01102015 - News Article - MARC CHASE: Officeholders carry water for felon Van Til in court letters

MARC CHASE: Officeholders carry water for felon Van Til in court letters
Marc Chase
NWI Times
Jan 10, 2015
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/marc-chase/marc-chase-officeholders-carry-water-for-felon-van-til-in/article_d14abc51-68ab-53c7-99fc-a5ad3f292ea0.html
It's amazing the causes for which some folks are willing to extend their necks into the paths of potential legal or social axes.

And in our justice system, it's important to remember even when evidence against a defendant appears overwhelming, we still have a process separating us from mob justice.

But why run to the defense of an individual who's already stood in open court and declared guilt to a particular charge?

It's even more perplexing when politicians engage in this sort of apologist attitude for a fellow officeholder caught with his or her hand in the taxpayers' cookie jar.

More than a year ago, disgraced former Lake County Surveyor George Van Til pleaded guilty in Hammond federal court to felony wire fraud that occurred while he held public office.

For those unfamiliar with the terms or legal score on that one, it means he admitted to stealing from taxpayers, in this case using county government employees and resources to further his campaign, which is a legal no-no.

Van Til awaits sentencing in the case, and one might expect fellow county politicians, at least, to steer clear of a convicted felon for their own reputations' sake.

But Van Til's attorney, Scott King, filed more than 100 pages worth of letters Thursday in open court, all written in support of Van Til. The letters generally vouch for Van Til's character and seek leniency.

Dozens of the letters were written by political friends and allies, including a number who currently hold political office.

Longtime Van Til friend and Highland Clerk-Treasurer Michael Griffin, who I've often admired for his honesty and integrity, wrote one of the letters.

Griffin asks presiding Judge James Moody to "weigh the whole" and consider the "genuine good that has been rendered" from Van Til's political life before the crime was committed.

Indiana state Reps. Charlie Brown and Vernon Smith, both Gary Democrats, also wrote letters, imploring Moody for mercy and leniency.

Smith's letter also questions why disgraced former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett never faced federal charges after being accused of engaging in activity similar to Van Til's criminal charges.

I have the same questions in the Bennett case, but it shouldn't hold any sway over the sentence Moody prescribes in the Van Til case. Neither should the words of close political friends, waxing philosophical about the other "great deeds" of Van Til's life.

In the end, Van Til stood in an open courtroom and admitted guilt. So why apologize for him, acting as if being a good guy during other periods of his life absolves him from facing the full force of the law?

The question isn't whether these sitting elected officeholders had the right to file letters of support for Van Til. In our system, they certainly have that right, as do all citizens.

But the question is, should they have done so?

The soft-pedaling of responsibility continues to color Lake County politics.










MARC CHASE: Don't tolerate officials carrying water for Buncich
Marc Chase
NWI Times
August 26, 2017
http://www.nwitimes.com/opinion/columnists/marc-chase/marc-chase-don-t-tolerate-officials-carrying-water-for-buncich/article_21a300b7-894a-5b94-9ad3-21af88f675d0.html
The felony bribery conviction of now former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich Thursday ushers in a crucial period in which all Region residents should be paying particularly close attention.

Let's call it "apologist watch": a period when we all should keep eyes peeled for the ill-advised public officials who run to the disgraced sheriff's defense before sentencing.

For those keeping score, an apologist is one who offers an argument in support of something controversial. In Buncich's case, it likely will mean folks who profess admiration and support for his character even though he's shown himself completely undeserving.

Such behavior happens with impunity around here, but the public figures and officials who show support for those who've committed crimes against taxpayers are really doing us all a favor.

They're showing us who to shun at the polls in upcoming election cycles.

Keep watch for the folks who vehemently argue Buncich got a bum deal from the jury. They're the ones who will say the government didn't prove its case when, in fact, eyewitnesses, informants and video backed up nearly every facet of the allegations that Buncich shoved wads of money in his personal pocket and then handed out business to the tow truck companies that bribed him.

They also will be the public officeholders, and other prominent citizens, who are sure to write letters of support for Buncich to U.S. District Court Judge James Moody, seeking a more lenient sentence.

If history is any guide, Moody isn't likely to entertain misguided attempts at heart-string pulling for a corrupt top cop. He's one of the most no-nonsense judges on the bench of a historically no-nonsense federal court system.

Region residents shouldn't buy the pleas for sympathy and leniency, either.

I promise to help take stock of the names and positions of public officials or other community leaders who carry water for Buncich by petitioning the court for leniency. Any letters filed into the public record seeking leniency for Buncich will be reported in my future columns, along with the names and positions of the writers.

Buncich's friends have a right to petition the court on his behalf. We have a right to withhold support for them if they take this misguided approach.

Region political outsiders no doubt are asking themselves, "Who would be so foolish to publicly proclaim such support for a federally convicted felon? What public official would brand themselves as supporting a corrupt politician, in this case who had sworn to uphold the law?

"In fact, wouldn't it be a scarlet letter for such public officials to cast their lot in this fashion?"

We need only look at past federal cases to realize this wrongheaded behavior is likely forthcoming.

Remember former elected Lake County Surveyor George Van Til and his felony conviction for essentially stealing from taxpayers by appropriating government property and employees for his own personal benefit?

After the former surveyor pleaded guilty in 2014, Van Til's defense attorney, Scott King, filed more than 100 pages worth of letters in open court, all written in support of Van Til. The letters generally vouched for Van Til's character and sought leniency at sentencing.

Dozens of the letters were written by political friends and allies, including a number who currently held political office.

Fast-forward to 2017 and Buncich's scheduled Dec. 6 sentencing hearing, and taxpayers have an opportunity to write some letters or make some phone calls of their own.

We all must remind our public officials that behavior like that perpetrated by Buncich won't be tolerated. More importantly, we should be telling them we won't stand for them espousing an apologist attitude.

In times of great violations of public trust by one public official, the others should be concentrating their efforts on repairing that trust and doing right by citizens — not on standing up for crony friends who just brought yet another disgraceful stain on local governance. That stain is enumerated in the 70-plus public corruption convictions of Region officeholders, government employees and vendors since the late 1970s.

If we as voters fail to provide consequences for officials who carry water for their corrupt friends, we're aiding in the spread of our Region's ongoing plague of corruption.

We’re also ignoring the resonating warnings from the apologists themselves — folks who are more keen on defending a crooked former colleague than the voters who elected them.