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WEFM 95.9
Indiana Attorney General freezes assets of Mary Lombard and son Bart, claims she owes Michigan Township over $37,000 and that Bart owes nearly $88,000 during period of her serving as Township Supervisor.

[Tim]

Whoa.

Edited to add -

This is in the online ND today. Looks pretty bad.

Ya never know about people.

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http://heraldargus.com/articles/2011/07/30...bf052495714.txt

Lombards say audit issues will be resolved at Wednesday hearing

By Tim Moran
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, July 30, 2011 5:06 PM CDT
LA PORTE — Former Michigan Township trustee Mary Lombard is "disappointed" in the complaint filed in La Porte County Superior Court 3 Thursday by the Indiana Attorney General office that has temporarily frozen the assets of Lombard and three other former Michigan Township employees until a hearing Wednesday.

Lombard said she has been aware of the possible complaint and restraining order since May.

"I'm disappointed that there has been such a rush to judgment before the final audit is in," she said. "I am confident the issue will be resolved at Wednesday's hearing."

Lombard, her son, Bart Lombard, the former deputy trustee, as well as former employees Andrew Crane and Betty Blackmon were issued temporary restraining orders Thursday, requiring them not to dissipate or transfer any personal property, including homes, vehicles, bank accounts and retirement plans until the Wednesday hearing is conducted. The hearing is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, and the court will consider extending the freeze indefinitely, until the state files a lawsuit at a later date to recover overpayments once a final audit of the trustee's office is concluded.

Bryan Corbin, spokesman for Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who initiated the legal action Thursday, said a continuation of the restraining order will be sought Wednesday "to keep the assets in place so they aren't squandered in the process."

The next step, Corbin says, would be to officially file a lawsuit for recovery of public funds that could add up to $138,000 among the four former employees.

"We are not trying to deprive them of basic living expenses and we need to get the final audit before proceeding," Corbin said.

The assets that were frozen and officially named in the complaint include, but are not limited to, real estate property located at 354 Menke Road in Trail Creek and 218 Pine Lake Ave. in La Porte, a 1998 Nissan Maxima, 2002 Cadillac Deville, 1992 Mitsubishi Diamante as well as any deferred compensation.

Lombard is prohibited from dissipating or transferring any of the assets listed.

The complaint against Bart Lombard did not include any specific vehicles, but real estate property at 625 Faulknor St. in Michigan City, as well as any retirement plans, checking and savings accounts and deferred compensation.

"I was surprised," Bart Lombard said during a Friday afternoon telephone call. "I do believe a number of things will be resolved during the Wednesday hearing."

Lombard is the Director of Operations at Access La Porte County television, which was not named in the freeze.

"I would like to thank everyone who has called with signs of support," Bart Lombard added.

The assets of Andrew Crane which were named in the complaint include a 1997 Saturn and 2001 Towne and Country vehicles.

Assets frozen that belong to Betty Blackmon include a 2008 GMC Envoy and a 2009 Chevrolet Impala.

Savings accounts, retirement plans and deferred compensation were listed in complaints against each of the four.

In a preliminary audit conducted by the State Board of Accounts, auditors allege they found accounting problems as well as several instances of the former trustee and the former three employees being overpaid or wrongfully compensated from 2007 through 2010.

The State Board of Accounts preliminary audit alleges Mary Lombard, the former elected officeholder, owes the township $37,214.40. That amount includes:

• $13,085.38 in unauthorized “longevity pay” that the former trustee paid to herself and two of her employees that must be reimbursed.

• $3,175.95 in unauthorized pay and bonuses to her employees, and $400 in advance pay given to an employee that was not deducted out of subsequent paychecks.

• $2,813.46 in additional paychecks to Lombard that she was not due to receive.

• $348.01 in ineligible personal expenses the former trustee charged to the township, for an oil change, flu shots, humidifier treatments, admission tickets to the Fair Oaks Farms agricultural attraction and her reimbursement to herself for office cleaning.

• $806.51 in undocumented expenses.

• $16,585.09 in interest, fees and penalties due to quarterly employer reports not being filed on time with the Internal Revenue Service and Indiana Department of Revenue.

• $5,088 to reimburse the costs of the State Board of Accounts audit.

The attorney general alleges Bart Lombard, the former trustee’s son and former deputy trustee, owes the township $87,972.62 in salary overpayments and other payments he received over a four-year period, the preliminary audit said. In 2010 for example, the deputy trustee’s official salary, authorized by the township board, was $32,192.30, yet Bart Lombard received a salary of $55,164.59 that year – an overpayment of $22,972.29. There were similar discrepancies in previous years, the audit said.

Former office employee Betty Blackmon owes $10,400 and former employee Andrew Crane owes $2,685.38, both in connection with the “longevity pay” they received from Mary Lombard that was not authorized by the township board, according to the audit.

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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...e1469496406.txt

Judge lowers amount of Lombards' frozen assets

Restraining orders on other employee assets lifted
By Tim Moran
Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, August 4, 2011 5:08 PM CDT
LA PORTE — Temporary restraining orders freezing the assets of former Michigan Township trustee employees Andrew Crane and Betty Blackmon have been suspended, and the amount of assets being frozen from former trustee Mary Lombard and deputy trustee Bart Lombard has been lowered to $125,000.

Judge Jennifer Koethe of La Porte Superior Court 3 arrived at that conclusion during the Lombards’ initial hearing Wednesday afternoon after a temporary restraining order freezing the assets of all four defendants totaling $138,000 was issued last week.

All four appeared in court late Wednesday morning.

The Lombards were represented by Attorney Alan Sirinek, who originally sought to have charges against Crane and Blackmon dropped.

*
While State Attorney Luke Hodgin did not agree to drop charges against the two, the restraining order for the both of them, which totaled nearly $13,000, was suspended as long as Mary Lombard posted that amount as bond.

“Although I believe my clients are not guilty of any wrongdoing, if there should be a finding of wrongdoing on all four, Mary (Lombard) would be responsible for the total sum as the elected officer,” Sirinek said. “It is within her means to pay the entire sum from all if wrongdoing is found.”

Hodgin said no charges will be dismissed at this point, but did agree to Sirinek’s request that the amount being restrained from the Lombards be reduced to $138,272.38. It was then reduced to a little more than $125,000 after the bond for Crane and Blackmon was placed in escrow.

Crane’s attorney, Michael Mulchay, said charges against his client should be dropped.

“If Mrs. Lombard is willing to pay the entire total in bond, what else is there to do?,” he asked.

Blackmon and Crane were seated in the front row behind the Lombards and Sirinek.

When asked by Koethe about her legal representation, Blackmon said that she had no attorney “at this time.”

A follow-up hearing on the case has not been set, but will be at the request of either party.

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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/laporte...9de94e9b75.html

INDIANAPOLIS | State auditors demanded Tuesday the former trustee and deputy trustee of Michigan Township in LaPorte County repay more than $100,000 in excess salary and unapproved spending they oversaw between 2007 and 2010.

Former Trustee Mary Lombard misspent $42,302.40 by overpaying her salary, paying herself and other employees unauthorized bonuses, taking reimbursement for personal spending and getting the township penalized for not filing proper federal and state tax documents, according to the State Board of Accounts.

Her son, former Deputy Trustee Bart Lombard, received salary overpayments and bonuses totaling $87,972.62, auditors said. In addition, the township paid $44,000 over four years in website expenses to Access LaPorte County, of which Bart Lombard is director of operations, according to the report.

The audit also called for former township employees Betty Blackmon and Andrew Crane to return "longevity bonuses" authorized by Mary Lombard that were not approved by the township board. Blackmon owes $10,400, and Crane owes $2,685.38, auditors said.

In July, Attorney General Greg Zoeller won court approval to freeze the assets of all four former township employees to prevent them from hiding or selling items such as homes, cars or bank accounts while the State Board of Accounts completed its audit.

Zoeller is likely to file civil lawsuits seeking reimbursement of the allegedly misspent funds.

The audit report also was sent to the LaPorte County prosecutor and grand jury for potential criminal charges.

Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/laporte...l#ixzz1ZvPFNVt4

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PDF version of the actual audit for those who are curious.

 MichAudit.pdf.pdf ( 6.68mb ) Number of downloads: 649

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http://heraldargus.com/articles/2011/10/06...0d552686488.txt

Audit: Lombards must repay $117,000+

Decision expected soon on criminal charges
By Stan Maddux
For The Herald-Argus
Published: Thursday, October 6, 2011 5:06 PM CDT
The former Michigan Township trustee and her son, the former deputy township trustee, are being ordered to repay more than $117,000 the state alleges was embezzled from the township.

A decision is expected soon on whether criminal charges will be pursued against Mary Lombard and her son, Bart Lombard. Mary Lombard is being ordered to repay $29,217.02 and Bart Lombard $87,972.62.

La Porte County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Robert Neary said Wednesday his office received a copy of a state board of accounts audit detailing the alleged misspending.

“This was the final piece of evidence we were waiting for,” said Neary, who already received preliminary findings of a state police investigation into the questionable expenditures.

*
The audit released Sept. 30 shows Mary Lombard allegedly misspent more than $42,000 from 2007 to 2010 by overpaying her salary, paying herself and some township employees unauthorized bonuses, reimbursing herself for personal expenses along with penalties for not properly filing state and federal tax documents.

Bart Lombard during that same time period collected more than $87,000 in salary overpayments and unauthorized bonuses, according to the audit.

In addition, state auditors found the township paid $44,000 during those years for website expenses to a company for which Bart Lombard is director of operations.

Former township employees Andrew Crane and Betty Blackmon also were ordered by state auditors to pay back more than $13,000 in “longevity bonuses.”

Those funds were authorized by Mary Lombard, but not approved by the township board, according to the audit.

Neary said all four people named in the audit as collecting misspent funds could be leveled with criminal charges if a review of the evidence by his office warrants such action. He could not predict exactly when a ruling will be made.

“I would anticipate the process would be done quickly, and within a couple of weeks we should have a decison,” Neary said.

Mary Lombard was Michigan Township trustee for nearly 30 years. It is the largest township in La Porte County, encompassing Michigan City and the surrounding area.

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office froze the assets of the Lombards, Crane and Blackmon while the audit was being conducted.

In response to the audit, Mary Lombard said she and her attorney have been given an opportunity by the state board of accounts to offer an explanation to the accusations, and they are in the process of giving a response.

“We’ll go from there,” she said.

Lombard did not want to offer any more specifics.

Bart Lombard could not be reached for comment.

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WEFM now reporting that criminal charges have been filed against both Lombards.

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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2012/0...5f636002824.txt

Lombards now face criminal charges

By Tim Moran
Staff Writer
Published: Friday, January 6, 2012 5:07 PM CST
LA PORTE COUNTY — Already facing a civil case in La Porte Superior Court, former Michigan Township Trustee Mary Lombard and her son Bart Lombard, who was a Michigan Township deputy trustee, now face multiple criminal charges.

According to court documents, Bart Lombard, who serves as director of operations at Access La Porte County TV station, is charged with four counts of theft, one count of official misconduct and another count of conflict of interest, all Class D felonies.

Mary Lombard faces two counts of official misconduct, as well as an additional charge of conflict of interest, all Class D felonies.

The four theft counts Bart Lombard faces include one for each year from 2007 through 2010, when he served as the township’s deputy trustee.

*
The court information indicated he is accused of “exerting unauthorized control” over property of the Michigan Township Trustee’s Office in the amount of $17,546.43 in 2007, $13,759.56 in 2008, $26,073.37 in 2009 and $30,594.06 in 2010.

In an affidavit for probable cause filed by Indiana State Police 1st Sgt. Allen Williamson, an examiner for the State Board of Accounts advised there were “many checks made out and issued to Bart Lombard” between 2007 and 2010.

“These checks were in addition to his regular salary,” the affidavit reads.

It also says checks were written by Bart Lombard to himself, because “as chief deputy trustee, he was authorized to use the trustee’s signature stamp.”

The conflict of interest charge levied against Bart Lombard is in relation to ALCO-TV which, according to the affidavit, “was paid various amounts up to $44,000 without a contract.”

“The conflict of interest statement must be filed with the clerk’s office, however none had been filed,” according to the charges.

Information submitted by Williamson against Mary Lombard includes that she performed “an act that a public servant is forbidden to perform by law – payment of bonuses and longevity not authorized or approved” by the Township Advisory Board.

Her second official misconduct charge includes obtaining a $75,000 loan from Horizon Bank without board approval.

The probable cause affidavit relating to the charges against Mary Lombard states employee bonuses totaling more than $6,000 were paid, but “not provided in any salary, claim or budget calculation for the years of the audit.”

The audit, conducted by the State Board of Accounts, also resulted in a civil lawsuit filed against the Lombards by the state Attorney General.

Although the lawsuit remains ongoing, Bryan Corbin, public-information officer for the Office of the Indiana Attorney General, said the office is seeking civil judgments against the defendants “in order to recover funds to reimburse the public treasury for the amounts that were misappropriated.”

Michigan City based Attorney Alan Sirinek, one of two local lawyers defending Bart and Mary Lombard, said it was “disheartening” to see criminal charges filed against his clients.

“We were surprised the prosecutor went ahead and filed criminal charges given that the civil actions have hardly commenced,” Sirinek said, adding that he does not see the “rush in proceeding with this other than to destroy the names of two individuals who have given themselves freely to the welfare of the community.”

The attorney added he believes both Lombards “will be vindicated” in the civil case, and that “we will never get to the criminal forum.”

Two judges, William Boklund of La Porte Superior Court 4 and Richard Stalbrink of La Porte Superior Court 2, have recused themselves from serving on the criminal case.

At this time, the cases have been sent back from Superior Court 2 to Superior Court 4, where Boklund may either appoint a special judge or send the case to the Indiana Supreme Court.

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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2012/0...f0215958530.txt

Access La Porte County releases Bart Lombard

By Ilene Haluska
Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, March 29, 2012 5:06 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — The Access La Porte County board of directors has opted to release Director of Operations Bart Lombard of his duties effective immediately.

Lombard, who is facing four criminal theft charges in addition to facing a civil case after allegedly exerting unauthorized control over property of the Michigan Township Trustee's Office, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

His attorney, Alan Sirinek, also could not be reached.

Lombard's departure as director of the access channel was confirmed by former La Porte County Councilman Jerry Cooley, who now serves as president of the board of directors.

Click here to find out more!
The decision was voted on during a board meeting Tuesday evening, but Cooley offered no comment on the release during a Wednesday phone interview, calling it "a personnel matter."

He did confirm John Lucas will serve as the station's interim director.

The public access television station also annoounced plans to reorganize by adding four new board members to "extend public reach in the community," Cooley said.

"We have some ambitious new board members, and it's kind of an exciting time for us to reorganize," Cooley said. The reorganization simply has to do with the changing times, a organization plan and new technology, he added.

Added to the board are: Jack Arnett, executive director of Michigan City La Porte Convention and Visitors Bureau, Sixth Ward City Councilman Chris Schwanke, La Porte County Commissioner Willie Milsap and Purdue University North Central Chancellor Tom Albano.

In a press release, Cooley stated that the new board will be working closely with employees on station needs to keep up with technological advances, and he apologizes in advance for any technological problems that might be experienced due to improvements.

Cooley did not specify what goals or improvements will be put into effect.

"It's all new talent in there," he said. "They all have new ideas."

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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2012/0...6d525995651.txt

One charge dropped against Mary Lombard

By Tim Moran
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, May 5, 2012 5:06 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — One charge of official misconduct originally levied against Mary Lombard, former Michigan Township trustee, has been dropped.

She still faces one criminal charge for official misconduct in addition to a charge of conflict of interest.

According to Alan Sirinek, the attorney for Lombard and her son Bart (former deputy trustee) who also faces criminal charges, the charge that was dropped dealt with an accusation that Mary Lombard had obtained a $75,000 loan for the township office from Horizon Bank and that it was done without board approval.

Sirinek said it turns out the board did approve the loan.

"Mary never disputed receiving the loan, but it was done with board approval," the attorney said. "Basic common sense would say that this count was ridiculous and should not have been issued."

Sgt. Al Williamson of the Indiana State Police, who originally filed charges against both Lombards in late 2011, could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

The charge was officially dropped by La Porte County Prosecutor Bob "Z" Szilagyi on April 20.

Sirinek said he is confident all charges against both Lombards will eventually be dropped.

"Time will come, and probably fairly shortly, to address the other counts," he said.

Mary Lombard's other official misconduct charge comes from allegations that she authorized the payment of bonuses and longevity that were not approved by the Township Advisory Board. Her conflict of interest charge comes from the allegation she failed to file a conflict of interest statement while paying Access La Porte County television (ALCO) while Bart had "a pecuniary interest" in the station.

Bart Lombard, who is the former executive director of ALCO, faces charges of official misconduct, conflict of interest and theft.

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Bart Lombard pleads not guilty

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/laporte...77d5d4f6a8.html

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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/fo...c97d7b0c96.html

Times Staff

HAMMOND | A former deputy trustee for LaPorte County's Michigan Township has entered into a plea agreement on charges of willfully failing to file federal income tax returns over a three-year period.

In a plea agreement filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Bart Lombard, who once served as director of operations for Access LaPorte County, said he will plead guilty to charges that he willfully failed to file income tax returns for 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Lombard, who served under his mother, former Michigan Township Trustee Mary Lombard, managed the local public access television station and community access website for local government entities.

If found guilty, Bart Lombard faces a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment, one year of supervised release, and a $100,000 fine on each count. The penalties can be reduced based on Lombard's acceptance of responsibility for the offenses. As part of the agreement, he agrees to cooperate with the Internal Revenue Service in the determination and collection of any tax that he may owe.

The state filed separate criminal charges against the Lombards in January 2012 in LaPorte Superior Court 4 in Michigan City. Mary Lombard pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of conversion in October 2013. Bart Lombard was charged with official misconduct, conflict of interest involving a public servant, and four counts of theft. He is scheduled to stand trial on the state charges on Feb. 10.

An Indiana State Board of Accounts audit released in Sept. 2011 alleged Mary Lombard, who served as Michigan Township trustee for more than 20 years until late 2010, overpaid her salary, paid herself and some township employee bonuses without approval by the township board and reimbursed himself for personal expenses. Bart Lombard allegedly collected more than $87,000 in salary overpayment and unauthorized bonuses, according to the audit.