Fighting public corruption

Fighting public corruption

As the economic downturn has emboldened fraudsters, scam artists and identity thieves to try to defraud Hoosiers, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has ratcheted up his efforts to protect consumers, homeowners and taxpayers and hold accountable those who victimize the public

Zoeller continued to pursue the lawsuit that former Attorney General Steve Carter brought under the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), against East Chicago political figures accused of corruption. In March, a federal court ordered former East Chicago Mayor Robert Pastrick to pay $108 million in damages, after that court last year entered judgments against Pastrick and two accomplices on every racketeering count the AG alleged in the $24 million "sidewalks-for-votes" fraud. Seeking to collect on the judgment and opposing Pastrick's bankruptcy petition, Zoeller also has fought in court and in the Legislature to pry open the books of a non-transparent for-profit entity Pastrick created, Second Century, that received casino revenue in East Chicago. Zoeller has urged legislators to change state law to require financial transparency whenever casino revenue flows to such companies through local development agreements.