Riga and Fifes in federal court
RIGA; FIFE: Riga pleads not guilty to all charges, Fife, his wife to be arraigned Aug. 18
NWI Times
Aug 10, 2004
nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/riga-and-fifes-in-federal-court/article_18672644-6fe5-5a2a-8b50-b09b4412935a.html
Former Schererville Town Court Judge Deborah Riga and James H. Fife III, former special assistant to East Chicago Mayor Robert Pastrick, were indicted on federal charges together Friday and, on Monday, shared the same attorney at their formal appearance in federal court.
Defense attorney Nick Thiros also filed his appearance for Fife's co-defendant, Karen Krahn-Fife, at the initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Andrew Rodovich in the Federal Courthouse in Hammond.
Fife, 47, and Krahn-Fife, 36, are charged with filing false income tax returns since 1998 resulting in a tax loss of about $325,000.
Rodovich questioned the husband and wife asking if they understood the possible conflict of having the same attorney. They assured him they understood.
They will remain free on a $20,000 unsecured bond and agreed to surrender their passports. The two will be arraigned Aug. 18.
When Thiros handed federal prosecutors papers, he razzed them about the indictment against Riga, 47.
"Who drafted this thing?" Thiros said. "I want to congratulate you on your imagination. It was very interesting reading."
Riga pleaded not guilty to charges she shook down more than 1,175 minor offenders who appeared in her court, ordering them to undergo counseling at a counseling service she owned in the name of a family friend.
Assistant federal attorneys Orest Szewciw and Wayne Ault told Rodovich the evidence in Riga's case is "voluminous" and agreed to his suggestion to extend the normal 30-day time limit for the defense to file pretrial motions. A status conference is scheduled for Nov. 4, at which time a trial date will be set.
Federal prosecutors said they will prove Riga pocketed more than $30,000 in fees the offenders were required to pay for the services.
Riga, who now lives in Sarasota, Fla., also is free on a $20,000 unsecured bond and will be allowed to continue living in Florida as her case winds its way through court. When asked to surrender her passport, Riga told Thiros hers no longer was valid.
Riga faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each of seven fraud counts and 20 years on a racketeering count. The government also seeks forfeiture of all money illegally diverted.
The 20-page indictment alleges Riga also extorted money from a legitimate counseling service working for the town court, cheated taxpayers out of rent payments to the town, used public employees to help collect her illegal profits and cheated the state out of revenue she diverted to the town treasury to improve her image.
She was elected in 1999 to preside over the fourth-busiest municipal court in Lake County and rich source of revenue for the town and state from the fines and fees offenders pay the court.
Riga's alleged scheme unraveled last year after Kenneth Anderson challenged her in the spring Democratic primary. She initially won that election, but Anderson demanded a recount. His investigators found enough fraudulently cast absentee ballots to have him declared the winner.
In Friday's indictment announcement, U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen said five businesses, four of which were set up by Fife, and one by Krahn-Fife, allegedly served as the conduit for concealing their unreported income.
Fife, long viewed as a close ally of the Pastrick administration, has been spotted infrequently in the community ever since federal agents began to swarm Northwest Indiana.
Pastrick's clout once put Fife, a son of a prominent funeral home director, Freeman Fife, on the Gary Airport Board, the County Election Board and the city Water Department as attorney. Fife was a lobbyist to the School City of East Chicago and provided legal counsel to North Township Trustee Gregory Cvitkovich.
Fife held the title of special counsel to the mayor, even after his law license was suspended in 1997 for failure to meet continuing education requirements. He has been Democratic chairman of the state's 1st District and once served as the county Democratic Party treasurer.
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