. 1.

The rulings came one day after defense attorneys for the Soderquists and Brakley urged U.S. District Judge James Moody to reject a request by the U.S. attorney's office to present evidence it alleges will show Soderquist attempted to abolish the City Court to cover up an alleged theft of bond money by Brakley.

Scott King, attorney for the Soderquists, and Thomas Vanes, attorney for Brakley, say there are "significant omissions" in evidence the government wants to present.

As of Tuesday, Moody had not yet ruled on the government's request to present evidence and testimony at trial.

Defense attorneys say the battle over the City Court was long-standing and messy, and the discovery of audit irregularities linking Brakley to missing bond money "could not have served as the motive or impetus" for a Dec. 6, 2012, attempt to abolish the court.

"The viability of the Lake Station City Court from a financial perspective was an ongoing concern for the other branches of city government, a concern that significantly predated the (State Board of Accounts) audit," defense attorneys wrote in their response to the government's request.

Brakley, who worked as a deputy clerk in City Court from 2008 until she was fired in July 2012, is accused of embezzling more than $16,000 in bond money posted on behalf of individuals arrested in Lake Station from 2010 and 2012. She's also charged with failing to report $7,000 in payments she received for "compensatory time" she supposedly earned while working for the city, court records state.

The Soderquists each are charged with being accessories after the fact to Brakley's alleged theft and structuring a financial transaction.

The government's argument is "predicated on a particular timeline," the defense says.

That timeline includes a Dec. 4, 2012, message from the State Board of Accounts advising Soderquist of a need to interview Brakley in connection with the audit and a last-minute addition to the City Council's Dec. 6, 2012, agenda of an ordinance to abolish the City Court, defense attorneys wrote.

Prosecutors say the timing of Soderquist's effort to abolish the City Court and its correlation with a "midnight run" the Soderquists made to Kentucky to borrow $15,000 from a relative are "direct evidence of the Soderquists' efforts to assist Brakley and ensure she was not apprehended for her crime."

The day after a State Board of Accounts supervisor left Soderquist a message, he called a relative and asked for a $15,000 loan, prosecutors allege.

Two days later, on Dec. 6, 2012, the City Council voted not to abolish the City Court. After the vote, the Soderquists drove through the night to obtain money from the relative, prosecutors allege.

The relative wrote three separate checks, prosecutors allege. Deborah Soderquist cashed a $6,000 check Dec. 8, 2012, in Kentucky, a $5,000 check on Dec. 9, 2012, in Merrillville, and a $4,000 check Dec. 10, 2012, in Munster, court records state.

On Dec. 10, Brakley provided about $15,000 to the State Board of Accounts and claimed the money mistakenly ended up in her SUV the day she was fired, court records state.

Admitting evidence outlined by prosecutors is likely to cause confusion of issues and increase time spent in trial, defense attorneys wrote.

If it is permitted, the defense will seek to offer counter evidence showing Soderquist's "ongoing attempt to stem the flow of red ink" from the City Court. A financial consultant hired in November 2012, found the City Court was operating at a loss from 2009 to October 2012, and was routinely waiving fines and fees for a select group of attorneys, defense attorneys say.