09292016 - News Article - Soderquist's wife denied delay in sentencing due to health

Soderquist's wife denied delay in sentencing due to health
NWI Times
Updated Sep 29, 2016
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/crime-and-court/soderquist-s-wife-denied-delay-in-sentencing-due-to-health/article_c8eab4bb-36e8-5fad-8c50-fc4c541ad9b0.html

HAMMOND — The wife of Lake Station’s disgraced former mayor on Wednesday sought to delay her sentencing because of medical issues, but a federal judge quickly denied her motion, court records show.

A sentencing hearing for Deborah Soderquist, 58, and husband Keith Soderquist remains scheduled for next Wednesday in U.S. District Court. They were convicted of improperly taking money from his re-election campaign fund and the city’s food pantry account to gamble at casinos.

Deborah Soderquist’s attorney, Visvaldis Kupsis, filed a motion Wednesday seeking to delay the hearing, because she has been diagnosed with a recurrent kidney cancer and has a CT scan scheduled for the day after the hearing. the filing noted the U.S. attorney’s office was opposed to the request, and Judge Rudy Lozano denied her motion.

In a separate filing Wednesday, Deborah Soderquist asked Lozano to sentence her to 18 months in a halfway house. Guidelines call for a sentence of 24 to 30 months.

“Some cases call for mercy, and this is one of them,” a sentencing memorandum said. “Mrs. Soderquist’s medical conditions are very real and the danger imposed is also very real.”

In addition to kidney cancer, Deborah Soderquist has a myotonic dystrophy, is undergoing physical therapy for a number of issues and likely will require surgery related to her various conditions, according to court records.

The federal Bureau of Prisons cannot accommodate her need for the types of treatment recommended by her doctors, according to the sentencing memorandum.

Deborah Soderquist also is asking the court to grant her 60 days to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons, which would allow her to complete some of her medical care.

Keith Soderquist faces an enhanced term of 42 months at sentencing, court records said.