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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Ind. Courts - More on: "State lawyers ask for $109 million judgment in Pastrick case"
Supplementing this ILB entry from yesterday, today Andy Grimm of the Gary Post-Tribune reports in a story headed "Ex-mayor owes city $3 or $109M":
Former Mayor Robert A. Pastrick owes East Chicago damages totaling somewhere between $3 and $108,998,876.30, say attorneys in the landmark civil racketeering case against the legendary Northwest Indiana political boss.In filings entered Monday in U.S. District Court in Hammond, lawyers for state Attorney General Greg Zoeller laid out a case that Pastrick, former aide James Fife III and former city councilman Frank Kollintzas owe East Chicago taxpayers millions paid for street and sidewalk paving, tree-trimming and other work performed at city expense in the run-up to the 1999 Democratic primary.
A total of $32 million includes $1.6 million in fees paid to lawyers who defended a dozen city officials eventually convicted of federal criminal charges in the sidewalk scheme, and money paid to Fife and other city consultants with ties to Pastrick's political
Under racketeering statutes, Judge James Moody can triple the damage amount, for a total of nearly $109 million, including interest.
Pastrick's attorney, Michael Bosch, said Zoeller's legal team failed to prove their case that the eight-term mayor ran city government as a criminal racket that enriched political allies and cronies, and argued the state deserved only nominal damages of $1 -- $3 if Moody chose to triple the amount.
The day before Pastrick and Fife were set to go to trial, the pair entered a motion for default judgment by Moody, meaning they would not defend themselves in court. Kollintzas, who was found guilty in a federal criminal trial for his role in the sidewalk scheme and fled to Greece in 2004, did not appear in court.
Moody must decide, based on testimony earlier this month by witnesses for the state, how much Pastrick, Fife and Kollintzas must pay in damages, though sources close to the case say Pastrick and Fife likely will file bankruptcy to avoid paying a significant
Zoeller also asked for Moody to order a "forensic audit" of the books of East Chicago Second Century, a for-profit foundation set up by Pastrick allies Tom Cappas and Peter Manous that has received million from the city's casino revenue since 1998 under a deal brokered by Pastrick.
J. Lee McNeely, a Shelbyville attorney for Second Century, said federal investigators have already pored over the foundation's finances and called the state's filing "ridiculous."
"That pleading is so flawed that it defies imagination," McNeely said. "We are not a party to that lawsuit."
Moody has not set a date for his ruling.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 23, 2009 10:12 AM
Posted to Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions