07312014 - News Article - FBI continues probe into Portage mayor

FBI continues probe into Portage mayor
NWI Times
July 31, 2014
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/portage/fbi-continues-probe-into-portage-mayor/article_c43569ee-d8f3-58c5-946e-b11705bab9d0.html

PORTAGE | The FBI has widened its investigation into Portage Mayor James Snyder to include plane tickets and travel expenses he funded through the city and/or its utility department from campaign funds.

The federal investigators served members of the Utility Service Board with subpoenas earlier this week seeking documents related to Snyder writing checks to pay back the debt, said department Secretary/Treasurer Sherry Smolar.

Smolar said she was working Thursday to fulfill the request.

Snyder said in a written statement the reimbursement was for plane tickets and other expenses related to a city economic development trip to Europe.

"We reimbursed them in the time allotted by the state board of accounts. The PAC and Campaign chose to reimburse the entire trip instead of the normal half as businesses contributed more money than we expected to raise for the express purpose of the trip, so the City incurred no expense for the City trip we took to promote Portage and visit the world headquarters (in Austria) for Portage-based Fronius. We also attended the world Intersolar convention in Munich, Germany as a guest of Fronius, who introduced Portage to a dozen or more potential new Portage businesses," according to the statement.

The request for documents from the utility department comes one week after FBI agents appeared at the Porter County Administration Center seeking copies of campaign records for Snyder.

Sundae Schoon, the Republican director at the Porter County voter registration office, said the FBI agents requested his campaign finance records and records from his political action committee Portage Mayor Elect 2011.

Snyder responded in an email last week that he has done nothing wrong.

"I have been advised that government agents have asked to review my campaign-finance records," he said in the email. "These records are now, and have always been, available to the public on the Internet. In fact, to my knowledge, I was the first public official in Porter County to post such records in a public forum. My campaign has done nothing wrong, and we look forward to this matter being wrapped up as expeditiously as possible," the message stated.

Andre Joseph, who is the City Council's appointment to the Utility Service Board, said FBI agents interviewed him at his home last week.

He said in a prepared statement Thursday, "The Portage Utility Service Board has profited from the growth and enthusiasm of Mayor Snyder. We would have gladly paid for his share of the trip, but he showed great initiative by raising all of the money himself. I believe in the importance of Mayors from cities like ours taking advantage of the global economy. We need jobs, and this Mayor understands that, and I'm proud to serve with him."

07232014 - News Article - FBI eyes Portage mayor's finance reports

FBI eyes Portage mayor's finance reports
Post-Tribune
July 23, 2014 9:42AM
Updated: August 28, 2014 6:20AM
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/porter/28807408-418/mayors-campaign-finance-reports-taken-in-portage.html#.VAVSzeqYaM8

VALPARAISO — Agents with the FBI spent about 10 minutes in the Porter County Voter Registration Office last week, getting copies of campaign finance reports for Portage Mayor Jim Snyder.

All of the information is public record and is available on the county’s website, at www.porterco.org, said Sundae Schoon, Republican representative in the office, who handled the agents’ request.

“They asked for copies of Mayor Snyder’s campaign finance reports,” she said, as well as those for a political action committee from his run for mayor in 2011.

The reports covered from 2007, when Snyder first ran for office, to the annual report he filed in 2013.

Snyder issued a written statement in response to the FBI’s request:

“I have been advised that government agents have asked to review my campaign finance records. These records are now, and have always been, available to the public on the Internet. In fact, to my knowledge, I was the first public official in Porter County to post such records in a public forum. My campaign has done nothing wrong, and we look forward to this matter being wrapped up as expeditiously as possible.”

07222014 - News Article - FBI returns to county, eyes Portage Mayor

FBI returns to county, eyes Portage Mayor
Chesterton Tribune
July 22, 2014
http://chestertontribune.com/PoliceFireEmergency/fbi_returns_to_county_eyes_porta.htm

After being quiet for more than three months, the FBI returned to the Porter County Administration Building on Monday and obtained campaign finance reports for Portage Mayor James Snyder.

According to County Voters Registration Republican Director Sundae Schoon, agents entered the Voters Registration Office, identified themselves to her and asked for copies of Snyder’s campaign finance reports and his Citizens for Snyder political action committee’s report from 2011.

Schoon said she did not recall the exact time the FBI was in her office but they were there in the afternoon and stayed for about 10 minutes as she complied with the request to make copies. She said the agents did not indicate what interest they had in the reports.

Snyder emailed the following comment to the Chesterton Tribune before deadline today: “I have been advised that government agents have asked to review my campaign-finance records. These records are now, and have always been, available to the public on the Internet. In fact, to my knowledge, I was the first public official in Porter County to post such records in a public forum. My campaign has done nothing wrong, and we look forward to this matter being wrapped up as expeditiously as possible.”

Since November, numerous County offices have reported visits by FBI agents collecting information.

Agents were in the Porter County Auditor’s office in April and obtained payroll records for the Expo Center from 2013.

In March, agents collected copies of building permits for Porter Regional Hospital and its adjoining medical center from the Porter County Plan Commission. They also downloaded records from the Plan Commission office from the County’s computer server in the IT office.

In addition, the bureau so far has taken documents related to the December 2012 contract between the County Commissioners and Porter Hospital for clinical services in the County’s Employee Health Plan, conflict of interest disclosure statements filed in the County Clerk’s office from 2007 to 2013, and project bid proposals related to 2010 and 2011 contracts with the County Highway Department.

07212014 - News Article - FBI requests Portage mayor's campaign finance records

FBI requests Portage mayor's campaign finance records
NWI Times
July 21, 2014
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/fbi-requests-portage-mayor-s-campaign-finance-records/article_3961a8da-dd73-5418-827d-d374e13ff1f1.html

VALPARAISO | FBI agents appeared at the Porter County Administration Building on Monday seeking copies of campaign records for Portage Mayor James Snyder.

Sundae Schoon, the Republican director at the county voter registration office, said the FBI agents requested his campaign finance records and records from his political action committee Portage Mayor Elect 2011.

Schoon said the agents were in the office about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to make copies of the records.

Snyder responded in an email stating he has done nothing wrong.

"I have been advised that government agents have asked to review my campaign-finance records. These records are now, and have always been, available to the public on the Internet. In fact, to my knowledge, I was the first public official in Porter County to post such records in a public forum. My campaign has done nothing wrong, and we look forward to this matter being wrapped up as expeditiously as possible," the message stated.

07162014 - News Article - EDITORIAL: IU study a reminder of corruption's cost

EDITORIAL: IU study a reminder of corruption's cost
NWI Times
The Times Editorial Board
July 16, 2014
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-iu-study-a-reminder-of-corruption-s-cost/article_9d29ea1e-ba7b-590b-8277-c54bd0c24619.html

The revolving door between Northwest Indiana local government offices and the Hammond federal courthouse often makes our region the butt of public corruption jokes locally and abroad.

But it's not so funny when you consider the actual impact of public corruption on government coffers -- and thus taxpayers' wallets.

A recently released Indiana University study sought to rank levels of public corruption by state and put a monetary value on the misdeeds of public officials. The results were eye-popping and the lessons applicable to Northwest Indiana, even though the Hoosier state wasn't on the list of the study's 10 worst.

Northwest Indiana's public officials -- and more importantly the voters who put them in office -- should soak in this important study.

The public policy professors who led the study concluded the 10 most corrupt states -- including Illinois -- would have spent 5.2 percent less between 1997 and 2008 had those states been more like the ones with lower levels of corruption.

As part of the review, study leaders reviewed more than 25,000 federal corruption convictions of state and local officials between 1976 and 2008.

The good news for Hoosiers is highly corrupt Illinois spent $923.47 more per resident than Indiana, which fell somewhere in the mid tier of corruption among states, the study concluded. During that same time period, Indiana spent more than twice as much from its general fund on education as Illinois did during the study's parameters.

The bad news -- not reflected in the study -- is public corruption continues a historically rampant run in Northwest Indiana, and the price tag is probably higher than any of us wants to accept.

About 60 people -- mostly Northwest Indiana elected officials, vendors with public contracts or other political power brokers -- have been convicted of public corruption in U.S. District Court since 1985.

Each case likely represents dozens of legal proceedings, court filings and countless investigative hours by federal law enforcement -- all in addition to the direct costs to taxpayers of the actual crimes.

It doesn't seem to have improved in recent years, either. Former Lake County Surveyor George Van Til pleaded guilty in December to using the resources of his government office to further his campaign.

Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist, his wife and stepdaughter remain under federal indictment in a pending case on charges including stealing from a campaign fund and the city's food pantry. 

They are innocent unless proven guilty.

And federal agents raided the Calumet Township trustee's office in the spring, seizing boxes of evidence and a computer in an ongoing probe.

The IU study reminds us there is a cost to these types of cases that goes beyond reputation and embarrassment.

The sum of all those costs -- monetary and otherwise -- should be enough for taxpayers to demand more accountability from their leaders.

07022014 - News Article - Thompson will challenge Clancy for Portage Township Trustee

Thompson will challenge Clancy for Portage Township Trustee
NWI Times
July 02, 2014
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/portage/thompson-will-challenge-clancy-for-portage-township-trustee/article_05c43987-6588-5f8b-81fb-1a79bd3d883e.html

PORTAGE | Local Realtor Jim Thompson was appointed this week to the vacancy on the Republican ballot for Portage Township trustee.

He will challenge incumbent Democrat Brendan Clancy for the seat in November.

In a press release, Thompson said he believes cooperation with local units of government, like Portage, could provide a much more efficient government, including creating a fire territory similar to Center Township to meet the needs of South Haven and Portage residents.

"The trustee's office was designed by the State Constitution to provide a hand up, not a hand out," said Thompson, adding he believes strengthening the rules for those who receive relief will make sure the people who need help are the ones getting it.

He also believes that, over time, the Kernan/Shepherd report should be implemented and trustee services should be maintained by one county system.

"I've been bitten by the 'elected service bug' by helping candidates like (Porter County) Assessor Jon Snyder and (Portage) Mayor Jim Snyder get elected and then having had the opportunity to see how their leadership has made a difference in my community," he said. "My goal will be to make a difference in the lives of the underprivileged and seniors in Portage Township."

Thompson lives in Portage with his wife and two children.