HAMMOND | Whatever else they might have in common, four Lake County political insiders together pleaded not guilty Tuesday in federal court.
Criminal charges summoned power broker Robert Cantrell to federal court just hours before Lake County Councilman Will Smith and Gary insiders Willie Harris and Roosevelt Powell appeared in a different criminal proceeding just down the hall.
All four pleaded not guilty to charges they abused the public trust to secretly enrich themselves through two separate schemes outlined in federal indictments last month.
Smith, Harris and Powell face several fraud and tax charges each for profiting from the sale of two buildings to the Gary Urban Enterprise Association, a publicly funded development corporation that dissolved this year under the weight of scandal.
New allegations were added to the original indictments returned last year against the three, and they had to enter new pleas Tuesday.
The newly worded indictment says Powell used his connection with former GUEA director Jojuana Meeks, who has pleaded guilty to embezzlement, to engineer one of the deals.
None of their attorneys commented on the case after the five-minute arraignment Tuesday. Their joint trial is scheduled for July.
Meanwhile, Cantrell faces allegations he convinced his former employer, the North Township trustee's office, to hire a counseling firm owned by a political ally who paid him a percentage of the profits on the side.
The ally was Nancy Fromm, who has pleaded guilty to evading taxes and obstructing the investigation into her Hammond counseling firm, Addiction and Family Care.
Prosecutors also say Cantrell convinced Fromm to place two people on her company's health insurance plan. Prosecutors allege this is insurance fraud because the two did not work for the company.
The 11-count indictment says Cantrell's actions diverted a total of $150,000, both in his secret profits and through the fraudulent health insurance payments. His trial is scheduled for June.
Cantrell's attorney, Kevin Milner, defended his client's innocence after Tuesday's arraignment.
"I am still just very, very surprised, if not shocked, that the government is interested in pursuing a man like Bob Cantrell based on next-to-no evidence," Milner said. "I don't anticipate one person taking the stand and saying one bad thing about Bob Cantrell, if they take that oath and follow it."
