03212018 - News Article - State police are looking into allegations Facebook was used to smear Northwest Indiana politicians - ROBERT CANTRELL

State police are looking into allegations Facebook was used to smear Northwest Indiana politicians
NWI Times
March 21, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/state-police-are-looking-into-allegations-facebook-was-used-to/article_d37c1439-0f3f-5677-82cf-c27ac2daa91a.html

CROWN POINT — A state police unit specializing in corruption has agreed to probe whether Lake County political attacks launched through a fake Facebook account violated state law.

Lake County Prosecutor Bernard A. Carter said Wednesday the Indiana State Police Organized Crime and Corruption Section will look into allegations of dirty politics that documents in the case link to one county sheriff's candidate who is a former Schererville police chief; a political operative and convicted felon; a Lake County coroner's investigator; and a computer ID assigned to a local school district.

Indiana law makes the posting of harmful comments under an assumed name on social media a Level 6 felony.

Carter said he doesn't know how long the investigation will take but expects to receive a report following its conclusion concerning any evidence state police find, as well as their recommendation on whether criminal charges should be filed.

Indiana State Police Detective Joe White confirmed the investigation is ongoing.

"The Lake County Prosecutor’s Office sent an official request for assistance letter to the Indiana State Police Investigative Command at General Headquarters Indianapolis," White said in a written statement.

"After receiving and reviewing the official request letter from the prosecutor’s office, I was contacted by ISP command and was asked to assign one of my Organized Crime and Public Corruption Detectives to work with the Lake County prosecutor's office in an effort to determine if any Indiana laws were broken."

Last month, Carter and Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. requested the help of an outside agency to expose a group of people suspected of using a bogus Facebook profile to conduct a smear campaign against various government officials and others running for election this year.

The Times reported last month an initial probe by county police turned up telecommunications records linking the attacks to the home of then-Schererville Police Chief David Dowling, a Democratic candidate for sheriff; the home of political activist and federally convicted felon Robert Cantrell; a computer ID associated with the Crown Point School Corp.; and the home of Gilbert Gutierrez, an investigator for the county coroner's office.

Subpoenaed documents in the case showed computer signatures linked to those individuals also fed into the fake Facebook account, sources close to the investigation confirmed.

Dowling denied any involvement in a social media campaign and accused Martinez of playing politics by raising the issue.

Cantrell also denied involvement.

"I don't do Facebook, and I don't read Facebook," Cantrell said last month.

Gutierrez hasn't returned calls seeking comment. Crown Point schools issued a statement last month that its policies restrict the use of school equipment for private use.

The Times obtained documents subpoenaed from an internet service provider that named Dowling and Gutierrez as being connected to some of the computer IDs. Others showed the addresses of Cantrell and a Crown Point schools computer.

The sheriff said the case revolves around a phony Facebook profile for the name Jackie Sutton. It features a photo of four women, a profile with only a birth date of Dec. 7, 1976, and connections to about 200 friends.

Martinez said he received and accepted a friend request from the Sutton page last year as a routine part of his election campaign and soon noticed what he considered harmful statements against himself and other local government officials.

The Facebook page, which remains active, features a score of postings that include statements like, "It's time to clean house," and, "It's time to drain the swamp." There have been no new postings since Nov. 20.

It contains remarks against Martinez; U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky; the Gary, Hammond and East Chicago mayors; Lake County Auditor Peggy Katona; the Lake County Board of Commissioners; and North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan, among others.

Martinez said, "One false statement was that I was part of the KKK and hated black people. That was (later) deleted."

The sheriff said he unfriended and blocked the Facebook page and advised others complaining about it to do the same — but started his own investigation to determine whether those posting should be held accountable.

He said his investigators gathered evidence from Facebook and Comcast that Jackie Sutton was a pseudonym for an account used by several people posting from a number of different IP (internet protocol) addresses.

The sheriff said offensive posts stopped after his investigation began. Computer service providers alert customers when law enforcement inquiries are involved.

He said he quickly decided to consult with the prosecutor and state police to avoid any appearance of a conflict.