Political power broker Robert Cantrell's sentencing on federal corruption charges will be delayed again
Post-Tribune (IN)
March 6, 2009
HAMMOND -- Political power broker Robert Cantrell's sentencing on federal corruption charges will be delayed again, but it looks like federal prosecutors plan to push for a harsh sentence.
After hearing more than two hours of arguments from attorneys Thursday, U.S. Judge Rudy Lozano delayed his ruling on how long Cantrell should serve in prison. After a lengthy sidebar, Lozano set a March 31 date for Cantrell's sentencing to allow attorneys to review testimony from Cantrell's June 2008 trial.
Found guilty of seven counts of honest services fraud and four tax counts, Cantrell has won several delays while trying to appeal the verdict. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each of the fraud counts and up to three years for each of the tax charges.
Cantrell's attorney, Kevin Milner, had objected to a potential sentence that included more than $68,000 in restitution and additional jail time because Cantrell committed crimes as a high-ranking public official.
Cantrell, a longtime East Chicago schools official and political operative with ties to dozens of Lake County politicians, failed to disclose fees he collected from a counseling service he helped win lucrative contracts with local courts and government agencies -- including a deal between the firm and the North Township Trustee's Office, where he held various positions.
U.S. Attorneys Orsest Scziciw and Wayne Ault maintained Cantrell owed the township his share of the money paid to Addiction and Family Care because Trustee Greg Cvitkovich wouldn't have hired the firm without Cantrell's influence. They also argued that Cantrell should get a harsher sentence because he led his business partner in AFC, Nancy Fromm, to commit a criminal act by continuing the deal and by having her add his two adult children to AFC's insurance plan, although neither did any work for the company.
Milner argued that township employees testified Cantrell was seldom at work and seemed to have no job responsibilities
"If I understand (their) evidence, Mr. Cantrell's position at North Township was a sham, and he's just there to enrich himself," Milner said. "Now they're saying he's in a position of authority and deserves to be jacked up (for additional jail time) four levels."
The argument didn't seem to play well with Lozano, who took the statement as an admission that Cantrell essentially was a ghost-payroll employee.
"He may have been a bad employee," Lozano said. "But that doesn't mean he didn't have authority."
Sentencing in federal corruption case
Caption: Robert Cantrell (left) arrives with his son John Cantrell (center) and attorney Kevin Milner on Thursday at the Federal Courthouse in Hammond. Cantrell's sentencing hearing was delayed until March 31.Judge delays Cantrell sentencingStephanie Dowell/Post-Tribune
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