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Deborah Back: Girlfriend of federally convicted Sheriff John Buncich, admitted during Buncich's sentencing that she used the Spillman system to obtain confidential information on undercover FBI informant Scott Jurgensen and assistant U.S. attorney Philip Benson - both of whom presented evidence against Buncich at trial.
Deborah Back is the nursing director for the Lake County Jail medical director, Dr. William W. Forgey, owner of Correctional Health Indiana Inc. Forgey is a personal friend and physician of former Sheriff Buncich. Buncich had given Back access to the department's database after she became the jail's nursing director.
Back has been the nursing director for the Lake County Jail since 2012. Her annual income as nursing director for the jail - after she began dating Buncich, was been between $190,000 - $230,000.
Sheriff investigating employee in light of Buncich sentencing testimony
Post-Tribune
January 17, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-lake-sheriff-internal-investigation-st-0118-20180117-story.html
The Lake County Sheriff's department launched an internal investigation Wednesday into a jail contract employee in light of testimony Tuesday at John Buncich's sentencing, an official said.
The testimony revealed that the employee "may have inappropriately used" the department's information system "to gather information on people related to the federal case against the former sheriff," said Emiliano Perez, sheriff's department spokesman, in a release.
"The unauthorized or inappropriate access may be a violation of both department policy and state law," Perez said.
A person was ordered to return all department credentials and was suspended "any access to the facility pending the outcome of the investigation," according to Perez.
The name of the employee was not released.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez declined comment until the investigation is complete.
Judge James Moody sentenced Buncich Tuesday in Hammond's federal court to 15 years and 8 months in prison.
During the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson asked Deborah Back, the director of nursing at Correctional Health Indiana and Buncich's "significant other," about her use of the Spillman system to find information on a confidential source.
"Yes, I viewed it," Back said, but denied doing it at the direction of the former sheriff.
"I don't routinely run people. Period," she said. "I know that it was wrong."
Benson said there's a warning in the Spillman that "unauthorized access is a violation of law."
The FBI spoke with a Sheriff's Department employee who searched the records of the medical staff member's use of the Spillman and found several occasions where information outside the normal scope was sought.
FBI special agent Nathan Holbrook said, during testimony, the employee searched for two people tied to the Buncich trial: the confidential source and Benson.
At the end of the sentencing hearing, Buncich was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs to immediately begin serving his sentence.
Buncich was indicted in November 2016 in a towing scheme where he accepted bribes in the form of thousands of dollars in cash and donations to his campaign fund, Buncich Boosters, according to court records.
He was convicted in August for bribery and wire fraud, among other charges, for soliciting bribes from county tow operators in his public corruption trial.
Lake officials hit alarm following possible misconduct by ex-sheriff Buncich's girlfriend in her role as nursing director
NWI Times
January 17, 2018
CROWN POINT —The Lake County Jail medical director is coming under pressure to replace his nursing director following her unauthorized use of police records.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. locked Deborah Back out of the Lake County Jail Tuesday after she testified in federal court she used the sheriff department's record system to look into the background of federal task force members investigating her partner, former Sheriff John Buncich.
Martinez issued a news release Wednesday stating he has ordered his department's internal investigations unit to determine if Back "may have inappropriately used the Lake County Sheriff Department’s information system to gather information on people related to the federal case against the former Sheriff. The unauthorized or inappropriate access may be a violation of both Department policy and State Law."
Back was forced Tuesday to disclose this when she was called unexpectedly to the witness stand Tuesday to testify why she looked up records on Scott Jurgensen, an undercover FBI informant and Philip Benson, an assistant U.S. attorney who presented evidence against Buncich at trial last August and at Buncich's sentencing Tuesday.
A federal judge Tuesday ordered Buncich to immediately begin serving a 188-month prison term for his bribery and fraud.
Buncich had given Back access to the department's database after she became the jail's nursing director. She was an employee of Dr. William W. Forgey, a personal friend and physician of Buncich.
Forgey owns Correctional Health Indiana Inc., which has had the contract to provide medical services to jail inmates since 2012. He and his 41-member staff are receiving more than $4 million this year for their jail services. He didn't return calls seeking comment.
Lake County commissioners, who awarded Forgey's contract, said Wednesday they expect Forgey to put a nursing director in place at the jail, as his contract and the U.S. Justice Department, which oversees jail services, demand.
Commissioner Mike Repay, D-Hammond said, "I wouldn't say there has been a wholesale loss of faith, but I look forward to Dr. Forgey's immediate action to fix the situation."
Back testified Tuesday she normally used the sheriff's records to track jail inmates in need of medical services and didn't realize, at the time, what she was doing, was inappropriate.
Benson questioned her Tuesday about whether she was looking up the records on behalf of Buncich, who had previously requested one of his commanders, Mark Eaton, use other police records to dredge up information on witnesses accusing Buncich of bribery. Eaton refused to do so.
She denied doing it for Buncich.
Martinez said Tuesday she is denied access to Spillman and the jail "until further notice," and that he has ordered his technical advisors to restrict the amount of information the county's jail medical staff can access in future to prevent a similar occurrence.
Lucrative position
Back said she had been working in the county jail since 2012. She said she hadn't worked as a nurse for a decade prior to that, but that her husband, Mike Back, died that year of a heart attack and she had to support her children. She said she began dating Buncich in 2014.
County records indicate Back's salary for supervising nursing services in the jail last year was $190,000 — more than the sheriff's salary. Back testified she also received annual bonuses that pushed her income up to $230,000 in 2014, and $217,000 in 2015.
The website, Nurse.org, states the average annual salary in 2016 for Indiana's more than 63,000 registered nurse was less than $59,000.
Buncich also employed her son, Mark Back, as his public relations spokesman in 2015 and in 2016, and made him the department's health care service administrator in 2016 where he managed the jail inmate's Medicaid coverage and a treatment program for individuals addicted to opioids.
He had an annual salary of $61,783 when he resigned in the fall, two months after Buncich's conviction last year. He currently is a Democratic candidate for the 19th District state House seat.
Mark Back said Wednesday, "I was fortunate to have several options regarding where I wanted to take my career. I chose to seek employment with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, because I wanted to return to my hometown and utilize my education and experience in health care programs to serve our community. The Sheriff’s Department provided me an opportunity to do just that. I am very proud of the work that I did with county government."
Buncich's girlfriend goes to his sentencing and lands in the hot seat
NWI Times
January 16, 2018
HAMMOND — Former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich's significant other admitted Tuesday she used a restricted police data system to dredge up sensitive background information on his accusers.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson confronted Deborah Back with evidence of the unauthorized data collecting when he called her to the witness stand, as a surprise witness, during Buncich's sentencing for public corruption in U.S. District Court Judge James Moody's courtroom.
"I know it was wrong," Back said.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said Tuesday afternoon he is banning her from working in the Sheriff's Department, where she has been director of nursing for the lockup's medical unit the last six years.
Benson accused Back of twice using her access to the Lake County Sheriff Department's Spillman's data system in February to investigate the government's lead investigators against Buncich — Benson and Scott Jurgensen and Jurgensen's family.
Benson led the U.S. attorney's office prosecution team against Buncich at the August trial and Tuesday's sentencing. Jurgensen, a retired Merrillville police officer and towing firm owner, was an undercover informant for the FBI investigation gathering evidence of bribery against Buncich.
Back had access to the system because of her position at the county jail, a job that paid between $158,000 and $230,000 a year — more than Buncich, who made $146,000 last year. She said she routinely used it to determine the medical status of jail inmates.
"Do you think you should continue to have access to this system after you've abused it?" Benson asked her. She said she didn't understand, and no one warned her, what she did was improper at the time. Benson asked, "It that because you were the significant other of the sheriff?"
Back said she and the sheriff have been dating for four years — two years after she first began working at the jail — and they have been living together recently. Benson said federal authorities arrested Buncich at her Crown Point home in November 2016 when he was first indicted on bribery charges.
She said Dr. William Forgey, owner of Correctional Health Indiana Inc., hired her to be his nursing administrator in 2012. Forgey is a close friend of and has been a personal physician to former Sheriff Buncich.
Back's future in the jail is in jeopardy. Martinez, who took over the Sheriff's Department in September after Buncich's removal from office, said his investigators have been cooperating with federal authorities who discovered Back's unauthorized use of the data system.
He said he had agreed to wait until the U.S. attorney's office made the violation public before he would act. He said he has immediately denied Back access to the Spillman system and to work in the jail until his department completes an investigation into whether she violated any laws or department rules.
Prosecutor seeks stiff sentence for Buncich
Request to judge asks for 15 to 20 years for former Lake sheriff
Post-Tribune (IN)
January 9, 2018
Federal prosecutors are seeking a 15- to 20-year sentence for convicted former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich, saying in court documents the severity of the charges warrants a significant prison term.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson filed a memorandum Sunday asking Judge James Moody to impose a high sentence for Buncich, and have the former sheriff taken into custody immediately following a Jan. 16 sentencing hearing.
Benson, in the memorandum, raised new allegations that Buncich attempted to use a protected intelligence database to dig up information on three men poised to testify against him and could potentially pose a flight risk.
"The damage caused by Buncich's conscience (sic) disregard and abandonment of the trust placed in him by the citizens of Lake County is severe and so should be his sentence," Benson wrote.
Bryan Truitt, one of Buncich's defense attorneys, did not respond to a request for comment.
A jury convicted Buncich, 72, of bribery, wire fraud and honest services wire fraud in August after 14 days of testimony. Buncich's attorneys plan to appeal the conviction.
Buncich, former Lake County police Chief Timothy Downs, and William Szarmach, of C.S.A. Towing, were named in a multicount indictment in November 2016 alleging a towing scheme where the sheriff accepted bribes in the form of thousands of dollars in cash and donations to his campaign fund, Buncich Boosters, according to court records.
Downs pleaded guilty in December 2016, according to court documents, and Szarmach pleaded guilty in July 2017. Both agreed to testify against Buncich during his August trial.
"As revealed at trial, Buncich accepted bribes from Szarmach even before taking office in 2011," Benson wrote. "It is not surprising that this similar pattern of illegal conduct continued throughout Buncich's entire reign as sheriff."
"Buncich's conduct is not a single isolated incident of poor decision making, but rather a calculated abuse of power over a prolonged period of time for personal enrichment," Benson added.
The U.S. attorney's office does not comment on matters pending before the court.
Benson said Buncich presented himself as a public official who sought to fight public corruption, according to court documents, and condemned other officials who broke the law.
"Buncich's hypocrisy is overwhelming," Benson wrote. "The false image he projected the entire time he himself was violating the law is disgusting and despicable."
A presentencing report indicated that the level of the offenses Buncich committed qualified for a 12- to 15-year sentence, according to the memorandum, but Benson argued to increase the range.
"The government believes that a sentence of at least the high-end of the applicable guideline is necessary to promote respect for the law and to attempt to deter others from engaging in similar criminal conduct," Benson wrote in the memorandum. "Buncich's criminal conduct spans several years, involved other high-ranking Lake County public officials, and resulted in incredible damage and embarrassment to the Lake County Sheriff's Department and the Lake County Democratic Party."
Benson said in court documents that an immediate remand is needed because of the length of the sentence Buncich is facing; the former sheriff's access to cash assets; alleged violation of bond conditions; his training and experience as a law enforcement officer; and contact with a federal fugitive.
"Given Buncich's age, a sentence imposed at this level raises serious doubts as to Buncich's desire to appear to serve out this sentence," Benson said.
Benson said it appears that Buncich had access to large amounts of cash, according to court documents, and his law enforcement training could realistically make it easy for him to flee undetected.
Buncich, through Facebook, was in contact with Frank Kollintzas, the former East Chicago councilman who fled to Greece after being convicted in the 2003 "sidewalks for votes" scandal in 2005.
He is still wanted by federal authorities and was in contact with Buncich both before and after the former sheriff's conviction, according to court documents.
Kollintzas fled to Greece and was later sentenced in absentia.
Beyond the circumstances federal prosecutors say justify immediately remanding the former sheriff to federal custody at the sentencing hearing, Benson raised new allegations of possible criminal conduct to buttress his case.
Benson alleged the former sheriff violated the conditions of his bond by committing perjury during his August trial.
"The audacity of his incredulously false statements is only a reflection of the immense hollowness of his character," Benson wrote. "Given the preposterous nature of this claim, the jury correctly determined Buncich's guilt."
Benson said, in court documents, that the alleged perjury could justify the revocation of bond.
"Perhaps even more pertinent, Buncich's attempted use of the countywide law enforcement intelligence database against government witnesses is as repugnant as it is concerning," Benson wrote.
Buncich allegedly asked a police commander to give him access to an intelligence database in an effort to get information on Downs, Szarmach and a confidential federal source, according to court documents, but the officer rebuffed the requests.
"It is clear that this conduct, on at least two occasions, placed high-ranking lifelong police officers in the difficult position of stopping their boss from further obstruction of justice conduct," Benson added. "Additionally, this conduct caused the entire computer database to be shut down so that no law enforcement officers could access it."
Benson said Buncich's conviction is just the latest in a string of corrupt officials in Northwest Indiana.
"Buncich continues this abysmal saga of corrupt politicians in Lake County, except in this case, the damage is exponentially increased," Benson wrote. "Buncich held not only the highest political position in Lake County, Democratic Party chairman, but also the county's highest and most trusted law enforcement position, elected sheriff."
Lake jail contract becomes a medical drama
NWI Times
October 27, 2016
CROWN POINT — Lake officials opened a bidding process with high stakes for the winner of a lucrative county service contract and perhaps the race for 2nd District county commissioner.
They also raised the curtain on a little political theater.
The Lake County Board of Commissioners are looking for a firm to provide medical services for county jail inmates for the next two to three years that complies with a federal mandate triggered eight years ago by a U.S. Department of Justice finding of substandard health care for inmates.
Dr. William Forgey’s Correctional Health Indiana Inc. has been running the jail clinic since 2012 without having to compete annually with any other providers. He and his 41-member staff are being paid $4.3 million this year.
Commissioners have been under fire this election year for failing to save taxpayer dollars by requiring competitive bidding for county government consultant and service vendors contracts.
Schererville Town Councilman Jerry Tippy, the Republican candidate for the 2nd District commissioner seat, has made that issue a key to his campaign to oust incumbent Commissioner Gerry Scheub, D-Crown Point.
Earlier this month, commissioners announced they would put the jail medical contract up for bid.
Scheub and the other two commissioners declined comment on Wednesday's bid opening. Scheub has previously said he too supports more competitive bidding for public contracts.
Tippy questions the timing because this is less than two week before the Nov. 8 election. "It's certainly suspicious," Tippy said Wednesday.
Earlier this month, commissioners announced that as many as 15 firms could show interest in the jail contract, but only two submitted bids.
Forgey's Correctional Health Indiana Inc. offered to continue their current service for a total of $9 million over the next two years or $13.6 million over the next three years.
Med-Staff Inc. of Hobart offered to take over inmate health care for a total of $7.8 million over the next two years or between $12.4 million and $12.7 million over the next three years.
Med-Staff appears to be the low bidder, but there is no guarantee that firm wins the job.
Med-Staff, run by former Hobart mayor Robert Malizzo, was the county jail's medical provider from 2007 until 2012 under former sheriff Roy Dominguez. Malizzo fell into disfavor when current Sheriff John Buncich took over.
Buncich said the Justice Department found fault with Malizzo's firm. Malizzo said the only problem was a shortage of nurses for all shifts, but commissioners refused to give him enough money to attract more nurses.
Instead, commissioners replaced Malizzo with Forgey although Malizzo was the low bidder in 2012. Malizzo sued the county over that defeat, but later dropped the suit.
Malizzo said he expects Buncich will steer the jail contract to Forgey. He said Forgey and Buncich are longtime friends and Forgey employs the sheriff's "girlfriend" Debra Back as director of nursing in the jail.
Buncich said, "If the best (Malizzo) can do is to go with 'National Enquirer' stuff so be it." The sheriff acknowledged Back is a friend. "That has nothing to do with anything. She has a nursing degree and 35 years nursing experience."
The sheriff said Back and Forgey are county contractors. "They are not employees of mine. Their track record speaks for itself. They have helped clean up the mess Malizzo and his gang left us that cost the county millions of dollars."
Commissioners said they will only award a jail contract after the bids are studied by a panel of specialists who will give their recommendation at a future date.
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Lake officials issue open invitation for jail medical providers
Times, The (Munster, IN)
November 13, 2011
CROWN POINT -- Lake County commissioners have opened the competition for next year's contract to provide jail medical care.
"We will be advertising a (request for proposals) so anyone can submit for jail medical," County Attorney John Dull said last week.
Commissioners also postponed their public hearing until Dec. 14 to give potential vendors time to prepare business plans.
A source familiar with county officials said Sheriff John Buncich insisted on opening up bidding after criticism of the commissioners' initial plan to invite bids from only two firms: Med-Staff, of Hobart, the vendor since 2007, and Dr. William Forgey, who has been working for Buncich's quality control team of jail medical staff. Forgey incorporated as Correctional Health Indiana, of Merrillville, on Oct. 31.
A Times editorial Thursday said the county should avoid the appearance of a "sweetheart deal." The source said Buncich agreed.
Robert Malizzo, owner of Med-Staff, who said he also supports open competition, nevertheless, expressed concern the sheriff already has made up his mind.
"I think it's inappropriate for the process to include someone already working for the sheriff and who forms a company all of a sudden. Buncich already is on record as saying his recommendation to commissioners is not to retain Med-Staff. So what kind of fairness are we going to have?"
John Bushemi, an attorney for Buncich, said Malizzo's complaint is baseless because the sheriff will rely on four specialists to grade the proposals received in terms of how closely they would comply with federal inmate care standards.
Bushemi said Buncich, who took office 11 months ago, inherited a jail medical department that was found by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2009 and 2010 to have "systemic violations of inmate constitutional rights to medical care."
County officials agreed last year to upgrade the jail. But Justice Department officials inspected it two months ago and, Bushemi said, found the "great majority of medical care provisions (of the court order) remain in noncompliance."
Bushemi said a change is needed. "This is the reason for the request for proposals for a new medical department contract. This will be a competitive process, which will consider proposals from all qualified vendors. This decision will be based upon what is in the best interests of the jail and Lake County taxpayers and no other consideration."
Malizzo said commissioners and former Sheriff Roy Dominguez hired his firm four years ago to stabilize medical care in the jail at a reduced cost from the previous vendor and should stay on board next year.
"You will see at the Dec. 14 hearing exactly how much money the county has saved since we have been there and the lack of lawsuits. We have obviously done more than we have been hired to do," Malizzo said.
County officials are privately being warned to abandon all thoughts of tax savings because next year's medical contract could cost an additional $1 million. Malizzo said he would have to hire 30 additional nurses and medical assistants to meet the level of care spelled out in the county's request for proposals.
A county government consultant also has recommended hiring scores of additional corrections officers to move inmates to and from their cells to the medical ward, which could cost several millions of dollars more annually.
Lake County plans to openly bid for a contractor
Five firms to bid for jail’s medical services contract
Post-Tribune (IN)
December 7, 2011
Five companies, including the county’s current contractor, are intending to bid on providing medical care to Lake County Jail inmates.
Lake County decided to openly bid for the contractor, nixing a previous plan of inviting two companies to place bids.
Those companies, former Hobart Mayor Bob Malizzo’s Med-Staff, Inc., which currently provides jail medical care, and county consultant Dr. William Forgey’s newly created Correctional Health Indiana, Inc., are in the mix.
Rounding out the list are Gary-based Comprehensive Care, Inc.; Advanced Correctional Health, Inc. of Peoria, Ill.; and Correctional Health Companies, Inc. of Greenwood Village, Colo.
Malizzo said on Tuesday he has had troubles compiling Med-Staff’s bid in hopes of retaining his company’s largest contract. Med-Staff received the contract under former Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez.
“My real concern is when we’ve asked certain questions to help us put our bid together we got generic answers,” Malizzo said. “It made it difficult for us to try to put our bid together.”
The Lake County Board of Commissioners will open bids at a special meeting on Dec. 14 and hear presentations from the companies on Dec. 20.
A four-member panel will score the presentations and Lake County Sheriff John Buncich will offer his recommendation at a not-yet-determined date in late December.
The panel’s membership includes four people involved in the jail’s operations: Dr. Ron Shansky, jail medical program adviser; Jeff Kumorek, jail administrator; Dr. Terry Harman, jail mental health director; and Mark Purevich, jail chief compliance inspector.
The county’s consultant charged with helping the jail with federal compliance, Ken Ray, recommended the panel to Buncich, who then approved the panel, according to his attorney, John Bushemi.
Part of Ray’s duties is receiving and answering questions from companies preparing bids for the contract.
To ensure fairness, the answers are then sent out to all five companies, Bushemi said.
“Everyone is on a level playing field,” Bushemi said.
Buncich stressed the process to select the jail’s medical provider is open.
“This thing has been dragging out for a year now,” Buncich said. “It just has to be settled and the primary problem that we are facing right now is the medical in the jail. We have to correct this and correct this as soon as possible.”
County in a bind over hefty Lake jail care bids
Post-Tribune (IN)
December 15, 2011
Providing medical care for Lake County Jail inmates may run the county an additional $1 million in 2012.
Bids by companies wanting to administer the care ran $1 million to $1.5 million higher than what the county spent this year, county attorney John Dull confirmed.
The jail’s current medical provider, Hobart-based Med-Staff, Inc., submitted the least expensive bid out of four companies vying for the contract. Med-Staff, Inc., run by former Hobart Mayor Bob Malizzo, bid $3.1 million in hopes of retaining the contract the company received under former Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez.
Correctional Health Indiana, Inc., owned by jail consultant Dr. William Forgey, bid $3.54 million. Colorado-based Correctional Healthcare Co. bid $3.5 million and Advanced Correctional Healthcare of Peoria, Ill., submitted the apparent high bid at $6.2 million. A fifth company, Gary-based Comprehensive Care, Inc., didn’t bid on the contract, though it had notified the county of its intention.
The price tag is a worry for Lake County Councilman Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell.
“It concerns me a lot,” Niemeyer said. “It’s going to be a really difficult procedure trying to find money to fund what we need to fund for sure. There’s going to be a lot of dialogue in getting a plan together for 2012.”
Lake County Council President Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, said the county is bound by the requirement to finance the jail.
“Between the commissioners and the council, we are going to have to meet about this to figure out a way to fund this jail and all the issues that come with it,” Bilski said.
The Lake County Board of Commissioners opened the bids Wednesday at a special meeting, but the vetting process is just beginning.
The stakes are high. The company ultimately awarded the contract will play an integral role in correcting U.S. Department of Justice’s concerns about the facility. Lake County Sheriff John Buncich has publicly lodged complaints about Med-Staff’s work at the jail and decided to open bids for next year’s contract.
A county consultant will now determine whether the bids meet the criteria necessary for scoring, and at a special meeting on Dec. 20, the companies will make public presentations.
After the presentations, a four-member panel made up of jail administrators and advisers will independently score the bids.
County officials could decide the contract as early as Dec. 21 at a regularly scheduled commissioners meeting.
Bidders for jail health care pitch plans to county
Post-Tribune (IN)
December 21, 2011
The dilemma Lake County faces in choosing who will provide medical care for jail inmates in 2012 comes down to this: Does the county retain the current contractor, Med-Staff Inc., who submitted the lowest bid at $3.1 million but whose services at the jail concern Lake County Sheriff John Buncich?
Or does the county pick among three other firms vying for the job and pay a higher cost? Those firms, including a company owned by current jail consultant Dr. William Forgey, spent Tuesday attempting to persuade a four-member panel of jail advisers, who will score the bids, and the Lake County Board of Commissioners why the extra money is worth it.
Regardless of what the county ultimately decides, Lake County taxpayers will bear a higher cost for jail medical care. All bids came in $1 million to $1.5 million higher than what the county spent this year.
Costs for the program increased as the county continues to work with the U.S. Department of Justice to fix concerns it had at the facility.
Jail consultant Forgey said his company, Correctional Health Indiana Inc., will do a better job than Med-Staff, owned by former Hobart Mayor Bob Malizzo. Forgey said he already has a full staff ready to come into the jail.
“That’s why you should throw out the low bid,” Forgey said at Tuesday’s special commissioners’ meeting. “This is a big, full-time job.”
Correctional Health Indiana’s presentation centered on the idea that the company was designed specifically to fix federal noncompliance at the jail. The company bid $3.54 million for the contract.
But Lake County Commissioner Roosevelt Allen, D-Gary, questioned the company’s experience. Forgey incorporated the company on Oct. 31 but told county officials he needed to separate the entity from his existing medical practice.
“This is a start-up company as far as providing medical services to jail entities,” Allen said.
Advanced Correctional Health Inc. and Correctional Health Companies Inc. both have gone into jails and corrected federal concerns.
“In 90 days the DOJ came in, they cleared the facility completely and advised us it was not necessary for them to come back,” CEO and Principal of Advanced Correctional Health Dr. Norman Johnson said.
Advanced Correctional Health of Peoria, Ill., bid $6.2 million and Colorado-based Correctional Health Cos. bid $3.5 million.
Med-Staff Inc. attempted to prove costs have increased since Buncich brought in a medical director for the jail. However, Lake County’s DOJ consultant Ken Ray rebuked Malizzo’s claims, saying all cost increases were a direct result of Justice Department requirements.
Malizzo, who received the contract under former Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez, maintained he’s proud of what his company has done at the jail.
“This contract is not about John Buncich or Bob Malizzo,” Malizzo said. “This contract is about the health care of inmates of the Lake County Jail and the taxpayers of Lake County. That’s what this contract is about. Personalities should not play a part in this contract. We have shown we can work with anyone and we will continue to try to work with this administration if they are willing to work with us.”
Medical provider chosen for jail
Post-Tribune (IN)
December 22, 2011
Lake County will pay $3.4 million to a Merrillville-based company in 2012 to provide medical care to Lake County Jail inmates.
Focus now turns to how the county will afford the new provider approved by the Lake County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday. The amount is at least $1 million more than what the county paid last year. County officials stressed the U.S. Department of Justice’s involvement at the jail forced the cost increase as the county makes improvements to satisfy federal concerns about the facility.
Lake County Sheriff John Buncich recommended and commissioners subsequently approved Correctional Health Indiana, Inc. as the provider. Current jail consultant Dr. William Forgey runs the company and earned the highest score out of the four organizations vying for the contract.
Buncich said he couldn’t recommend Med-Staff, Inc., the contractor at the jail since 2007, despite the Hobart-based company offering the low bid at $3.1 million.
“(Med-Staff) simply has not gotten the job done,” said Buncich calling Med-Staff one of the root causes of why Lake County hasn’t fully complied with the Justice Department’s settlement agreement.
Instead Buncich placed his confidence behind Correctional Health Indiana, who he maintains will achieve the fastest compliance. The company will have Forgey, its medical director, and Thomas Todd, its health services administrator and CEO, at the jail.
“The medical director and CEO on site with the authority to make fixes when problems arise is a very, very unique situation and I think extremely advantageous (to the sheriff,)” said Dr. Ron Shansky, the jail medical program adviser that served on the four-member panel responsible for scoring the bids.
Correctional Health Indiana revised its bid to $3.4 million down from an original $3.54 million to solely respond to what the county requested in its proposal.
County Commissioner Fran DuPey, D-Hammond, said choosing next year’s contractor didn’t go the way she imagined because commissioners weren’t involved in the entire process. DuPey called the vote one of the most important in her career as a commissioner.
“I don’t know what the rush was that this had to be done,” DuPey said.
The timetable of when Correctional Health Indiana will come into the jail and Med-Staff leaves is in the works, Buncich said. Forgey has a staff assembled ready to come into the jail but some of the medical personnel need to give current employers notice.
Med-Staff owner Bob Malizzo contended politics played into the decision.
“We kind of knew it was coming,” said Malizzo, who received the contract under former Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez. “It is all political. It’s nothing to do with the quality of service.”
In addition to the medical contract, commissioners approved, in a 2-1 vote, $858,730 in contracts for 2012 but only for two months.
Commissioners made them subject to Lake County Council appropriations on whether the agreements will extend the entire year. Some $430,000 of the amount is for the consultant who works with the county on the Justice Department’s settlement agreement.
County Councilman Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, said the County Council will work in the next 30 days to identify a funding mechanism. But Niemeyer, who attended the meeting, contended the County Council can’t take that amount from other departments.
Outgoing provider chose not to extend contract 2 months
Newly hired jail medical provider to start early
Post-Tribune (IN)
December 30, 2011
The new medical contractor for the Lake County Jail is preparing to transition into the facility quicker than originally planned.
The process picked up pace after the outgoing provider, Med-Staff Inc., chose not to extend its contract through the end of February, Lake County Sheriff John Buncich said.
Easing the transition over two months would have given the new contractor, Correctional Health Indiana, time to hire and for incoming medical personnel to give current employers notice.
Regardless of the expedient timetable, Buncich maintained Correctional Health Indiana, owned by Dr. William Forgey, will be ready to go this weekend. A 10-member team from the Merrillville-based company will ring in the New Year at the jail.
“We gave (Med-Staff) every opportunity to work with them to extend their contract for a couple of months,” Buncich said. “They chose not to do it. We are going to be ready to go and ready this weekend. It’s been hectic, but we’re going to be ready.”
The Lake County Board of Commissioners approved the company’s $3.4 million contract on Thursday. The contract is for one year and requires Correctional Health Indiana to increase medical staffing at the jail to meet U.S. Department of Justice requirements.
Commissioners gave Buncich the authority to recommend the contract’s termination at any time if the company fails to fulfill its responsibilities.
Correctional Health Indiana will staff 40 full-time and four part-time positions at the jail. The contract’s length is making some potential employees hesitant to leave their current jobs, but the company will still have “great people,” said Thomas Todd, the company’s health services administrator.
“We knew this was coming,” Todd said. “The problem is we couldn’t hire anybody. We didn’t have a signed contract until just now.”
The incoming contractor is also interested in talking with Med-Staff employees.
“We want them to work for us,” Todd said, “but they have to approach us especially until (Jan. 1) because of agreements with the county.”
Med-Staff and the county couldn’t agree on terms of the contract extension, Med-Staff owner Bob Malizzo said.
“They didn’t have any compassion for my employees losing their jobs,” Malizzo said. “They wanted us to train their replacements, and I mean that’s kind of bold I thought.”
Commissioners renegotiate jail contract for a savings
Post-Tribune (IN)
February 2, 2012
CROWN POINT — The county will realize a $69,000 savings, thanks to a renegotiated contract for the jail’s mental health services.
Sheriff John Buncich and his attorney John Bushemi presented to the Lake County Commissioners on Wednesday an amended contract for RJS Justice Services, the consulting firm working on the improvements required of the Lake County Jail by the U.S. Department of Justice. The contract, which overrides one passed by the commissioners Dec. 21, costs $361,000, down from the original $430,000, though it covers the same time period of Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2012.
Bushemi said commissioners attorney John Dull renegotiated the contract with RJS principal Ken Ray.
The new contract still pays Ray $125 per hour, but it increases his duties. It also increases the pay to $275 for Ray Shansky, one of the doctors providing services. In turn, it decreases the number of hours Shansky will work, Bushemi said.
Additionally, $45,000 of the $361,000 will be recuperated from Correctional Health Indiana, the mental-health training firm run by Dr. William Forgey, according to Bushemi.
Buncich told the commissioners that mental-health staffing at the jail is “up-to-par” and that an ordinance modifying the number of part-time counseling positions for which the jail can hire will come before the Lake County Council at its next meeting.
The commissioners voted 3-0 to both rescind the former contract and approve the new one.
The commission also voted 3-0 to appoint its special assistant, Tramel Raggs, to its post on the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority. Raggs replaces Gary Deputy Mayor Delvert Cole.
DOJ: Lake County Jail now in compliance
Post-Tribune (IN)
October 12, 2012
CROWN POINT — All 99 deficiencies cited by the U.S. Department of Justice in its 2010 settlement agreement with the Lake County Jail have been moved out of non-compliance.
On Thursday, county officials wrapped up a routine four-day inspection of the jail by a six-member DOJ team and learned they are moving in the right direction with changes and improvements at the jail.
“We are very happy to report every category is out of non-compliance. We are making a lot of headway. We are very pleased with what has been accomplished,” Lake County Sheriff John Buncich said.
Lake County Board of Commissioners member Gerry Scheub, D-Crown Point, agreed the inspection went very well.
“They were very satisfied. They feel the sheriff and medical staff are making very good progress,” Scheub said. He said officials hope the trend will continue, eventually ending the DOJ oversight.
Buncich said Thursday’s review was the culmination of inspections that began Monday with the DOJ team whose members included three mental health professionals, two doctors and a corrections officer. The team went through every aspect of the jail operations during the inspection. He said inspectors found significant improvement in the mental health and medical areas.
“We are getting there,” Buncich said.
The county has been grappling with paying for improvements to facilities, services and staffing mandated by the DOJ in its findings.
“We are spending money from years of neglect. In the long run we will end up saving a lot of money,” Buncich said.
The sheriff hired a new medical director in 2011, Dr. William Forgey of Merrillville, and replaced the mental health team. Buncich said those changes are paying off.
“When you get the right people in the right area, better grades occur,” Buncich said.
The Lake County Council also has agreed to hire 18 corrections officers in 2013 in a potential staffing compromise with the DOJ, which in the settlement agreement said the jail must hire 65 additional officers. Under the compromise, the DOJ will see how the jail is operating with the 18 new officers and potentially waive additional hiring requirements.
Council members also authorized up to $5 million in bonds to repair the plumbing at the jail, which was cited in the report for causing unsanitary living conditions for inmates.
Buncich said he is looking forward to getting out from under the watchful eye of the DOJ. He expects the jail could be in full compliance in the next couple of visits. DOJ inspections occur about twice a year. The next inspection is expected in April.
“The sooner we get out from under the DOJ settlement agreement, we can begin to operate the jail under the control of the sheriff,” Buncich said.
Valparaiso doc accused of groping patients fired
Post-Tribune (IN)
March 20, 2013
The Valparaiso doctor accused of by two women of alleged sexual misconduct has lost his job at the Lake County Jail.
Lake County Sheriff John Buncich confirmed Tuesday Dr. Jose Agusti had been employed by Correctional Health Indiana Inc., the outside contractor that provides medical services for the Lake County Jail, until the news broke that Agusti was accused of allegedly groping a patient and exposing himself to her at his Valparaiso office.
“The minute we found out we issued a termination order, he was not allowed in the Lake County Jail anymore,” Buncich said.
Valparaiso Police charged Agusti March 14 with one count of criminal deviate conduct and one count of sexual battery, both felonies, following a lengthy investigation into the allegations.
Agusti has offices in Merrillville and Valparaiso. The alleged groping incident occurred in September.
Buncich said he consulted with Dr. William Forgey, the jail’s medical director and head of CHI, as soon as he learned of the allegations and the pair immediately took action. Agusti was asked to immediately return all his keys and pass cards.
He had been employed at the jail for approximately one year.
Shortly after the first allegation came to light a Schererville woman came forward and alleged Agusti forced her to perform a sex act on him a year ago in her Merrillville office. A police report was filed at the time, but the investigation was dropped. Merrillville police are reopening that investigation as well.
The news about the doctor’s conduct came as a surprise to both Buncich and Forgey.
Buncich said background checks are done on all employees and nothing turned up in Agusti’s past that would have jeopardized his chances as employment. Since no charges were filed in the first alleged incident that would not have come up during a background check.
Forgey said Agusti was well known to him as a medical professional.
He had previously worked with Agusti in other local health systems before bringing on board the jail staff.
“It was a sickening surprise. There was nothing on his record. He has a clean license,” Forgey said.
He described Agusti as a dedicated hard worker who was helpful to have around because he spoke multiple languages including Serbian and Spanish.
Forgey said Agusti’s termination will not impact the medical services CHI provides for the jail. In its contract CHI is supposed to supply the services of the full-time medical director and 20 hours of additional doctor services a week.
“We always provide a lot more,” he said.
Dr. Robert Ehresman from Clinton will be joining the staff in September. A temporary doctor will fill in until Ehresman is on staff. CHI also recently retained the services of Dr. Kumpol Dennison of Crown Point and staffs three nurse practitioners and a physician’s assistant.
Committee gets first look at Lake jail improvements
Post-Tribune (IN)
August 3, 2013
CROWN POINT — Lake County Jail Oversight Committee members have had their first up-close look at the improvements completed at the jail.
Members toured the intake, video visitation and health care areas of the jail as well as the new magistrate’s courtroom and heard from Sheriff John Buncich and Dr. William Forgey, the jail’s medical director and head of Correctional Health Indiana Inc.
The pair discussed the changes that have been made at the jail since a 2010 settlement with the Department of Justice regarding a 2009 suit filed against the Sheriff’s Department over conditions inside the jail under the administration of former Sheriff Roy Dominguez, and how those changes have improved conditions for inmates and increased safety for inmates, personnel and visitors to the jail.
Buncich and Forgey said some of the most significant improvements have been made in the jail’s health care facilities. All incoming inmates received a health screening before they are integrated into the population. Last year between 1,000 and 1,200 tuberculosis shots and 1,500 flu shots were administered.
“This jail serves as a huge public health component to the people who come through here,” Forgey said.
Buncich said many of the changes made decrease the opportunity for inmates to interact with civilians and jail staff increasing safety and improving efficiency. The video visitation component is a large part of that. Now the only visitors who come in contact with inmates are clergy and attorneys.
Committee member Jan Parsons, director of probation, said the improvements turned out well and help alleviate concerns about the conditions of the jail where her department may have to return someone to custody.
“You don’t want inmates in a country club, but you don’t want them violated either,” Parsons said.
Clarence Murray, judge for Lake County Criminal Court Division Room 2 and a committee member, said he too was pleased by the new direction the jail is headed.
“I think it’s outstanding … They really beefed up security. It will go a long way,” Murray said.
He was particularly impressed with the video visitation system that allows visitors to connect with inmates in the jail lobby and, once registered, from their home and eliminates the chance to pass contraband.
“In the past that has been a sore spot,” Murray said.
The video terminals also provide inmates with access to educational services such GED training and college courses.
Lawsuit blames Lake County jail for inmate’s death
Post-Tribune (IN)
September 21, 2013
Lake County is responsible for the death of a jail inmate because officials failed to diagnose or treat his health problems while he was incarcerated, according to a federal lawsuit filed Friday.
That jail has a troubled past but recently received passing grades from both the state and federal governments.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the estate of Cedell Wright, 45, of Hammond.
Wright died March 3 from an impacted colon and pneumonia that went untreated at the jail, David Gladish, attorney for Wright’s estate, said. Gladish claims that jail officials did not take Wright to the emergency room until he was either in cardiac arrest or already dead.
“This is not something that could go unaddressed, because if it goes unaddressed, you die, and he died,” Gladish said.
Sheriff John Buncich and his attorney, John Bushemi, could not be reached Friday afternoon for comment.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Hammond, claims Wright had several health problems while in the jail, including extreme weight loss, but he was never properly treated.
“After being placed on notice of the obvious deterioration of Mr. Wright’s health, defendants showed deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs and decided not to do anything to prevent harm from occurring to Mr. Wright,” the lawsuit says.
According to Lake County court records, Wright was arrested in November on charges of armed robbery, battery with a deadly weapon and attempted battery with a deadly weapon. Officials said Wright owed a woman money and was painting her house to repay her. At one point, he put a knife to her throat and, after a struggle, slammed her head into the floor, tried to strangle her and dragged her by her feet to the kitchen, where he tried to hit her with a hammer. The woman gave him $240 after he told her he needed money, and he threatened to kill her if she told police, according to records.
Bail was set at $100,000, but it does not appear it was ever paid. According to court records, Wright missed a hearing on Feb. 22 because of extreme diarrhea.
The Lake County Jail has had problems with its medical facilities before, a fact noted in the lawsuit. Inmates filed a class-action lawsuit against the county for several problems in the intake area, including that inmates had to sleep on the floors and were not being treated for medical conditions.
The county settled the lawsuit last year for $7.2 million and also signed a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2010 after several inmates committed suicide and federal officials found the jail was deficient in 99 areas, including inmate’s physical and mental health.
Since then, the justice department has conducted biannual reviews of the jail. At first, it found numerous medical problems, such as inmates with chronic conditions not being seen by doctors. One patient almost died because his blood-thinner prescription was not properly supervised, according to one of the first justice department reports. The department cited a “staggering” lack of involvement by doctors in inmates’ medical care.
However, the jail hired a new company, Correctional Health Indiana Inc., which brought more medical employees, and built a new medical clinic that is open 24 hours a day and allows inmates to see doctors through video feeds. The justice department gave the jail high marks in its past two visits to the jail, the most recent one of which was in May, just two months after Wright died.
“There was tremendous progress overall,” federal inspector Kenneth Ray said at the time.
The Indiana Department of Corrections also praised the jail’s improvements during an annual tour in June, with officials saying it was “100 percent” improved from previous years.
Gladish said the jail must provide for the inmates, and that includes getting them timely medical care. He said he didn’t know if the Department of Justice or the Indiana Department of Correction was aware of Wright’s death.
“We hope that eventually Lake County gets it right,” but the county failed Wright, Gladish said.
The lawsuit names the county, Sheriff Buncich, three jail employees, Correctional Health and Dr. William Forgey, head of Correctional Health, as defendants. The estate is asking for compensation for the loss of Wright’s life, compensatory and punitive damages and legal fees.
Vendors seek repeat business from Lake County officials
Times, The (Munster, IN)
November 27, 2013
CROWN POINT -- Professionals seeking to keep their lucrative business connections asked Lake County officials Tuesday to recall the good times they've had together.
Cenifax Network Solutions, the Schererville-based firm that has controlled almost every computer in Lake County government since 1993, is asking Lake County commissioners to renew its $2.6 million annual contract.
Commissioners have renewed the Cenifax contract over the years with little debate but decided this year to put it and other long-term vendor contracts up for competitive bidding for 2014.
Mark Pearman, Cenifax executive director, said his company earns its money managing the county's website, which receives 1.5 million visits a month, and supporting 44 separate computer sites used by almost every county government office.
Pearman said his firm has managed the conversion of digital record keeping for local courts, county police, the prosecutor, public defenders, tax collections and distributions, elections and county government budgeting and finances.
The man who would like to take over that business is no stranger to county government, either.
Don Guernsey, owner of Valparaiso-based Onyx Electronics, has provided computer service for the county recorder's office since 1997. Guernsey's company also has been running the commissioners' delinquent tax sale for several years.
Guernsey said his company has performed well for the county over the years and promises in the future a more flexible information technology system in which employees in one county office could be cross-trained to access and manage information in another office if needed.
Commissioners also reviewed the qualifications of three contractors that provide health care services for county jail inmates: Merrillville physician Dr. William Forgey, who has been the jail's medical director since January 2012; Terry Harman, the jail's mental health director since June 2011; and Faith Ornelas, the jail's psychiatric nurse practitioner since November 2012.
The U.S. Department of Justice previously documented 99 deficiencies in the lockup, and Lake County officials agreed in 2010 with federal officials to eliminate substandard health care for about 14,000 jail prisoners every year.
John Bushemi, an attorney for Lake County Sheriff John Buncich, said the sheriff will ask commissioners next month to keep this medical team in place because it has stabilized jail health care.
Forgey employs 41 people as part of his Correctional Health Indiana Inc. staff, which holds a $3.4 million contract for work in the jail. Harman is receiving $96,328, and Ornelas $120,000, according to county records.
Uninsured inmates boost Lake jail medical bills to $8.3M
Times, The (Munster, IN)
October 16, 2014
CROWN POINT -- Lake taxpayers will pay $8.3 million in medical bills over the next two years for uninsured inmates at the Lake County Jail.
However, they are also savings millions of dollars on medical care for Lake County government employees.
Lake County commissioners voted Wednesday to extend to 2016 Correctional Health Indiana Inc. contract to screen and treat the approximately 14,000 men and women processed through the Lake County jail each year.
Correctional Health Indiana is the corporate entity run by Dr. William Forgey, the jail's medical director. Forgey's 41-member staff screens new jail inmates and has been overseeing health care in the lockup since 2012.
The county will pay Forgey's group $4.1 million in 2015 and $4.2 million in 2016, a nearly 3 percent increase.
Last year, commissioners balked at the cost of inmate jail care under Forgey, but Sheriff John Buncich convinced them earlier this year the U.S. Department of Justice insists on keeping Forgey. The sheriff also trimmed his overall budget to meet commissioners' demands.
The U.S. Department of Justice cited the jail in 2009 for deficient care of inmates' medical and mental health issues, forcing the county to pump millions of dollars into increased care, in addition to the jail's annual $14.2 million budget.
Justice officials say a study of the jail indicates more than 60 percent of its inmates complain of some form of mental illness. Many are substance-abusers.
Commissioners said the good health care news is that medical costs for its county government's 1,658 full-time employees went down this year, in contrast to neighboring cities and counties.
David Baker, president of Professional Claims Management Inc. of Highland, said doctor and medicine claims are up slightly this year over last, but the cost already has dropped $3 million this year. He said the total savings for this year likely will reach $4.2 million.
He said the county achieved the savings by switching to a medical provider network offering deeper discounts.
Commissioners renewed Professional Claims Management Inc.'s contract for the next year. Baker said his administrative fee totals $372,000. He said administrative insurance fees for the employees add up to another $1.4 million. Total county employee health costs will run $30 million this year.
In other business, commissioners will pay North American Salt $73.32 a ton for road salt this winter, a 50 percent increase over last winter. Marcus Malczewski, county highway superintendent, told commissioners Wednesday that if the county uses as much salt as last winter, the bill likely will rise $146,000.
Commissioners will pay more than $623,000 in computer software for processing local government data.
Commissioners renewed the consulting contract of Larry Blanchard, their assistant for 2015. He will receive up to $56,400 next year.
Commissioners awarded a $332,802 contract to Nelson Systems of Springfield, Ill., for a voice and data recording system for the county's E-911 public safety communications service. The cost includes the first year's maintenance.
Jail policy on medication disposal criticized
Associated Press State Wire: Indiana (IN)
November 16, 2014
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — A northwestern Indiana jail is under fire for the way it handles inmates' prescription drugs.
Porter County routinely disposes of prescription medications taken from inmates because Sheriff Dave Lain says the county has no way to verify that the medication is what it's purported to be.
But defense attorneys scoff at the notion and say throwing away legitimate prescriptions can cause problems for inmates whose insurers won't cover the costs to replace those recently filled.
Defense attorney Mitch Peters noted that police can look online to determine whether a pill is really what it's advertised as being.
"It's pretext, because clearly they have the ability to make that determination," Peters told The Times in Munster (http://bit.ly/1xdvaGA ).
Jail officials say many medications prescribed outside jail, such as the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, aren't given to inmates. Lain said a nurse is on duty around the clock to tend to inmates' medical needs.
The situation is different in Lake County, where prescription medicines are screened, then stored with the inmates' other belongings.
Dr. William Forgey, medical director for the Crown Point lockup, said nearly all prescription drugs are seized in the jail's booking room, labeled and put into storage along with the inmate's other personal property. Once inmates are released from custody, the prescription drugs are returned to them.
Exceptions are made for a small number of high-end prescription drugs.
"Expensive drugs, like to treat HIV or multiple sclerosis, are identified to make sure they have been properly prescribed and then we allow the inmates to take them," Forgey said. "We allow them in because some of these drugs can cost up to $1,000 a month."
Peters said jails need to take a broader approach in order to stabilize mental and emotional disturbances among inmates.
A lawsuit filed against Lain and former Warden John Widup accuses them of failing to provide adequate and reasonable care for an inmate who hanged himself at the jail in February 2012. The lawsuit claims the sheriff and warden denied the inmate his antidepressants.
Buncich to fight infirmary plans
Lake County sheriff says effort would be too costly
Post-Tribune (IN)
February 6, 2015
CROWN POINT - Efforts to turn the fourth floor of the Lake County Jail into an infirmary for inmates in need of skilled care is just too costly for the county pursue, officials say.
Lake County Sheriff John Buncich said he plans to fight efforts by Department of Justice inspectors who are overseeing the implementation of the federal mandate requiring improvements to the jail's facilities and health care to turn the fourth floor into a full-fledged infirmary.
Buncich said he and Dr. William Forgey, the jail's medical director, presented a detailed plan to create a 4th Floor Medical Sheltered Housing Unit at the jail, but that plan was rejected by DOJ inspectors.
"We are complying with the settlement," Buncich said, adding that calls by the inspectors to create an infirmary go above and beyond the 2010 DOJ settlement agreement stemming from a lawsuit filed by inmates in 2007 claiming inhumane conditions and inadequate health care while the jail was under the administration of former Sheriff Roy Dominguez .
"The cost to put an infirmary in is overwhelming," Buncich said, adding that is why he is saying the county needs to go back before the judge before spending any more money.
"We have to draw the line somewhere," he said.
The jail is in compliance with National Correctional Health Care Standards and already performs health care services many similar facilities do not, such as tuberculosis tests and screenings for sexually transmitted diseases.
Adding an infirmary would require two additional registered nurses and more staff along with the costs associated with construction.
In a letter to the DOJ, Buncich wrote: "My administration and the Lake County Jail has consistently cooperated fully with all requirements of the inspectors enforcing the DOJSA. I do not intend on allowing demands beyond these requirements to be added. I will instruct my attorney to file a motion with Judge Springman in federal court to prohibit such additions if they occur."
Lake County Council President Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, said he, too, has concerns surrounding the county creating an infirmary in the jail.
"It scares me to be an infirmary. We are becoming a hospital. I don't want the liability,' Bilski said. "We are not a hospital. We are not a newsstand either."
Deal near to end federal oversight of Lake jail
County needs to hire more nurses to fulfill DOJ requirements
Post-Tribune (IN)
May 29, 2015
CROWN POINT - Lake County Sheriff John Buncich needs to hire 1.4 more nurses for the county jail as part of a deal with inspectors that could get the facility and its operations out from under the eye of the Department of Justice.
If the county successfully fulfills the latest requirements set out by inspectors after their May visit, the sheriff and county could enter into a memorandum of understanding that would end the consent decree requiring DOJ oversight by the end of the year.
The jail has been under the DOJ's watch since 2011 when the county settled a 2007 civil lawsuit by inmates claiming inhumane conditions and inadequate health care while the jail was under the administration of former Sheriff Roy Dominguez.
At the time, the DOJ found 99 deficiencies. Buncich and county officials have been pouring millions of dollars into the jail since that time for added staffing, physical repairs and the addition of a psychiatric ward and infirmary.
Roosevelt Allen Jr., president of the board of commissioners, said a deal has been negotiated with health care provider Dr. William Forgey with Correctional Health Indiana Inc. in which Forgey will absorb the cost associated with providing the hours for the four-tenths-time nurse under his existing contract, and the county will add another $100,000 a year to his deal for the full-time nurse.
"We had to get the whole nurse," Allen said.
Adding the full-time nurse to Forgey's contract as opposed to the county payroll is the most cost-effective way for the county to add the employee, Allen said.
If the jail is able to reach a certain level of substantial compliance with the consent decree, the DOJ would stop its twice-a-year inspections and leave a monitor in the jail for one year to ensure no additional problems occur, Allen said. Kenneth Ray with Kenneth Ray Justice Services, the jail's current consultant, would be tapped as the monitor.
"If no additional problems occur, the consent decree goes away," Allen said.
County Commissioners last week deferred action on the measure until they had a chance to further review the contract. Commissioners Michael Repay, D-Hammond, and Gerry Scheub, D-Crown Point, said they expected the $100,000 cost to be handled in an amendment to the current contract, not by rescinding the existing contract and enacting a new one covering the additional funds. Neither said they were ready to act.
"My preference is to study it another month," Repay said. "I don't have a problem with the spirit of the amendment. The details are a little murky."
Buncich said inspectors would like to see the decision by early June so they can proceed with getting a memorandum of understanding in place that would end the oversight.
"We've spent millions and millions of dollars and are ready for them to be out," Buncich said, adding the $100,000 cost of the new nurse is a small amount to pay in comparison.
Lake jail contract becomes a medical drama
NWI Times
October 27, 2016
CROWN POINT — Lake officials opened a bidding process with high stakes for the winner of a lucrative county service contract and perhaps the race for 2nd District county commissioner.
They also raised the curtain on a little political theater.
The Lake County Board of Commissioners are looking for a firm to provide medical services for county jail inmates for the next two to three years that complies with a federal mandate triggered eight years ago by a U.S. Department of Justice finding of substandard health care for inmates.
Dr. William Forgey’s Correctional Health Indiana Inc. has been running the jail clinic since 2012 without having to compete annually with any other providers. He and his 41-member staff are being paid $4.3 million this year.
Commissioners have been under fire this election year for failing to save taxpayer dollars by requiring competitive bidding for county government consultant and service vendors contracts.
Schererville Town Councilman Jerry Tippy, the Republican candidate for the 2nd District commissioner seat, has made that issue a key to his campaign to oust incumbent Commissioner Gerry Scheub, D-Crown Point.
Earlier this month, commissioners announced they would put the jail medical contract up for bid.
Scheub and the other two commissioners declined comment on Wednesday's bid opening. Scheub has previously said he too supports more competitive bidding for public contracts.
Tippy questions the timing because this is less than two week before the Nov. 8 election. "It's certainly suspicious," Tippy said Wednesday.
Earlier this month, commissioners announced that as many as 15 firms could show interest in the jail contract, but only two submitted bids.
Forgey's Correctional Health Indiana Inc. offered to continue their current service for a total of $9 million over the next two years or $13.6 million over the next three years.
Med-Staff Inc. of Hobart offered to take over inmate health care for a total of $7.8 million over the next two years or between $12.4 million and $12.7 million over the next three years.
Med-Staff appears to be the low bidder, but there is no guarantee that firm wins the job.
Med-Staff, run by former Hobart mayor Robert Malizzo, was the county jail's medical provider from 2007 until 2012 under former sheriff Roy Dominguez. Malizzo fell into disfavor when current Sheriff John Buncich took over.
Buncich said the Justice Department found fault with Malizzo's firm. Malizzo said the only problem was a shortage of nurses for all shifts, but commissioners refused to give him enough money to attract more nurses.
Instead, commissioners replaced Malizzo with Forgey although Malizzo was the low bidder in 2012. Malizzo sued the county over that defeat, but later dropped the suit.
Malizzo said he expects Buncich will steer the jail contract to Forgey. He said Forgey and Buncich are longtime friends and Forgey employs the sheriff's "girlfriend" Debra Back as director of nursing in the jail.
Buncich said, "If the best (Malizzo) can do is to go with 'National Enquirer' stuff so be it." The sheriff acknowledged Back is a friend. "That has nothing to do with anything. She has a nursing degree and 35 years nursing experience."
The sheriff said Back and Forgey are county contractors. "They are not employees of mine. Their track record speaks for itself. They have helped clean up the mess Malizzo and his gang left us that cost the county millions of dollars."
Commissioners said they will only award a jail contract after the bids are studied by a panel of specialists who will give their recommendation at a future date.
Commissioners' attorney: Inmate - HIV screening program not approved - $45K tab for agreement with Indiana University
Post-Tribune (IN)
April 1, 2017
A screening program for HIV and hepatitis C set to begin in April at the Lake County Jail and conducted in partnership with Indiana University did not get necessary approval from the Board of Commissioners, the board's attorney says.
John Dull, commissioners' attorney, said in an email Friday the agreement calls for the payment of money and has not been approved by the commissioners. The sheriff does not have contract authority, he wrote. The matter will be on the April 19 agenda.
Dull's email arrived three hours after a news release from Mark Back, sheriff's department spokesman, announcing the program launched by Sheriff John Buncich. Dull said he was unaware Back had sent an email out about the program.
Dull said that on the statement regarding the expenditure, the services were billed as medical supplies and not a service, which is what he said the sheriff's department bought. Only the commissioners can approve and enter into contracts for services or consultants. Department heads bring those requests before the board for approval.
Questions also were raised about why the testing does not fall under the contract of Dr. William Forgey and Correctional Health Indiana Inc., which provides medical services to inmates at the Lake County Jail.
"The point being the commissioners are now looking very closely at all purchase orders that come through," Dull said.
The agreement is for $45,000. Because two payments already have been made and work on the project has begun, commissioners will have to go forward and approve the third and final payment.
Buncich entered into the agreement in December to partner with the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health to create a one-time testing process that will establish a baseline of incidents within the jail population.
"We are seeing more and more consequences of illegal injection drug use, such as heroin. It's not just overdoses we have to be concerned about. It is also the diseases this type of drug abuse can cause and the costs of those diseases for the inmate and the taxpayer," Buncich said.
He said he entered into the partnership because he was trying to take a proactive approach regarding the county's growing heroin epidemic. Buncich said he had funding available in a line item for this type of purchase and did not seek an additional appropriation to pay for the work.
"I undertook this because of the seriousness of the problem," Buncich said.
Beginning in April, nurses at the Lake County Jail will test inmates for HIV and hepatitis C with the inmates' consent. Approximately 400 inmates will be screened at intake, educated about prevention and referred to proper health care professionals if HIV or hepatitis C is identified through the process.
The screening is aimed at helping officials get a picture of how bad the problem in Lake County is with opioid addiction and the contagious diseases with which it is commonly associated, HIV and hepatitis C.
"We are the first county jail in the state of Indiana to do something like this," Buncich said.
Once the data is collected and processed by the university team, it will be disseminated to agencies such as the coroner's office and Health Department to help recognize trends and possibly come up with a strategy to prevent the spread of addiction and disease.
"I didn't recklessly spend money," Buncich said, adding that the department stepped forward to make sure the council and commissioners were aware of the program.
"I'm not trying to hide nothing. It behooves me as an administrator do whatever we possibly can," Buncich said.
Commissioner Jerry Tippy, R-Schererville, who is responsible for purchase orders, said that in the coming weeks, efforts will be made to ensure purchase orders comply with state requirements.
Department heads and their bookkeepers will be attending a training session that outlines the expectations and changes that will be made to the purchasing process. He said he was unaware of Dull's email.
Caption: An inmate screening program launched by Sheriff John Buncich did not get commissioners' approval, their attorney said. Suzanne Tennant/Post-Tribune
Doctor must face civil trial in 2013 Lake County Jail death
Indiana Lawyer (Indianapolis, IN)
September 7, 2017
A physician must face trial on a federal lawsuit alleging he was deliberately indifferent to the physical and mental illnesses of a man who died in 2013 after spending nearly four months in the Lake County Jail awaiting trial.
Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen on Wednesday denied Dr. William Forgey's motion for summary judgment https://ecf.innd.uscourts.gov/doc1/07113685284 in a suit brought by the estate of Cedell Wright in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. The Hammond man, 45, died on March 4, 2013. An autopsy concluded Wright died of pneumonia that had been present for days, with fecal impaction a contributing factor.
Van Bokkelen noted that Forgey disputes the autopsy's conclusion. Forgey believes Wright had heart trouble and went into cardiac arrest, and that after he was intubated the tube became dislodged, Wright died from lack of oxygen. Forgey argues this could have caused post-death congestion and trauma to the lungs seen in the autopsy as pneumonia.
Wright had been in jail since Nov. 9, 2012, where he didn't eat, became dangerously thin and consistently refused medical and psychological treatment on numerous occasions despite serious physical and mental health problems. His criminal attorney at one point reported his emaciated condition to jail staff, Van Bokkelen wrote. Wright's estate argues in the civil suit that more aggressive care including involuntary treatments should have been ordered because Wright's refusals given his mental and physical condition posed a clear danger to himself.
Forgey, affiliated with Correctional Health Indiana Inc., which contracts medical services to the jail, could not avail himself of the protections of qualified immunity, Van Bokkelen wrote. "(T)he only issue is whether there is evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude that Dr. Forgey was deliberately indifferent to Wright's serious medical needs. While this is an unusual case, there is evidence from which a jury could reach that conclusion.
"… The medical records in this case show a patient who repeatedly refused medication and treatment against his own interest, who would not eat, whose appearance was described as emaciated, and who suffered from serious mental illness. While numerous different healthcare providers saw Wright and evaluated him during his incarceration, very little treatment occurred because of his refusals. Meanwhile his mental and physical health steadily declined. A jury could find that Dr. Forgey knew from Wright's medical records documenting his weight loss and refusal of medications that he was a danger to himself and that more aggressive measures such as forced medication, a psychiatric referral, and forced nutrition should have been considered. Instead, the medical staff did little more than chart his downward spiral," Van Bokkelen wrote.
The case is Estate of Cedell Wright v. Lake County, IN, et al., 2:13-CV-333.
Fogey is also being sued by another man, Robert Holleman, who claimed that while he was jailed in Lake County, Forgey intentionally failed to provide a medically prescribed gluten-free diet, causing Holleman to suffer diarreha, bloating and other issues as a result.
Prosecutor seeks stiff sentence for Buncich
Request to judge asks for 15 to 20 years for former Lake sheriff
Post-Tribune (IN)
January 9, 2018
Federal prosecutors are seeking a 15- to 20-year sentence for convicted former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich, saying in court documents the severity of the charges warrants a significant prison term.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson filed a memorandum Sunday asking Judge James Moody to impose a high sentence for Buncich, and have the former sheriff taken into custody immediately following a Jan. 16 sentencing hearing.
Benson, in the memorandum, raised new allegations that Buncich attempted to use a protected intelligence database to dig up information on three men poised to testify against him and could potentially pose a flight risk.
"The damage caused by Buncich's conscience (sic) disregard and abandonment of the trust placed in him by the citizens of Lake County is severe and so should be his sentence," Benson wrote.
Bryan Truitt, one of Buncich's defense attorneys, did not respond to a request for comment.
A jury convicted Buncich, 72, of bribery, wire fraud and honest services wire fraud in August after 14 days of testimony. Buncich's attorneys plan to appeal the conviction.
Buncich, former Lake County police Chief Timothy Downs, and William Szarmach, of C.S.A. Towing, were named in a multicount indictment in November 2016 alleging a towing scheme where the sheriff accepted bribes in the form of thousands of dollars in cash and donations to his campaign fund, Buncich Boosters, according to court records.
Downs pleaded guilty in December 2016, according to court documents, and Szarmach pleaded guilty in July 2017. Both agreed to testify against Buncich during his August trial.
"As revealed at trial, Buncich accepted bribes from Szarmach even before taking office in 2011," Benson wrote. "It is not surprising that this similar pattern of illegal conduct continued throughout Buncich's entire reign as sheriff."
"Buncich's conduct is not a single isolated incident of poor decision making, but rather a calculated abuse of power over a prolonged period of time for personal enrichment," Benson added.
The U.S. attorney's office does not comment on matters pending before the court.
Benson said Buncich presented himself as a public official who sought to fight public corruption, according to court documents, and condemned other officials who broke the law.
"Buncich's hypocrisy is overwhelming," Benson wrote. "The false image he projected the entire time he himself was violating the law is disgusting and despicable."
A presentencing report indicated that the level of the offenses Buncich committed qualified for a 12- to 15-year sentence, according to the memorandum, but Benson argued to increase the range.
"The government believes that a sentence of at least the high-end of the applicable guideline is necessary to promote respect for the law and to attempt to deter others from engaging in similar criminal conduct," Benson wrote in the memorandum. "Buncich's criminal conduct spans several years, involved other high-ranking Lake County public officials, and resulted in incredible damage and embarrassment to the Lake County Sheriff's Department and the Lake County Democratic Party."
Benson said in court documents that an immediate remand is needed because of the length of the sentence Buncich is facing; the former sheriff's access to cash assets; alleged violation of bond conditions; his training and experience as a law enforcement officer; and contact with a federal fugitive.
"Given Buncich's age, a sentence imposed at this level raises serious doubts as to Buncich's desire to appear to serve out this sentence," Benson said.
Benson said it appears that Buncich had access to large amounts of cash, according to court documents, and his law enforcement training could realistically make it easy for him to flee undetected.
Buncich, through Facebook, was in contact with Frank Kollintzas, the former East Chicago councilman who fled to Greece after being convicted in the 2003 "sidewalks for votes" scandal in 2005.
He is still wanted by federal authorities and was in contact with Buncich both before and after the former sheriff's conviction, according to court documents.
Kollintzas fled to Greece and was later sentenced in absentia.
Beyond the circumstances federal prosecutors say justify immediately remanding the former sheriff to federal custody at the sentencing hearing, Benson raised new allegations of possible criminal conduct to buttress his case.
Benson alleged the former sheriff violated the conditions of his bond by committing perjury during his August trial.
"The audacity of his incredulously false statements is only a reflection of the immense hollowness of his character," Benson wrote. "Given the preposterous nature of this claim, the jury correctly determined Buncich's guilt."
Benson said, in court documents, that the alleged perjury could justify the revocation of bond.
"Perhaps even more pertinent, Buncich's attempted use of the countywide law enforcement intelligence database against government witnesses is as repugnant as it is concerning," Benson wrote.
Buncich allegedly asked a police commander to give him access to an intelligence database in an effort to get information on Downs, Szarmach and a confidential federal source, according to court documents, but the officer rebuffed the requests.
"It is clear that this conduct, on at least two occasions, placed high-ranking lifelong police officers in the difficult position of stopping their boss from further obstruction of justice conduct," Benson added. "Additionally, this conduct caused the entire computer database to be shut down so that no law enforcement officers could access it."
Benson said Buncich's conviction is just the latest in a string of corrupt officials in Northwest Indiana.
"Buncich continues this abysmal saga of corrupt politicians in Lake County, except in this case, the damage is exponentially increased," Benson wrote. "Buncich held not only the highest political position in Lake County, Democratic Party chairman, but also the county's highest and most trusted law enforcement position, elected sheriff."
Buncich's girlfriend goes to his sentencing and lands in the hot seat
NWI Times
January 16, 2018
HAMMOND — Former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich's significant other admitted Tuesday she used a restricted police data system to dredge up sensitive background information on his accusers.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson confronted Deborah Back with evidence of the unauthorized data collecting when he called her to the witness stand, as a surprise witness, during Buncich's sentencing for public corruption in U.S. District Court Judge James Moody's courtroom.
"I know it was wrong," Back said.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said Tuesday afternoon he is banning her from working in the Sheriff's Department, where she has been director of nursing for the lockup's medical unit the last six years.
Benson accused Back of twice using her access to the Lake County Sheriff Department's Spillman's data system in February to investigate the government's lead investigators against Buncich — Benson and Scott Jurgensen and Jurgensen's family.
Benson led the U.S. attorney's office prosecution team against Buncich at the August trial and Tuesday's sentencing. Jurgensen, a retired Merrillville police officer and towing firm owner, was an undercover informant for the FBI investigation gathering evidence of bribery against Buncich.
Back had access to the system because of her position at the county jail, a job that paid between $158,000 and $230,000 a year — more than Buncich, who made $146,000 last year. She said she routinely used it to determine the medical status of jail inmates.
"Do you think you should continue to have access to this system after you've abused it?" Benson asked her. She said she didn't understand, and no one warned her, what she did was improper at the time. Benson asked, "It that because you were the significant other of the sheriff?"
Back said she and the sheriff have been dating for four years — two years after she first began working at the jail — and they have been living together recently. Benson said federal authorities arrested Buncich at her Crown Point home in November 2016 when he was first indicted on bribery charges.
She said Dr. William Forgey, owner of Correctional Health Indiana Inc., hired her to be his nursing administrator in 2012. Forgey is a close friend of and has been a personal physician to former Sheriff Buncich.
Back's future in the jail is in jeopardy. Martinez, who took over the Sheriff's Department in September after Buncich's removal from office, said his investigators have been cooperating with federal authorities who discovered Back's unauthorized use of the data system.
He said he had agreed to wait until the U.S. attorney's office made the violation public before he would act. He said he has immediately denied Back access to the Spillman system and to work in the jail until his department completes an investigation into whether she violated any laws or department rules.
Lake officials hit alarm following possible misconduct by ex-sheriff Buncich's girlfriend in her role as nursing director
NWI Times
January 17, 2018
CROWN POINT —The Lake County Jail medical director is coming under pressure to replace his nursing director following her unauthorized use of police records.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. locked Deborah Back out of the Lake County Jail Tuesday after she testified in federal court she used the sheriff department's record system to look into the background of federal task force members investigating her partner, former Sheriff John Buncich.
Martinez issued a news release Wednesday stating he has ordered his department's internal investigations unit to determine if Back "may have inappropriately used the Lake County Sheriff Department’s information system to gather information on people related to the federal case against the former Sheriff. The unauthorized or inappropriate access may be a violation of both Department policy and State Law."
Back was forced Tuesday to disclose this when she was called unexpectedly to the witness stand Tuesday to testify why she looked up records on Scott Jurgensen, an undercover FBI informant and Philip Benson, an assistant U.S. attorney who presented evidence against Buncich at trial last August and at Buncich's sentencing Tuesday.
A federal judge Tuesday ordered Buncich to immediately begin serving a 188-month prison term for his bribery and fraud.
Buncich had given Back access to the department's database after she became the jail's nursing director. She was an employee of Dr. William W. Forgey, a personal friend and physician of Buncich.
Forgey owns Correctional Health Indiana Inc., which has had the contract to provide medical services to jail inmates since 2012. He and his 41-member staff are receiving more than $4 million this year for their jail services. He didn't return calls seeking comment.
Lake County commissioners, who awarded Forgey's contract, said Wednesday they expect Forgey to put a nursing director in place at the jail, as his contract and the U.S. Justice Department, which oversees jail services, demand.
Commissioner Mike Repay, D-Hammond said, "I wouldn't say there has been a wholesale loss of faith, but I look forward to Dr. Forgey's immediate action to fix the situation."
Back testified Tuesday she normally used the sheriff's records to track jail inmates in need of medical services and didn't realize, at the time, what she was doing, was inappropriate.
Benson questioned her Tuesday about whether she was looking up the records on behalf of Buncich, who had previously requested one of his commanders, Mark Eaton, use other police records to dredge up information on witnesses accusing Buncich of bribery. Eaton refused to do so.
She denied doing it for Buncich.
Martinez said Tuesday she is denied access to Spillman and the jail "until further notice," and that he has ordered his technical advisors to restrict the amount of information the county's jail medical staff can access in future to prevent a similar occurrence.
Lucrative position
Back said she had been working in the county jail since 2012. She said she hadn't worked as a nurse for a decade prior to that, but that her husband, Mike Back, died that year of a heart attack and she had to support her children. She said she began dating Buncich in 2014.
County records indicate Back's salary for supervising nursing services in the jail last year was $190,000 — more than the sheriff's salary. Back testified she also received annual bonuses that pushed her income up to $230,000 in 2014, and $217,000 in 2015.
The website, Nurse.org, states the average annual salary in 2016 for Indiana's more than 63,000 registered nurse was less than $59,000.
Buncich also employed her son, Mark Back, as his public relations spokesman in 2015 and in 2016, and made him the department's health care service administrator in 2016 where he managed the jail inmate's Medicaid coverage and a treatment program for individuals addicted to opioids.
He had an annual salary of $61,783 when he resigned in the fall, two months after Buncich's conviction last year. He currently is a Democratic candidate for the 19th District state House seat.
Mark Back said Wednesday, "I was fortunate to have several options regarding where I wanted to take my career. I chose to seek employment with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, because I wanted to return to my hometown and utilize my education and experience in health care programs to serve our community. The Sheriff’s Department provided me an opportunity to do just that. I am very proud of the work that I did with county government."
Sheriff investigating employee in light of Buncich sentencing testimony
Post-Tribune
January 17, 2018
The Lake County Sheriff's department launched an internal investigation Wednesday into a jail contract employee in light of testimony Tuesday at John Buncich's sentencing, an official said.
The testimony revealed that the employee "may have inappropriately used" the department's information system "to gather information on people related to the federal case against the former sheriff," said Emiliano Perez, sheriff's department spokesman, in a release.
"The unauthorized or inappropriate access may be a violation of both department policy and state law," Perez said.
A person was ordered to return all department credentials and was suspended "any access to the facility pending the outcome of the investigation," according to Perez.
The name of the employee was not released.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez declined comment until the investigation is complete.
Judge James Moody sentenced Buncich Tuesday in Hammond's federal court to 15 years and 8 months in prison.
During the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson asked Deborah Back, the director of nursing at Correctional Health Indiana and Buncich's "significant other," about her use of the Spillman system to find information on a confidential source.
"Yes, I viewed it," Back said, but denied doing it at the direction of the former sheriff.
"I don't routinely run people. Period," she said. "I know that it was wrong."
Benson said there's a warning in the Spillman that "unauthorized access is a violation of law."
The FBI spoke with a Sheriff's Department employee who searched the records of the medical staff member's use of the Spillman and found several occasions where information outside the normal scope was sought.
FBI special agent Nathan Holbrook said, during testimony, the employee searched for two people tied to the Buncich trial: the confidential source and Benson.
At the end of the sentencing hearing, Buncich was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs to immediately begin serving his sentence.
Buncich was indicted in November 2016 in a towing scheme where he accepted bribes in the form of thousands of dollars in cash and donations to his campaign fund, Buncich Boosters, according to court records.
He was convicted in August for bribery and wire fraud, among other charges, for soliciting bribes from county tow operators in his public corruption trial.
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