Defense: GUEA land sale profit legitimate

Font Size:

BY JOE CARLSON
jcarlson@nwitimes.com
219.662.5339 | Tuesday, September 18, 2007 | (3 comment(s))

HAMMOND | Three Gary men took $150,000 of the $200,000 sale price of a building they didn't own because they deserved the money, their defense lawyers argued in court Monday.

The men -- County Councilman Will Smith Jr., tax collector Roosevelt Powell, and attorney Willie Harris -- had to work together in 2001 to sell a vacant grocery store to the Gary Urban Enterprise Association, attorneys said during the first day of the first GUEA fraud case to go to trial.

During opening arguments Monday, prosecutors said the profits the trio derived from the sale involving the Gary Historical and Cultural Society were illegal, and doubly so because they weren't immediately reported on federal income tax returns.

"This case is about greed. The defendants stole $150,000 from a public charity, and then concealed that from the IRS," Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Bell said.

But in separate statements, defense attorneys for the three men said each played a legitimate role in engineering the sale to the corrupt GUEA that justified their respective cuts of the profits, and amended their taxes to reflect that two years later.

"The evidence is going to show that Will Smith has spent his entire life trying to better the community he's in," defense attorney Fred Work said. "He didn't defraud anyone. I'm not certain a fraud was even committed."

On paper, the shuttered store at 6300 Miller Ave. was donated by the family of Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas to the Gary historical society as a tax write-off in December 2000. Ten months later, the GUEA bought the building for $200,000, but the society got to keep only $50,000 of the profits.

Smith received $75,000 from the GUEA sale for his role in connecting the sellers with a local youth baseball charity, although that sale never took place and the building eventually went to the GUEA, Work said.

Harris received $50,000 because he did all the legal work on the two sales, which came after a long history of service Harris has donated to the society and its founder, Dharathula Millender, who is also Harris' stepaunt, defense attorney Thomas Mullins said.

"Maybe the people here should have been more generous with (Millender). But Willie had donated legal services to the historical society for years," Mullins said. "She now felt that it was time to repay Willie for years of his time and efforts."

Powell received $25,000, with a promise of another $5,000 through a separate GUEA sale that month, as a 15 percent "commission" for connecting Harris with GUEA Director Jojuana Meeks, defense attorney Kevin Milner said.

"Mr. Powell said (to Harris), �If I can find a buyer for you, will you give me a commission?' " Milner said. "There was absolutely nothing illegal or unethical about taking a finder's fee of this type."

Meeks, Millender, Costas, and Lake County Auditor Peggy Holinga Katona are all expected to testify during the seven-day trial, and Work said Smith plans to testify in his own defense. Nine people have been charged with swindling the GUEA of more than $1 million, but the grocery store case is the first to go to trial.

Back to story 3 comment(s)

Please note: Comments from readers will be screened and may not be posted immediately. If you don't see your comment perhaps:

It wasn't clear, concise or focused on the topic in the story.
It was a personal attack, vulgar, explicit or degrading, used actual or implied profanity or contained potentially libelous statements.
It accused someone of being guilty of a crime.
It promoted violence or illegal acts.
It contained telephone numbers or street addresses, or e-mail addresses and links to Web sites other than nwi.com or government agencies.

In no way do these comments represent the views of The Times or Lee Enterprises.

Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude and profane language and personal abuse are not welcome.

Reader comments will not be edited - they will be approved or declined. They may be used in the print edition of the newspaper.

If you feel a posted comment has violated these guidelines, please email our New Media team the commenter's name, the comment and a link to the article.

For more information please read our Terms of Service.

Jeffrey L. Crook wrote on Sep 18, 2007 11:06 AM:

" I agree, Tom McDermott Jr. needs to be investigated with regard to the Cabelas deal. I too believe something is rotten in Denmark and it will come as no surprise if/when lil Tommy, his sidekick, Joey Alegretti, and city council president, Dan Repay all get indicted for some shenanigans when the smoke finally clears. Innocent, maybe, but the whole deal sounds suspicious. It just worked out the McDermott senior benefited financially with junior in the mayor's office? Doubtful! "

Investigate McDermott next wrote on Sep 18, 2007 9:31 AM:

" These guys involved with the GUEA scam deserve to do time if the allegations are correct. The actions surrounding Cabelas and Hammond Mayor, Tom McDermott, also need to be investigated. The way he forced the sale of Woodmar County Club to obtain land and the fact that his father made big bucks as a "finders fee" smells really fishy. I think there is a lot more to this story than Lil Tommy McDermott wants us to know. Where is Joe Van Bokklen when you need him? "

FoolUsOnce wrote on Sep 18, 2007 8:45 AM:

" Wow...imagine as having making a statement yesterday about the lack of a September trial and sentencing for Meeks. Looks like she is trying to bargain her way out of some of the charges. The Feds must think she has something on Powell, Harris, or Smith to delay her BIGTIME trial for such small fish. Remember this is woman who stole several millions of dollars out of the mouths and wallets of one of the most depressed communities in our area. Where are the watch dogs when needed? Why does this woman keep getting a free lunch, like she needs another one!! "

Back to story 3 comment(s)

Post a comment Once your comments are approved, they will appear here.

Marketplace

Sections

Services

Other Publications

Search