Local politics in The Region have always been opaque to me. I just shrug my shoulders, assume corruption, and pay more attention to other parts of the state. I first became aware of Bob Pastrick in the context of his support as a superdelegate for Hillary Clinton.
Apparently Mr. Pastrick, former mayor of East Chicago, is the defendant in a civil racketeering trial scheduled to begin in May.
The lawsuit claims that Pastrick and former aides Timothy Raykovich and James Fife used more than $24 million of city money for paving projects to buy votes in the 1999 Democratic primary election.
Pastrick was mayor for 32 years. He left office after the Indiana Supreme Court in 2004 found his campaign tainted with corruption and ordered a rerun of the 2003 Democratic primary.
Yeah, he makes Blago look like a carpet-bagger when it comes to corruption!
I’ll say one thing about living in da Region-it is never dull!