North Township probe reveals political ties
Nancy Fromm's counseling agency receives most referrals; Robert Cantrell works for her and Trustee Greg Cvitkovich
NWI Times
Feb 8, 2004
nwitimes.com/news/local/north-township-probe-reveals-political-ties/article_9621fe6c-b688-50e4-b440-0f3af8aa4363.html
HAMMOND -- She has devoted the last five years to counseling thousands of Lake County's alcohol and drug offenders.
At the same time, Nancy Fromm has used political acumen to build her Addiction and Family Care agency in Hessville into a flourishing enterprise.
It has outcompeted other mental health agencies with greater resources to win more than $400,000 in business from local government officials who she, in turn, has rewarded with financial and political support for their re-elections.
Recently, Indiana State Police began asking questions about Fromm's $30,000 contract with North Township Trustee Greg Cvitkovich to provide his employees with mandated stress-management training.
Fromm said she spoke Thursday with Lt. Mark Day, a state police investigator working for a special task force investigating public corruption. He was one of two officers who visited with North Township employees.
"He told me they aren't investigating our business," Fromm said.
Day declined to comment on what he called an ongoing investigation.
A source close to the investigation said inquiries about Addiction and Family Care's contract with North Township weren't directed at Fromm's business, but there now is interest in her political contributions.
Fromm and Robert "Bobby" Cantrell, her politically connected consultant, said their business' reputation has become unfairly embroiled in rumors that state and federal investigators are after them.
"There is no investigation," Cantrell, who also is an administrative aide to Cvitkovich, said last week. "(State police) came and looked at that contract. The contract is legal, and they walked out and there is nothing to that."
Campaign chests
Lake County elections board records indicate Fromm and Addiction and Family Care have put $13,000 during the last six years into the political war chests of the following judges -- former Schererville Town Judge Deborah Riga; Hammond City Judge Jeffrey Harkin; former Hammond City Judge Thomas Stefaniak; Gary City Judge Deidre Monroe; County Sheriff Roy Dominguez; and Superior Court, County Division Judge Julie Cantrell in Crown Point, who is Robert Cantrell's daughter.
Each official has referred business to Addiction and Family Care, including hundreds of minor drug and alcohol offenders who go through local courts each year.
"You certainly aren't suggesting that people who get DUIs shouldn't get counseling, are you?" asked Julie Cantrell.
Fromm said she does not make contributions to get business. "I usually have the business before I buy tickets," Fromm said.
"Despite any political leverage we have, we know the judges would not continue to send us business if we didn't constantly monitor our clients and report to the courts, have a facility license and provide the best counseling possible by licensed therapists."
Fromm is a Democratic precinct committeewoman in Hammond and the daughter of John Mahoney, former state lawmaker and Hammond police chief, and Donnabelle Mahoney, who completed her husband's term in office after his death and later worked as personnel director for the city of Hammond.
Fromm also has helped with several campaigns, she said, among them, the election of Julie Cantrell and Lake Station City Judge Kristina Kantar.
"I grew up in politics. It's like a second skin to me, but it's not feeling too comfortable at the moment," Fromm said.
Rising to Fromm's defense
Robert Cantrell defended Fromm's contributions as part of a political culture where almost all government vendors make political contributions.
He is a long-time East Chicago political operative who resigned as that city's Republican chairman last year amid allegations he helped elect Democrat Thomas McDermott Jr. as mayor of Hammond. McDermott was a partner in a law firm operated by Cantrell's son, John.
"People send you tickets automatically," Cantrell said. "I'm a politico, and I want to be involved. I want to have the ability to call the guy back and say, 'Hey I need a favor.' "
Sources said state police asked questions about money Robert Cantrell may have made for referring Fromm's agency to judges.
Cantrell, who said he is not a business partner in Addiction and Family Care, refused to say how much Fromm pays him. "It isn't a fortune," he said.
One source with close ties to Lake County judges reported hearing that Robert Cantrell was being paid $25 per head for every person referred to Fromm.
"I don't care if he's getting a dollar or a thousand dollars," the source said. "It smacks of a judicial code-of-conduct violation -- a misuse of power."
Fromm said she pays Robert Cantrell a commission on the amount of business an individual judge brings in. Though she would not say how much she paid Cantrell, Fromm offered examples of what her agency charges individuals referred to her agency by the court, including the following:
* Eight-person group session, recommended for a person who is abusing drugs including alcohol, but not considered dependent on it, $400.
* Education sessions, recommended for social users who had a charge of intoxicated driving reduced to reckless driving (as a first offense) and had a low recording on a breath test, $250.
* Group sessions for individuals charged with such crimes as domestic violence, battery or resisting law enforcement, $300 to $700, depending on the number of sessions and degree of counseling.
Nancy Plesha, an office manager for Fromm's agency who has been with the center since it opened eight years ago, said it's unfair to describe her boss as political hustler for business, because she's always been involved in politics.
"I'm not political. I stay out of it, and Nancy respects me for that. She's never asked me to put a sign in front of my house, or buy a political fund-raiser ticket," Plesha said.
The numbers show
A survey of contracts with county officials shows Fromm has an $84,000 contract with the sheriff's office to provide substance abuse counseling for the more than 100 inmates in the Lake County Work-Release Center.
"She does a good job for us," Dominguez said. Campaign finance reports indicate Fromm donated $1,250 to Dominguez in 2002 and 2003.
Superior Court, County Division Judges Julie Cantrell and Jesse Villalpando, who presides in Hammond's county courthouse, said they send offenders to Fromm as well as other counseling providers. Fromm said she received 231 offenders from Julie Cantrell's court in 2002.
Villalpando, who said he did not know how many offenders he sends to Fromm's agency, said offenders also are referred to Addiction Behavioral Counseling and Fresh Start, two other agencies.
"We have no vested interest in any of them," Villalpando said. "I prefer having three (agencies) instead of one, so I can't be accused of falling under that kind of political influence. I'm not locking anybody out."
Harkin said he sent 442 offenders to Addiction and Family Services last year. Fromm said she received 202 offenders from him the previous year.
Records show Harkin has collected $5,500 in campaign contributions from Fromm's firm, but the judge said he wasn't influenced by that, or by Cantrell, to use Addiction and Family Care. This referral procedure was set up by then-city judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr., Harkin said.
"I really had no reason to revisit whether it should be changed. I wasn't even aware that Cantrell had anything to do with it until a year later," Harkin said.
"I'm not going to send someone from Hammond to Crown Point or Edgewater in Gary or something in Merrillville. It is important for a Hammond City Court to support Hammond business."
Stefaniak, now a criminal court judge, said he sent substance abusers to a number of agencies, including Fromm's.
He said judges running for re-election are forbidden to solicit campaign donations, but people are free to donate money to them. He said that money is handled by the judge's campaign workers, and the judge wouldn't know about the contributions without reading the public campaign finance reports the staff must file with the elections board.
The competition
Addiction and Family Services competes for drug and alcohol offenders with LADOS, founded in 1982 by Superior Court, County Division judges. LADOS counseled approximately 1,000 people last year with a budget of $292,000.
Another competitor is Addiction Behavioral Counseling of Merrillville, founded in 1999 by Wayne Isailovich, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully last year for Crown Point mayor. He said more than 200 offenders were referred to him. He declined to comment on his revenues.
A review did not show political campaign contributions from LADOS or Isailovich's agency.
Schererville Town Judge Kenneth Anderson said his predecessor, Riga, sent approximately 160 offenders to Addiction and Family Care last year. Fromm said she received 104 clients from the Schererville court in 2002.
Anderson said he intends to give offenders a choice of several programs, but praised Fromm. "The information I have is that Nancy Fromm runs the best program," he said.
Lowell Town Judge Thomas Vanes said he is wary about insisting offenders attend a particular program.
"I think people are more likely to take it seriously if they have a choice in the matter as opposed to having a program force fed them," Vanes said.
"I just don't want to be seen as being in bed with any particular agency. There have been all sorts of rumors swirling around for 20 years about these agencies. This is Lake County, and some of these programs designed to fight social problems are treated as cash crops for insiders."
Robert Cantrell said the people who come to Fromm from the courts pay their own fees. "That's not taxpayer money," he said.
Fromm said she collects less than half the fees she charges the court-referrals because they plead poverty. Some clients even work off their fee, she said, by cleaning the agency office or its surroundings.
"She could turn them away. But she says she won't turn them away. They need help," Cantrell said. "Nancy has been successful not only because she is political and people know her, but she's very competent. Because she's my friend, that makes her bad (in the eyes of) my political enemies."
He said when all of the dust settles from the state and federal investigations, he will still be left standing.
"I haven't done anything wrong. They try to nail me in Schererville, Hammond, East Chicago, everywhere. My political enemies want me out the loop and knocked out of politics. I've never been indicted. I've never been called to a grand jury," Cantrell said.
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