SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a request from former East Chicago Mayor Robert Pastrick to dismiss a racketeering lawsuit filed against him by the state attorney general’s office.

The judge denied a motion by Pastrick and other defendants that argued the case against them was so weak that its allegations that they spent millions in city money to buy votes by paving residents’ sidewalks and driveways should not go to trial.

The decision by U.S. District Judge James Moody on Friday allows the case to proceed. But Moody also denied some motions made by the attorney general’s office, which argued the Pastrick administration displayed a pattern of corruption that harmed city taxpayers.

Attorney General Steve Carter, a Republican, praised the judge’s ruling in the case against Pastrick, a member of the Democratic National Committee who was East Chicago’s mayor for 32 years until leaving office in 2004.

“The court has unequivocally denied the motions of two primary defendants to have the case thrown out on legal grounds,” Carter said. “This is a major step forward in the fight against public corruption and in restoring public confidence in local government in Lake County.”

Pastrick attorney Michael Bosch also said he was satisfied with the ruling.

“I’m happy with the decision because the attorney general seemed to think it was a slam dunk, and the judge said, ’No, you’re going to have to prove this,”’ Bosch said.

The lawsuit claims that Pastrick and others used more than $24 million of city money on the paving program to buy votes during the 1999 Democratic primary.

Pastrick left office after he lost a rerun of 2003 Democratic primary ordered by the Indiana Supreme Court in 2004 after finding that the election was tainted with corruption by Pastrick’s campaign.

Three former East Chicago officials reached out-of-court settlements last month in the racketeering lawsuit. Former city Finance Director George Weems and former Public Works Board Vice President Frank Miskowski agreed to pay $10,000 each to get out of the case, while former City Councilman Adrian Santos will be banned from public office for life.

Posted 6/30/2008