Thursday, April 17, 2014

Northwest Ind. Mayor, Wife, Daughter Indicted; Face Fed. Corruption Charges for Taking Money

A northwest Indiana mayor, his wife, and stepdaughter have been indicted on federal corruption charges, the Chicago Tribune website reports today (April 17, 2014).

Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist and his wife Deborah Soderquist -- his administrative assistant --are accused of taking money from the mayor's campaign finance account and the city's food pantry account and spending it at casinos in Indiana and Michigan. The couple also failed to file accurate tax returns between 2010 and 2012, according to the charges.

In a second indictment, the mayor and his wife are accused of helping the mayor's step-daughter, Miranda Brakley, avoid arrest after she allegedly stole $5,000 from the Lake Station City Court.

According to the indictments, the Soderquists lost more than $100,000 at casinos between the spring of 2010 and December 2012. During that time, the couple improperly took $18,500 from the election campaign's account as well as an undisclosed amount from the food pantry account, according to the indictment.

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