Public corruption investigations ongoing in Lake County
Prosecutor: Cases remain 'the priority' of region feds
NWI Times
Apr 12, 2009
nwitimes.com/news/local/public-corruption-investigations-ongoing-in-lake-county/article_f6eedd58-b331-5977-975f-b66547bd0bc6.html
As two major public corruption cases came to a head in Hammond federal court in the past two weeks, the region's acting top federal prosecutor said more cases could be on the Northwest Indiana horizon.
Acting U.S. Attorney David Capp said public corruption cases remain "the priority" in his office, with several cases still being pursued.
The sentencing of convicted fraudulent politico Robert Cantrell on March 31 marked the legal closure -- pending appeal -- of the final corruption case held over from former U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen's housecleaning of public officials who used taxpayer money as their personal allowances.
And on Wednesday, the conviction of former Calumet Township Trustee Dozier Allen Jr. was the government's first courtroom victory against a politician indicted in the post-Van Bokkelen era.
As Northwest Indiana waits for President Barack Obama's administration to name a permanent appointee to the Northern District U.S. attorney's office, the future of local public corruption prosecution remains uncertain.
Capp said he would not speak specifically about ongoing investigations into politicians, but his office now is chasing several public corruption cases.
"We are actively engaged with some of our most seasoned resources. It's been our focus my entire 24 years," Capp said.
East Chicago city officials have confirmed FBI agents are investigating the city engineering department. City officials also confirmed the FBI has sought information regarding a construction contractor, Green Tree, which has worked for East Chicago schools.
The Gary Sanitary District is under investigation for possible environmental crimes, according to federal authorities.
Neither the FBI nor the U.S. attorney's office has the power to indict, but the U.S. attorney's office determines what cases are brought before a federal grand jury, the source of indictments.
While the U.S. attorney is an appointed position and no one can officially declare their candidacy for the office, a field of potential contenders has voiced interest in the job.
Jim Wieser, a Democratically connected Schererville lawyer who worked for the Obama campaign, seeks the office, and he said he would enter the job with corruption prosecutions as a personal priority. Wieser acknowledged the Obama administration would "set the tone" for the office's moves, but Wieser said he would tell U.S. Department of Justice officials that political corruption plagues Lake County.
"I would just simply say that there's obviously been a pretty obvious history of public corruption issues and that if those matters were brought to the office of U.S. attorney, they would be fully investigated like anything else," Wieser said.
Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas P. Stefaniak also wants the job. He said he would not give public corruption prosecutions preference over other matters, but he would not hesitate to act on solid evidence of any crime.
"If I was selected as the U.S. attorney, I would work with law enforcement to guide them through their investigations, and I would follow the evidence wherever that led and regardless of who it led to," Stefaniak said.
Wieser and Stefaniak both say none of their political affiliations would affect their potential work in the office.
Former Indiana Attorney General Karen Freeman-Wilson, a Gary attorney, had voiced interest in the U.S. attorney's job, but she said recently she is no longer interested in the post and doesn't expect the appointment.
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