08102004 - News Article - Schererville judge pleads not guilty to fed charges

Schererville judge pleads not guilty to fed charges

Post-Tribune (IN)
August 10, 2004

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Deborah Riga didn't need to have her rights in court explained to her. 

A former Schererville Town Court judge, Riga quietly entered a not-guilty plea Monday to federal criminal charges. 

Last Friday, the U.S. attorney's office announced that a grand jury indicted Riga, 47, on mail fraud and extortion charges stemming from her operation of Schererville's town court from 1999 through 2003. 

In federal court Monday, Magistrate Judge Andrew Rodovich set a $20,000 unsecured bond for Riga. 

That means she can return to Sarasota, Fla., where she lives now, without posting bond. 

A status conference on her case was scheduled for Nov. 4. 

Neither Riga nor her attorney, Nick Thiros, would comment on the case outside court. 

Thiros also came to court Monday with James Fife and his wife, Karen Krahn-Fife, whose indictments on federal tax-evasion charges were announced Friday. 

Fife is a former special assistant to East Chicago Mayor Robert Pastrick . 

Arraignments for Fife and Krahn-Fife were tentatively scheduled for Aug. 18.