The two candidates for Indiana attorney general are sparring over the role a public construction contractor could play in the upcoming racketeering trial against former East Chicago city officials.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Greg Zoeller, whose office is prosecuting the civil case, said employees of the contractor will play a "critical" role in the trial -- which could mean company officials probably will want their attorney, Linda Pence, at their side during the case.

Pence is the Democratic candidate for attorney general, and Zoeller is the Republican candidate. The election is in November, and a trial date for the case has not yet been set.

"If you've been involved in a specific case ... you can't represent both sides," Zoeller said.

Pence brushed aside questions of whether she could have a conflict of interest in the case, adding that she was "amazed" that the current administration has delayed the trial so long that allegations from 1999 are a campaign issue in 2008.

"If there's judged to be a conflict of interests, it will not take me seven to nine years to find outside counsel and finish the case," Pence said.

Pence has said she will not commit to going forward with the racketeering case against former East Chicago Democratic Mayor Robert Pastrick's administration until she has a chance to review the files and judge the strength of the evidence.

Zoeller has said the office is mandated to pursue the case because state law says the office "shall" try to recoup money that turns up misappropriated in state audits -- as more than $24 million was under the Pastrick administration.

The civil lawsuit is the largest-ever collection effort in the history of the attorney general's office.

The lawsuit centers on hoards of publicly financed concrete and tree-trimming work that Pastrick-era officials used to curry favor with voters ahead of the 1999 mayoral primary election. More than a dozen people eventually went to prison in the scheme in a separate case.

Zoeller said contractor Rieth-Riley is bound to play a "critical" role in the trial, because city officials tried to cover up their actions after the fact using an old Rieth-Riley contract and cooperation from company officials.

Rieth-Riley originally was named as a defendant in the case, but the company paid $625,000 to settle the claims and cooperate against the remaining defendants.

A copy of the settlement obtained by The Times shows that Pence signed the agreement as counsel for Rieth-Riley.

Pence said she could not say whether she would have a conflict of interest in the case until after she has seen the evidence, and she will not accept at face value Zoeller's comment that her former client would be so central until she reads the documents.

If Zoeller were right and the case went forward, Pence would have other counsel in her office or outside attorneys handle the trial, she said.