Soderquist admits helping stepdaughter try to hide theft
Chicago Tribune
January 20, 2016 - 2:36 PM
January 20, 2016 - 2:36 PM
Former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist pled guilty Wednesday morning to helping his stepdaughter try to hide that she stole $16,000 from the city.
In a short statement to U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Cherry, Soderquist explained that he learned in December 2012 that Miranda Brakley, who had worked for the city as a court clerk, had stolen the money.
He then helped arrange a loan of $15,000 from a third party in order to help Brakley "in an effort to help cover up the crime," Soderquist said.
"Guilty," Soderquist said when asked how he pled.
The former mayor, who wore a brown suit jacket with a yellow button-down shirt, otherwise spoke little during the hearing, answering Cherry's questions with a "yes" or "no."
Brakley also pled guilty Wednesday morning to one count of stealing from the city. She admitted that it was her responsibility to deposit bond payments from court defendants but that from August 2011 until July 2012, she instead embezzled the money for her own use.
"I took $16,000 in bond money without any permission," she said.
She then tried to claim that she had mistakenly taken the money but had never used it, using the loan Soderquist arranged for her to help cover up the crime.
Scott King, attorney for Soderquist, praised his client after the hearing, saying that the main reason he decided to take the deal was to help protect Brakley and his wife from further prosecution.
"I have a lot of respect for that," King said.
Soderquist's guilty plea was part of a deal with federal attorneys that also helps end a separate criminal case against him and his wife, Deborah Soderquist. A federal jury convicted both of them in September of using money from his campaign fund and the city's food pantry to pay for dozens of gambling trips. The two had filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that the judge fell asleep at least twice during the trial.
However, they now agree to drop the motion and waive their appellate rights in that case. In return, federal attorneys will drop charges against Deborah Soderquist in her daughter's case and recommend that Keith Soderquist's sentences in both cases run concurrently.
The deals for all three are contingent on the others also abiding by their deals, so if one violates the terms, the other two lose their benefits.
A sentencing date has not been set for either case.
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