Tenants offer testimony in housing authority trial

UPDATE: On October 1, all three defendants were found guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud.

ORIGINAL STORY:

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- Day three of the trial against former South Bend Housing Authority (SBHA) employees concluded Wednesday ahead of schedule.

Fourteen witnesses in total were heard, with 11 current or former SBHA tenants taking the stand.

The three defendants on trial are Tonya Robinson, Albert Smith and Doug Donley.

Tenant after tenant testified that the work documented on invoices from contractors pertaining to their units had not, in fact, ever been done.

Additionally, Robert Schauo, an executive host at Four Winds Casino, took the stand, claiming Robinson and Smith practically acted like high rollers at the casino.

Stephen Luecke, vice chair for the SBHA Board of Commissioners, and former South Bend mayor, also took the stand. He claimed the initial FBI raid of SBHA properties came as a complete shock.

"It's just so sad to be here for this purpose," Luecke said. "The housing authority is here to serve our most needy residents, and we want to do a good job of that. And to have allegations that some of those dollars were not used appropriately is really upsetting."

Click here for more of our coverage of the case.