Articles

Drywall contractor charged with underpaying employees

An Indianapolis drywall contractor faces criminal charges that he underpaid his employees working on a government housing project, and then falsified documents to cover it up, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday.

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Wal-Mart revisits plan for Greenwood store

A retail giant that lost its bid to build a store in Greenwood nearly a decade ago is hoping local leaders look more favorably on a new proposal to erect a smaller store at the same site.

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Bales trial in jury’s hands after colorful closings

During three hours of closing arguments Wednesday in the federal fraud trial of real estate broker John M. Bales and William E. Spencer, a federal prosecutor and two top-tier Indianapolis defense attorneys delivered a series of memorable one-liners and rhetorical flourishes designed to stick with jurors.

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Defense attorneys turn tough in Bales trial

The legal team representing real estate broker John M. Bales and partner William E. Spencer haven't called their first witness and already they're putting up a spirited fight as federal prosecutors seek to prove 13 charges including bank, mail and wire fraud.

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Former Venture employee turns on Bales during testimony

An FBI investigation into Venture Real Estate Services and principals John Bales and Bill Spencer had already begun when Matthew Dyer signed on as the company's controller in December 2009. Bales told him the company had done nothing illegal, Dyer testified Wednesday.

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Defense attorneys in Bales case trash former co-defendant

Attorney and developer Paul J. Page is no longer a co-defendant in the fraud trial of real estate broker John M. Bales and partner Bill Spencer. But you wouldn’t know it from the action Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Only now, rather than federal prosecutors, it’s defense attorneys for Bales and Spencer who are targeting Page.

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Bales defense: Elkhart deal was a ‘scheme to help’

Facing a looming deadline to find suitable office space for the state Department of Child Services, Indianapolis real estate broker John M. Bales and partner Bill Spencer in 2008 dipped into their own pockets to help close a difficult lease deal, their defense attorneys contend.

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