Audit provides ammunition for Schererville court probe
State officials ask former Town Judge Deborah Riga to repay $4,770
NWI Times
Aug 6, 2004
nwitimes.com/news/local/audit-provides-ammunition-for-schererville-court-probe/article_085f1bf0-b193-5749-86d1-f6430e572c44.html
SCHERERVILLE -- New allegations of wrongdoing may be fueling the work of a state and federal task force investigating former Town Court Judge Deborah Riga's administration.
Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter's spokeswoman confirmed he has turned a State Board of Accounts audit of Riga's last year in office over to the task force. It alleges a number of questionable practices and calls for Riga to reimburse the state nearly $2,500.
A part of the audit focuses on Riga's dealings with Addiction and Family Care, a Hammond counseling service connected to political figures Nancy Fromm and Robert Cantrell.
There was speculation Thursday that federal indictments to be announced today might be aimed at the town, as well as East Chicago or Gary.
The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on who would be indicted.
Riga couldn't be reached Thursday for comment.
Schererville Town Judge Kenneth Anderson, who defeated Riga last year and also has been cooperating with the task force, said Thursday he was not aware of any impending indictments.
Anderson said task force investigators late last month were still carrying away boxes of court documents involving Riga's administration.
The State Board of Accounts is asking Riga to repay Schererville for $1,520 in tax money it alleges she improperly paid to court employees over several days they worked for a private business called Crossroads.
The audit says, "Upon further inquiry of court personnel, it was discovered that Crossroads, also known as DES (Diversified Educational Services) or AFC (Addiction and Family Care) is a young offender program that the court orders defendants to attend." Those who did and paid their fees received certificates of completion bearing the signatures of either Riga or Nancy Fromm.
Fromm, who runs Addiction and Family Care, is a Democratic precinct committeewoman in Hammond.
She employs Cantrell as a consultant to steer government business to her. Together, they have won hundreds of thousands of dollars in business from a number of local courts and law enforcement agencies.
Neither Fromm nor Addiction and Family Care are accused of any wrongdoing in the audit. Fromm reportedly was out of town Thursday and couldn't be reached for comment.
The state is asking Riga to reimburse the town another $750 in cash that disappeared after someone posted bond on Nov. 23, 2003, at the town's police station.
The audit reports the bond amount was short $100 when it later reached the court. Instead of depositing the remaining $650 in the bank, it was placed in the court administrator's safe "and subsequently disappeared."
The report said she failed to assess the proper court fees from offenders, denying the state tens of thousand of dollars in revenue. The audit said Riga failed to buy a $5,000 bond. State law requires such performance bonds of officials and employees who handle public money so it can be seized in case of financial wrongdoing.
Riga's court made multiple purchases of between $1,000 and $1,500 from the same town vendor on the same date or week in an apparent effort to "subvert the town's purchasing policy," which requires approval by the town manager, town clerk's office and three Town Board members for any purchase of more than $1,500, the audit says.
Charles Johnson, who heads the State Board of Accounts, said last week his agency sent the audit to Riga by certified mail last spring, but still haven't received a reply from her.
Schererville Clerk-Treasurer Janice Malinowski and Town Manger Richard Krame were critical of Riga for refusing to communicate with them about the financial troubles mentioned in the audit. They wrote in a joint letter to the state, "(Riga) apparently did not or could not comply with lawful requirements and procedures."
Anderson said he closed Crossroads and other programs involving Fromm and Cantrell.
"We have done everything we can to understand where mistakes were made in the past and resolve those," he said.
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