Former Prosecutor Brizzi seeking forfeiture of OmniSource scrap yards

Former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi lashed out at metal-recycling giant OmniSource in his last week in office, asking a judge to force the company to forfeit all five of its Marion County scrap yards and a foundry facility in Hendricks County.

Brizzi claims in a Dec. 30 filing in Marion County Superior Court that OmniSource—a subsidary of publicly traded Fort Wayne powerhouse Steel Dynamics Inc.—buys millions of dollars worth of stolen metal per year as its "regular way of doing business" and operates in a similar fashion all over the state.

The two-term prosecutor also asked Judge Michael D. Keele to appoint a receiver to take control of the company.

"Repeated attempts by law enforcement to stop this huge and mature enterprise have been fruitless heretofore," Brizzi alleges in the filing, a counterclaim to a suit OmniSource brought against him. "The result has been the acquisition of millions of dollars worth of contraband scrap metal stolen from the residents of Marion County and the surrounding counties, all proceeds of the aforesaid enterprise."

OmniSource parent Steel Dynamics described the counterclaim as "preposterous and without any factual or legal merit" in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Jan. 6. The company says the move is part of a plan by Brizzi and a private lawyer he enlisted to work on the case, Greg Garrison, to "extract money" under threat of civil forfeiture.

"OmniSource is confident that the newly elected Prosecutor and his staff will want to review and re-examine Mr. Brizzi’s imprudent actions, including his decision to file this baseless counterclaim against OmniSource in the waning hours of his administration’s existence," the company wrote in the filing. "OmniSource trusts that the new Marion County Prosecutor, Terry Curry, will recognize the lack of merit in any of the allegations made against OmniSource and will promptly dismiss all proceedings against the company."

The company said in court filings it adheres to strict policies and employee training to prevent the purchase of stolen metal. And it points to its former employment of more than 50 off-duty IMPD officers to provide security and prevent theft.

OmniSource has bristled in particular at the involvement of Garrison, a Brizzi friend and local conservative talk show host. Garrison, who stands to pocket a portion of any settlement or judgment levied against the company, has repeatedly demanded a monetary settlement from OmniSource that would earn him "hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars," OmniSource said in court filings.

OmniSource also took issue with the Brizzi counterclaim—filed by Garrison—because it violates trial rules. Another attorney representing Brizzi had already filed a response to the company's lawsuit in November. Parties in a lawsuit can't just file a new response and counterclaim without the court's permission.

Garrison asked the judge for a belated leave to file the counterclaim in a new filing on Jan. 6.

Officers from the IMPD, FBI, Indiana State Police and other agencies raided the Indianapolis scrap yards operated by OmniSource in February 2009, collecting evidence and seizing property and more than $277,000. The raids were the culmination of a year-long undercover investigation.

A Marion County grand jury returned a 16-page indictment against OmniSource on Oct. 22, charging OmniSource with three counts of corrupt business influence and five counts of attempted receipt of stolen property. The indictment details dozens of allegations, which OmniSource President Mark Millett said the company will "aggressively" defend itself against.

A week before the grand jury indictments, the company sued Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, seeking the return of the seized cash. OmniSource said the investigation was a sham intended to raise Brizzi’s political profile.

Brizzi fired back in his last week in office: "The criminal element in Marion County has provided OmniSource with a constant supply of items that they daily steal and then immediately sell to one of the defendant's scrap yards," Brizzi alleged in his filing. "At every location operated by the defendant in Marion County the authorized agents daily purchase thousands of dollars worth of contraband property stolen from residents of the county."

As IBJ reported in April, the Prosecutor’s Office missed its deadline to file forfeiture paperwork, likely paving the way for OmniSource to reclaim the seized cash. At the time, Garrison blamed the oversight on the forfeiture staff in the Prosecutor's Office.