01232004 - News Article - Combined effort to target corruption, vote fraud - VOTE FRAUD: Federal, state and local officials to delve into East Chicago, Schererville elections - ROBERT CANTRELL

Combined effort to target corruption, vote fraud
VOTE FRAUD: Federal, state and local officials to delve into East Chicago, Schererville elections
NWI Times
Jan 23, 2004
nwitimes.com/news/local/combined-effort-to-target-corruption-vote-fraud/article_8dca3c90-6fcb-5f1e-ba0e-4ace16346397.html
Independent investigations of public corruption and vote fraud in Lake County have found such target-rich environments that federal, state and local law enforcement officials have agreed to work together.

"There are vast opportunities for prosecutorial work here," Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter said Thursday at a news conference in Lowell.

Carter, Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter and U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen described how they will coordinate the gathering of evidence in East Chicago and Schererville in a spirit of cooperation Van Bokkelen said is unprecedented in a four-decade-long career.

Van Bokkelen said the FBI, state police and a federal grand jury already sitting in Hammond will examine whether East Chicago Mayor Robert Pastrick won the 2003 spring primary through a conspiracy to break election laws.

No one would discuss the identities of the potential targets or the nature of the evidence investigators are gathering, but sources have said investigators are looking at employees of East Chicago, the county elections board or campaign workers.

The attorney general and county prosecutor, who have been investigating East Chicago the last five months, will put their efforts on hold while federal prosecutors take over.

Van Bokkelen said he initially declined to become involved in the voting scandal, but changed his mind after talks between him and the county prosecutor's office convinced him the state was targeting many of the same witnesses needed in a broader federal investigation of public corruption called Operation Restore Integrity.

"Our office asked the Department of Justice to give us permission to determine whether or not we had jurisdiction in the East Chicago absentee ballot investigation," he said. "We needed agreement from Attorney General Carter and Prosecutor Carter to step aside temporarily while we do our investigation. They both graciously agreed with the understanding that if we do not establish jurisdiction the matter would be returned to them promptly so they can proceed."

Van Bokkelen said he agreed to help the 13-member task force of deputy state attorneys general and Lake County prosecutors and state police with their other investigation into vote fraud in last year's primary involving the Schererville town judge race.

Allegations of fraud surfaced shortly after the last votes were counted in the May 6 Democratic primary that handed razor-thin victories to East Chicago Mayor Pastrick and Schererville Town Judge Deborah Riga. Both needed a wave of questionable absentee ballots to win.

Their political opponents demanded recounts, which uncovered evidence of votes cast from empty lots or vacant homes, by people living outside the city or who received improper assistance from campaign workers.

Special Lake Superior Court Judge Steven King issued a 104-page opinion last summer that Pastrick's victory was a "textbook example of chicanery." Superior Court Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura heard enough evidence in the Schererville case to reverse the results of the Schererville primary, declaring challenger Kenneth Anderson the winner.

Van Bokkelen said: "There is nothing that goes more to the heart of a democracy than the fairness of an election. The special task force raised some significant issues as did Judge King's opinion and Judge Bonaventura's opinion as to whether or not these elections were conducted in a fair manner. That is why I'm interested. It's an obligation we have."

"The citizens of Lake County deserve honest government," Steve Carter said. "Honest government begins with honest elections."

Van Bokkelen issued a warning that lying to investigators or a grand jury will not be tolerated.

"The message today is if you lie, you will be prosecuted," he said. "If what we end up doing all this year is prosecuting people for that, we will be more than happy to do that," Van Bokkelen said.