A Republican state representative is calling on the Marion County prosecutor to investigate Democratic Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and his administration following investigations by IndyStar and Mirror Indy.
Indianapolis Rep. Andrew Ireland, an attorney who represents the southeast corner of Marion County, said the revelations by the news outlets so far are “more than enough” for Prosecutor Ryan Mears, a Democrat who has been Hogsett’s political rival, to move forward with a formal inquiry.
“I’m not saying anyone should be charged today, but if the Marion County prosecutor is at all serious about public corruption, he should open an investigation or request a special prosecutor immediately,” Ireland told the outlets. “Taxpayer money isn’t a campaign slush fund.”
Ireland, a former deputy attorney general for the state of Indiana who now works in private practice, said there’s only so far journalists can go to investigate issues of wrongdoing. A law enforcement investigation would have more fact-finding resources.
Mears did not respond to requests for interviews but his spokesperson Michael Leffler sent a brief statement on Friday afternoon.
“As with any matter presented by law enforcement, our office would review the evidence and determine whether charges are warranted,” Leffler told the outlets.
It’s unclear if Leffler was referring to a specific law enforcement entity or inquiry.
The mayor’s office also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Ireland’s remarks.
A June 23 investigation by IndyStar/Mirror Indy found that Hogsett’s campaign worked behind closed doors to advance the interests of his donors.
That included his top campaign fundraiser, Emily Gurwitz, arranging for wish lists of donors’ preferred city contracts to be hand-delivered to the city’s then-top public works official, Dan Parker, who later served as Hogsett’s chief of staff. Parker has since resigned to work for a major city contractor, which also has raised alarm bells with ethics experts.
Hogsett has denied his fundraiser was involved in any contracting process and called the news outlets’ reporting “absurd.” IndyStar and Mirror Indy reviewed records that confirmed the existence of the project wish lists.
Ethics experts questioned the arrangement. At least one legal expert said it could run afoul of Indiana’s bribery law, though others said it would be hard to build a case around the issue based on the facts known at present. The mayor’s office has not answered several questions about the arrangement.
It’s “at best questionable and at worst a violation of the law,” Danielle Caputo, senior legal counsel for ethics with the Washington, D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center, previously told reporters.
Bribery cases, wherein a public official grants a favor or advantage to a donor in exchange for a campaign donation or another benefit when that advantage is tied to an official act, are difficult to prosecute. They typically require evidence of a quid pro quo — an explicit exchange of money or favors for an official act.
As a result, Indianapolis criminal law attorney David E. Lewis previously told the outlets “it would be hard to make a bribery case like that.”
There have been recent investigations by a grand jury related to Hogsett’s administration.
A Marion County grand jury met several times in the past year — as recently as March — for an investigation related to city development deals involving Hogsett’s former chief of staff, Thomas Cook, and allegations of unlawful touching and communication. The investigation came after the news outlets reported on Cook’s relationship with a former top city official. Cook has not been charged with a crime.
Experts say state ghost employment statute at play
Reporters also found top city officials, including Parker, routinely pressured city employees to volunteer for the mayor’s campaigns. Experts said some of the conduct could violate the state’s ghost employment statute and the federal Hatch Act.
In the leadup to the 2023 mayoral election, for example, Parker sent an email to city employees as the workday began “asking each Department or Office to schedule a night on the calendar … to make it your office’s night of phone banking.”
The state’s ghost employment statute forbids government officials from assigning work to their subordinates that is not related to the government’s operations.
“If you’re forcing them as an employee to do it, it could fall under ghost employment,” said Lewis, the criminal law attorney. But he noted the request could be construed as asking employees as a favor, which is not illegal, and that he wouldn’t convict someone of ghost employment on that alone.
The federal law prohibits certain employees of local governments from using their public positions to sway the outcome of an election. Whether the Hatch Act applies depends in part on whether an employee handles federal funds, according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
Caputo, of the Campaign Legal Center, previously told reporters that while the mayor would be exempt from the Hatch Act, it almost certainly covers Parker.
“It’s illegal for supervisors or people in a position of authority to solicit their subordinates to influence elections,” she said.
Parker has not responded to repeated requests for comment from the news outlets and told a reporter “no comment” twice at an Indy Chamber event this week before walking away.
The mayor’s former spokesperson Aliya Wishner, who resigned from the city as of June 26 to take a new role elsewhere, recently told reporters that “a personal request is not the same thing as a work obligation.”
“There were no threats of or repercussions for any individuals who did not volunteer, nor any adverse employment action,” she said.
Ireland has previously criticized Mears
This is not the first time Ireland has called Mears out. Last year, Ireland suggested Indiana should allow state lawmakers to impeach prosecutors like Mears.
That power currently lies with the Indiana Supreme Court. This year Ireland authored an amendment to the state constitution that would have given that power to lawmakers, but the legislation did not advance.
Mears is running for reelection as Marion County prosecutor. In the past he’s been a political rival to Hogsett, running for the position against the mayor’s hand-picked candidate and narrowly winning. He’s also been long-rumored as a potential 2027 mayoral candidate.
The call for an investigation comes as the Indianapolis City-County Council is weighing a reform to the city’s ethics code. Council Democrats announced a proposal to establish a cooling off period for senior city employees.
That announcement came on the same day IndyStar/Mirror Indy published a story in which ethics experts questioned Parker joining an Indianapolis engineering firm shortly after leaving the city. That firm, American Structurepoint, has landed millions of dollars in city business.
It’s unclear whether Parker is working on city-related matters for Structurepoint. The company has not responded to repeated emails, calls and questions seeking comment.
Hayleigh Colombo is an investigative reporter for IndyStar. Contact her at hcolombo@indystar.com or @hayleighcolombo on X.
Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him by phone or Signal at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
Emily Hopkins is a senior reporter at Mirror Indy. You can reach them by phone or Signal at 317-790-5268 or email at emily.hopkins@mirrorindy.org. Follow them on most social media @indyemapolis or on Bluesky @emilyhopkins.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: State lawmaker calls for prosecutor to investigate Hogsett administration
Reporting by Hayleigh Colombo/IndyStar, Emily Hopkins and Peter Blanchard/Mirror Indy, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Hayleigh Colombo/IndyStar, Emily Hopkins and Peter Blanchard/Mirror Indy, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
