INDIANAPOLIS | Imprisoned former East Chicago City Councilman Joe De La Cruz has agreed to cooperate with the state's civil racketeering lawsuit against longtime Mayor Robert Pastrick and other former city officials.

De La Cruz, who is serving prison time on federal corruption charges related to a 1999 sidewalks-for-votes scheme, joins a growing list of former Pastrick allies who have agreed to testify against the eight-term mayor. The settlement, announced Wednesday, removes De La Cruz from a state civil racketeering suit seeking to recover more than $24 million that went to pave driveways, patios and sidewalks for city voters prior to the 1999 municipal elections.

"We continue to find ways to move the RICO lawsuit forward, and we are prepared to go to trial when the court sets a date," Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter said Wednesday. "The defendants are being narrowed, and we are hopeful that the court will recognize the progress."

Seven defendants now remain from the field of 20 former city officials and contractors named in the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act lawsuit Carter filed four years ago. Pastrick and top aides Timothy Raykovich and James Fife III are the primary targets of the federal suit, which has yet to be scheduled for trial.

A default judgment is pending against former East Chicago City Councilman Frank Kollintzas who is believed to have fled to Greece following his conviction in the federal investigation of the sidewalks-for-votes scheme. Pastrick was not charged in the criminal investigation, which snared a half-dozen city officials, and he claims he knew nothing of the paving spree until his city paycheck bounced in 1999.

De La Cruz, who has a projected parole target of June 2010, agreed to an indefinite ban on holding public office, elected or otherwise, as part of his settlement. He will not pay a financial penalty.

Carter's civil suit so far has recovered $1.3 million, with nearly half of that coming from a settlement with Rieth-Riley. The paving firm paid $625,000 to settle claims it helped city officials in an attempt to legitimize the concrete bonanza.