Elkhart County Commissioner sued over deal with Chinese firm

ELKHART, Ind. (AP) -- A northern Indiana county commissioner is facing a federal lawsuit alleging that he used his position to profit from a deal with a Chinese-owned business.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in South Bend alleges that Elkhart County Commissioner Terry Rodino used his elected position to facilitate the sale of five recreational vehicles to the Chinese-owned business and earned at least $100,000 as the deal's middle man.

The Elkhart Truth reports the suit was filed by Rodino's two estranged business partners, Amit Shah and Tim Dugle, and represents the latest salvo in their ongoing legal battle with him.

Their suit also claims Rodino's partner in the company that engineered the $1.63 million RV transaction, American Travel Palace, also profited from the transaction. The suit says that because of those profits and other alleged misdeeds Rodino, the president of the county's board of commissioners, violated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The RICO act created to help prosecutors go after organized crime can be the basis for civil lawsuits.

Rodino has yet to formally respond in court to the lawsuit. He declined to comment when reached Monday by The Associated Press, referring calls to his attorney.

A message seeking comment was left Monday for the Mishawaka attorney handling his case.

Shah and Dugle's suit alleges that Elkhart businessman Aaron Zou -- Rodino's partner in American Travel Palace -- made a $30,000 "kick-back" to Rodino "as Elkhart County commissioner."

Elkhart lawyer Chris Riley, who represents Zou, said that he has "seen no evidence whatsoever supporting the allegations in that complaint." He declined to comment further, citing the ongoing case.

Gordon Lord, the legal counsel for Elkhart County, is not a defendant in the suit, but Shah and Dugle accused him of misconduct, saying in the lawsuit that his actions, along with those of Rodino, "constitute a bribery and/or kickback scheme" that violates their duties as county agents.

Lord dismissed the allegations.

"They don't even offer any evidence. They just call it that," he said.

Lord emphasized that he never took part in talks about business in China, had no role in Rodino's dealings in that nation and never earned any money from any Chinese transaction.

Dugle and Shah have three other lawsuits pending against Rodino in LaGrange Circuit Court in LaGrange.

The two men are minority partners in a pallet firm and related companies controlled by Rodino, the so-called Duro Entities. Those suits accuse Rodino of mismanaging the firms and improperly diverting funds from the companies.

Shah and Dugle suits seek reimbursement for those funds.
------
Information from: The Elkhart Truth, http://www.etruth.com