Former S'ville judge to be sentenced today

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BY JOE CARLSON
jcarlson@nwitimes.com
219.933.3364 | Thursday, July 10, 2008 | (10 comment(s))

HAMMOND | Exactly 25 months after Deborah Riga pleaded guilty to using her judicial powers to enrich herself, the former town judge is set to learn her prison sentence today.

Riga was the second person ever elected town judge of Schererville, but her second term in office was stopped short after she was indicted on multiple counts of mail fraud.

Riga is eligible for a more lenient prison sentence because she cooperated extensively in the criminal investigation of East Chicago political fixer Robert Cantrell.

Cantrell was convicted last month of 11 counts of fraud. In court filings Monday, prosecutors said Riga's testimony was essential during the trial. In particular, Riga testified that Cantrell spoke openly about receiving cash kickbacks in exchange for arranging government contracts.

At trial, Cantrell defense attorney Kevin Milner made much of the fact that prosecutors did not have a direct financial trail linking Cantrell to the alleged payments.

That was because Cantrell took so many of the payments in cash, prosecutors and witnesses said.

Riga hired Cantrell's favored firm, Addiction and Family Care, in exchange for cash payments to counsel defendants in the Schererville court. She said Cantrell talked openly about getting cash kickbacks from the deal.

Riga pleaded guilty in June 2006 to a similar but unrelated scheme in which she used her judicial powers to force youthful defendants to attend driving and counseling classes at businesses she controlled.

She eventually made about $30,000 in profits through the scheme. The $12,000 left in her accounts when she was indicted is likely to be forfeited to the government, Assistant U.S. Attorney Orest Szewciw said in 2006.

Szewciw wrote Monday that Riga began cooperating in the Cantrell investigation just a month after pleading guilty.

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al volk wrote on Jul 10, 2008 3:20 PM:

" it is sad they made judge riga look like a crook.she did not need the money
it was her own niaive stupitety that she got envolved in a real mix up of trying to do the right thing her activity was not for greed just niaive and not to bright in choices she made. "

Susan wrote on Jul 10, 2008 1:09 PM:

" Riga was a judge who abused her power; she should be held to a higher standard. She had the ability to put others in jail for crimes that were of much less consequence than the crimes that she committed. We are entitled to honest government. I fervently hope she has to go to jail -- where she belongs -- and not just get slap on the wrist. If she does get a lenient sentence, i.e., probation or community service how does the government ever expect to curtail the illegal, dishonest
political shenigans in Northwest Indiana. "

sympathetic wrote on Jul 10, 2008 12:37 PM:

" As much as what she did was wrong, I have great sympathy for her child(ren). I don't know Judge Riga. I don't know her child(ren). What did her kids do to deserve this? As a young twenty-something adult, I found myself in their position not too long ago. If they happen to read this, it does get better. People will say what they want, and they're right, what happened, what she did was very wrong. But life will move on, and people will stop caring. To her kid(s)-I don't know you, but I know what you're going through. It may not seem this way, but the worst is over. Trust me. I was there. You might hate the world, your mom, and hate your life right now, but it will get better, you will become more accepting and less judgmental of others. My heart goes out to you and your family. "

good wrote on Jul 10, 2008 11:12 AM:

" well finally some justice for the crooked lake county politicalmachine,keep it going till they're all gone!!! "

bill wrote on Jul 10, 2008 10:46 AM:

" To the max, like you treated people. "

mmm koolaide wrote on Jul 10, 2008 10:44 AM:

" wasn't Riga also involved in some type of voter fraud as well? Some writers in other threads today, complain about divisions between Schererville GOP and Dems. Maybe there should be. Appears that Schererville Dems are just as crooked as the rest of the dems in Lake. "

doubleclutch wrote on Jul 10, 2008 10:43 AM:

" Greed Greed Greed! thats how this happened. "

bon voyage ... wrote on Jul 10, 2008 9:21 AM:

" & good riddance. you are a disgrace. "

Thank you for one thing... wrote on Jul 10, 2008 3:56 AM:

" ...for helping throw that crook Cantrell (and soon-to-be his family) behind bars!!! "

Sheesh. wrote on Jul 10, 2008 12:49 AM:

" How does this happen? "

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