This is the latest in a very, very, very long list of misdeeds on the part of the Roseland Town council. Those of us who live near this farce for a town are very aware of the corrupt nature of it.
Attorney to sue Roseland under racketeering act
Suit also will cite constitutional rights violations in loss of home sale.
By NANCY J. SULOK
Tribune Staff Writer
SOUTH BEND ? Attorney James F. Groves said he expects to file a lawsuit today in federal court against Roseland and Town Council members David and Dorothy Snyder, accusing them of violating the constitutional and civil rights of an Elkhart couple.
The suit includes allegations the Snyders also violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
The Snyders are a married couple who constitute two-thirds of the Roseland Town Council. David Snyder also serves as Roseland?s zoning commissioner.
The legal action stems from the town?s efforts to extract $98,000 in fines from Cheryl and Robert Engel, who own a house at 135 W. Willow Drive in Roseland. They were prepared to sell it in late May to another couple.
On the morning of the closing, the Engels? real estate agent contacted them to say the closing was canceled as a result of a letter that had been delivered to the buyers? real estate agent from the Town of Roseland.
The letter included a list of fines allegedly outstanding against the property. The fines totaled $33,850.
When the Engels inquired, they were told a mistake had been made, and the fines actually amounted to $98,000.
The Engels appealed. They had a hearing June 8 before the Roseland Town Council, but the matter was continued to June 15, and that meeting was canceled. No new date has been set for the appeal, according to the lawsuit.
Groves has prepared a nine-count lawsuit that accuses the town and the Snyders of violating the Engels? 14th Amendment rights to due process and their Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
The Snyders deprived the Engels of their property interest from the sale, causing them to lose $71,500, the suit says.
It accuses the Snyders of having an ulterior motive, since they or a family member own land adjacent to the Engels? and might be hoping to acquire the Engels? property through a foreclosure sale.
The fines were unconstitutionally excessive and ?shocking to the universal sense of justice,? the suit says, which violates the Eighth Amendment.
The RICO allegation says the Snyders acted together to fabricate violations of zoning ordinances in order to extort money from the Engels, either by collecting revenue for the town or by forcing a foreclosure sale of their property.
The suit seeks damages of $214,500, an amount three times the $71,500 loss the Engels suffered. It also seeks attorney fees and unspecified punitive damages.
http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps...ews01/60712015