Death in family delays Cantrell trial
Fraud case to resume Thursday
NWI Times
Jun 4, 2008
nwitimes.com/news/local/death-in-family-delays-cantrell-trial/article_68713da3-821f-56a4-b1af-6fd913d19dfd.html
HAMMOND | Robert Cantrell's federal fraud trial has been postponed until Thursday morning because of a death in the family.
Cantrell's mother, Nellie Cantrell, of East Chicago, died Sunday at the age of 96.
She was perhaps best known by the community as the owner of the Hoosier Flower Shop in Whiting for 50 years.
"She was a very fine woman, and I feel terrible for Mr. Cantrell and his family for their loss, and also for the timing of the loss," said Cantrell defense attorney Kevin Milner.
Services are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. today at Oleska-Pastrick Funeral Home. She is survived by a sister, two sons, seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
She died two days after some of the most negative testimony about her son was aired in the courtroom by government witnesses.
U.S. District Court Judge Rudy Lozano put the trial on hold while the family attends to the burial, but he did not tell the jury exactly what had happened.
"One of the participants had a very close family member pass away," Lozano told the jury Monday morning, before resuming the trial. "Please do not hold it (the two-day delay) against any of the participants. It occurred naturally."
Court proceeded normally on Monday.
Cantrell is charged with 11 felonies, and prosecutors have said they plan to present more than 30 witnesses and more than 100 exhibits. The trial was expected to last up to three weeks, but Lozano has said the case is proceeding ahead of schedule.
At least two high-profile witnesses have yet to take the stand -- former Schererville Town Court Judge Deb Riga and former North Township Trustee Greg Cvitkovich.
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