03302018 - News Article - Prosecution in Portage Mayor James Snyder's corruption case says disputed emails contain no privileged information

Prosecution in Portage Mayor James Snyder's corruption case says disputed emails contain no privileged information
NWI Times
March 30, 2018 - 1:00pm
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/prosecution-in-portage-mayor-james-snyder-s-corruption-case-says/article_fd0b893a-6233-5e4d-927d-b34ab4dc2474.html

HAMMOND — Federal prosecutors in the public corruption case against Portage Mayor James Snyder laid out their side in the dispute over 23 emails in a brief filed in federal court Friday.

In the government's response to Snyder's contention that federal prosecutors unfairly accessed 23 emails that should be considered attorney-client privilege, prosecutors ask the court to deny Snyder's request that the prosecution team be disqualified or the indictment be dismissed, saying the emails in question are not confidential and "do not reflect the solicitation or offering of legal advise."

Snyder, who was indicted in November 2016, is pleading not guilty to bribery charges related to city towing vendor and public works contracts, and tax evasion charges related to his private business. His trial is set for June 4.

At the center of some of the dispute is a batch of emails shared with city employees and Snyder's then counsel Thomas Kirsch II. Snyder hired Kirsch in 2014. The federal government last year named Kirsch as U.S. Attorney for Northern Indiana. Kirsch has recused himself from the case, which now is being managed by the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago.

Many of those emails deal with Snyder allegedly soliciting $13,000 from Great Lakes Peterbilt days after the company received contracts worth over $1.125 million. Some are in regards to others and their questioning by FBI investigators during the investigation.

"Defendant has failed to establish that the 23 emails now in dispute are deserving of protection," reads the filing, adding even if the court disagrees, Snyder "did not suffer any actual prejudice as a result of their viewing by some members of the prosecution team."

The defense has until April 9 to file its own brief in the matter.

03262018 - News Article - Court orders prosecutors to turn over documents by Friday in Snyder corruption case

Court orders prosecutors to turn over documents by Friday in Snyder corruption case
NWI Times
March 26, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/court-orders-prosecutors-to-turn-over-documents-by-friday-in/article_495cf8b1-204d-57ab-9503-0bc86b5d7cda.html

HAMMOND — Prosecutors in the federal corruption case against Portage Mayor James Snyder have been ordered to turn over by Friday all remaining documents and materials in the prosecution's public corruption case against Snyder.

The ruling is the latest volley between the two sides.

Snyder contends prosecutors read privileged communications between himself and his former attorney — now U.S. Attorney — Thomas Kirsch II. Those private communications, he contends, would reveal his defense strategy and violate attorney-client privilege.

Kirsch, whom Snyder hired as his defense lawyer in 2014, was named U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Indiana in 2017. Kirsch has recused himself from Snyder's case, which now is being managed by the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago.

Snyder ultimately is asking the current prosecution team be discharged, or that the three-count indictment against him be dismissed because of what he believes are violations of attorney-client privilege.

Snyder's Indianapolis attorney, Jackie M. Bennett Jr., filed that motion March 20. Federal prosecutors answered the motion with one of their own, saying the government had turned over all emails seized by the FBI, including 300 that were truly privileged and never reviewed by the federal prosecution team.

Monday's court order called for the federal prosecutors to submit materials used in the discovery process to help the defense prepare its case.

Snyder is pleading not guilty to bribery charges related to city towing vendor and public works contracts, and tax evasion charges related to his private business. His trial is set for June 4.

03232018 - News Article - Portage mayor James Snyder's defense lawyer continues to hammer federal prosecutors' email handling

Portage mayor James Snyder's defense lawyer continues to hammer federal prosecutors' email handling
NWI Times
March 23, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/portage-mayor-jame-snyder-s-defense-lawyer-continues-to-hammer/article_182e98d1-e257-55c4-9ea0-0f2d0a917e75.html

HAMMOND — Federal prosecutors and Portage Mayor James Snyder's defense attorney continued to skirmish in pre-trial motions over emails the FBI seized from Portage City Hall computers.

Indianapolis attorney Jackie M. Bennett Jr. asked the court this week to make the government turn over all remaining evidence it intends to use against the mayor in a public corruption trial now scheduled to begin the week of June 4.

He said it is likely the government could be holding more private discussions of Snyder's defense strategy — in violation of the attorney-client privilege — during a bulk collection of electronic communications between Snyder and his former defense lawyer, Thomas Kirsch II.

Snyder hired Kirsch in 2014. The government last year named Kirsch as U.S. Attorney for Northern Indiana. Kirsch has recused himself from the case, which now is being managed by the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster replied this week that the government has turned over all emails seized by the FBI, including 300 that were truly privileged and never reviewed by the federal prosecution team.

She said last week experienced government lawyers filtered out privileged emails. Bennett argues that process failed to quarantine 23 emails the government shouldn't have seen. Koster said those 23 weren't truly privileged.

The judge said he didn't see a "smoking gun" in the emails the defense is complaining about but expects both sides to make their final arguments on the email issue by early next week.

Snyder is pleading not guilty to bribery charges related to city towing vendor and public works contracts, and tax evasion charges related to his private business.

03212018 - News Article - Hearing set in lawsuit between Portage mayor and City Council

Hearing set in lawsuit between Portage mayor and City Council
NWI Times
March 21, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/hearing-set-in-lawsuit-between-portage-mayor-and-city-council/article_7aaee32a-201a-5d6f-8a71-cbf7813645af.html

PORTAGE — A hearing has been set in the lawsuit filed by Mayor James Snyder against the City Council and the control of the city's Utility Services Department.

Snyder filed the lawsuit in Porter Superior Court on March 1 against the council and Clerk-Treasurer Chris Stidham.

Snyder is asking the court for both immediate and permanent action to declare the board's operations illegal and rule the recently passed stormwater fees void and unenforceable. The hearing on the request is set for 10 a.m. April 23 in Judge Mary Harper's courtroom.

The lawsuit contends that, under state law, the USB, which was created by combining separate stormwater and sanitary sewer boards in 2010, violates state code. In addition, Snyder contends the ordinance that put the City Council at the helm of the USB is also in violation of state law. Because those two ordinances are in violation of state law, the suit also contends, an ordinance that gave the council a salary for running the USB and the ordinance establishing the use of impervious surface measurements to charge stormwater fees for nonresidential customers are illegal.

Lawyers for the City Council dispute the mayor's claims.

03152018 - News Article - Embattled Portage mayor takes aim at U.S. attorney's top guns

Embattled Portage mayor takes aim at U.S. attorney's top guns
NWI Times
March 15, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/embattled-portage-mayor-takes-aim-at-u-s-attorney-s/article_422662f8-134a-5697-9d7b-61870fa90fe1.html

HAMMOND — Lawyers for Portage Mayor James Snyder aim to remove some of the most veteran and successful trial lawyers from the government team seeking to convict him of public corruption.

Snyder's defense attorneys are scheduled to argue Thursday before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen that the government's prosecution team is guilty of effectively infiltrating the mayor's defense camp.

They argue this occurred when federal investigators seized the mayor's email communications, including those with his former defense lawyer, Thomas Kirsch III, in violation of Snyder's attorney-client privilege, which protects the privacy of his defense strategies. The mayor hired Kirsch in 2014.

The government last year named Kirsch as U.S. Attorney for Northern Indiana. Kirsch has recused himself from the case, which now is being managed by the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago.

Snyder's defense lawyers suggest the disclosure of defense secrets is so severe the judge should consider barring the current team of federal prosecutors from leading the case against Snyder at trial, now scheduled to begin June 4.

If successful, the defense would be denying the government some of ifs most veteran trial attorneys: Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip C. Benson and Jill R. Koster have appeared in hundreds of criminal cases for the government in the last two decades.

Koster won the conviction of former Hammond megachurch Pastor Jack Schaap for his sexual relationship with a 17-year-old parish girl. Schaap was sentenced in March 2013 to 12 years in prison for transporting the teen he was counseling to Illinois and Michigan for sex.

Forcing out Benson would deny the government an attorney who has won a number of public corruption cases, many of them at trial in recent years. That includes:
* Former Merrillville Town Councilman Thomas "Tommy" Goralczyk, for bribery in awarding towing for that town's police.

* Former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich for bribery in awarding towing for county police.

* Vahan Kelerchian, a Pennsylvania gun dealer, and former county police officers Edward Kabella, Ronald Slusser and Joseph Kumstar for conspiring to buy guns and laser sights, intended solely for the military or law enforcement, and selling the parts online.

* Former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist and his wife for fraudulently using his campaign and the city's food pantry funds to gamble at area casinos.

* Former Lake County Surveyor George Van Til for making his public employees do his campaign work on county time.

* Former Calumet Township Trustee Mary Elgin and her son, Steven Hunter, for extorting campaign contributions and work from township employees.

* Former Lake County Clerk and Coroner Thomas Philpot for stealing thousands in federal dollars earmarked to improve the collection of court-ordered child support payments.

* Former Calumet Township Trustee Dozier T. Allen Jr. and two deputies for defrauding taxpayers by pocketing federal funds meant to provide the federal government with data on poverty.

* Former Lake County Councilman Will Smith Jr., former county government tax collector Roosevelt Powell and former attorney Willie Harris for a real estate deal that defrauded a public charity, county government and the IRS.

Federal prosecutor Koster argues in court papers that a separate team of government prosecutors has gone through the email collection and filtered out all of Snyder's privileged material, so any other material Benson and Koster have seen in their trial preparations is fair game.

Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service agents began in July 2014 questioning the mayor about criminal matters. The mayor hired Kirsch in late 2014.

The government began in the fall of 2015 seizing Snyder's emails under a court-ordered warrant, and a federal grand jury Nov. 18, 2016, indicted Snyder on bribery charges related to a city towing vendor and public works contracts and tax evasion charges related to Snyder's private business.

Although Kirsch, who now is the federal government's top prosecutor in northern Indiana, has recused himself, Benson and Koster remain on the case.

Indianapolis attorney Jackie M. Bennett Jr., who represents Snyder, argues these two trial lawyers have seen "multiple privileged communications you had no right to see" and have undermined Snyder's confidence that he can confidentially communicate with his present counsel.

"The appropriate remedy may be recusal of the entire prosecutorial team and case agents or even, potentially, dismissal of the indictment," Bennett claims in federal court papers.

03152018 - News Article - Judge isn't ready to rule on defense request to dismiss corruption charges against the Portage Mayor

Judge isn't ready to rule on defense request to dismiss corruption charges against the Portage Mayor
NWI Times
March 15, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/lake-newsletter/lake-news/judge-isn-t-ready-to-rule-on-defense-request-to/article_23db0648-8355-50e3-88b1-a35b75eeaf96.html

HAMMOND — A federal judge said he needs more information to decide whether government investigators mishandled email evidence seized from Portage Mayor James Snyder in their public corruption probe of his administration.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen said Thursday he hasn't seen obvious indications the government took an impermissible look into Snyder's defense strategies, but will give defense and government lawyers until April 9 to provide him additional evidence and arguments.

The judge said he wants to settle this matter quickly to ensure Snyder's bribery trial remains on track for jury selection to begin the week of June 4.

Indianapolis attorney Jackie M. Bennett Jr., who is defending the mayor, argued Thursday morning that government lawyers obtained private discussions of Snyder's strategy — in violation of the attorney-client privilege — during a bulk collection of electronic communications between Snyder and his former defense lawyer, Thomas Kirsch III.

Snyder hired Kirsch in 2014. The government last year named Kirsch as U.S. Attorney for Northern Indiana. Kirsch has recused himself from the case, which now is being managed by the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago.

"I don't want to accuse anyone of initial misconduct. The government made a mistake ... they don't want to acknowledge. It was highly prejudicial. It is of constitutional dimension," Bennett said.

He has suggested the judge dismiss the indictment against Snyder, or bar local federal prosecutors who have seen the emails from participating any further in the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster replied that the defense has failed to meet its burden. "There is no harm here of constitutional dimensions."

She argued the U.S. Justice Department filtered out any truly privileged emails through an elaborate three-stage process involving experienced government lawyers familiar with attorney-client privilege, and determined that no privilege protects about 23 emails the defense claims never should have been seen by the government. He previously said 35 emails were at issue.

Bennett said one of the emails now in dispute involves Portage's procedures to purchase automated garbage trucks from Great Lakes Peterbilt, also located in Portage. The FBI subpoenaed all bid packages received by the city for garbage trucks purchased from 2012 to the present.

Bennett said the government is alleging Snyder was steering business to Great Lakes before he was aware of federal interest in the contracts, and then steered business away from Great Lakes afterward to put investigators off his trail.

"The truth was (Great Lakes) was not the low bidder," Bennett said.

Bennett said Snyder is a victim of the government's latest ability to collect a target's electronic communications in bulk, without safeguards that prevent the government from trampling on a person's right to speak privately to his or her defense lawyer.

In the past, when evidence was on printed paper that took more time for investigators to find and collect, a defense lawyer had time to quarantine privileged documents away from the prying eyes of government prosecutors.

"Under the new process the government goes to Google or Yahoo and scoops up everything," Bennett said.

The judge said he didn't see a "smoking gun" in the emails the defense is complaining about, but he is too unfamiliar with the 4-year-old investigation to determine what information is and isn't important. He said he may submit the disputed evidence to a federal magistrate to perform an independent review.

Snyder is pleading not guilty to bribery charges related to city towing vendor and public works contracts, and tax evasion charges related to his private business.

03152018 - News Article - Federal judge wants more information on indicted Portage mayor's emails

Federal judge wants more information on indicted Portage mayor's emails
Chicago Tribune
March 15, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-snyder-hearing-prosecutors-emails-st-0316-20180315-story.html

A federal judge wants more context before he decides if potentially privileged emails between indicted Portage Mayor James Snyder and his defense attorneys viewed by prosecutors would warrant them being disqualified from the case.

Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen is seeking more information from Snyder's defense team and federal prosecutors before deciding if emails containing privileged communication, saying he lacked enough context to determine if the messages should have been shielded.

The emails looked routine, Van Bokkelen said, and none of the documents that went through the screening appeared privileged.

"There's no smoking guns," Van Bokkelen said.

Jackie Bennett Jr., Synder's defense attorney, appealed to the judge saying the prosecutors handling the mayor's corruption trial were able to view privileged communications. Prosecutors have said the emails in question did not contain any privileged information.

Van Bokkelen said the more information he was able to view would give context to what the emails mean to the defense and if they contain any privileged material. The judge said it's possible that emails that appear innocuous could have significant meaning in the context of the defense strategy.

"It could be a big deal," Van Bokkelen said.

Snyder and John Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, were charged in November 2016 with allegedly violating a federal bribery statue. Federal prosecutors said the mayor allegedly solicited money from Cortina and "Individual A" and gave them a towing contract for Portage.

Snyder received an additional bribery indictment for alleged accepting $13,000 in connection with a Board of Works Contract, and allegedly obstructing internal revenue laws.

Snyder and Cortina both pleaded not guilty to the charges last year, according to court documents.

The trial for Snyder and Cortina is tentatively set to start in June, according to court documents.

The allegations against the prosecutors say email communications between Snyder, defense attorney Thomas Dogan, and Thomas Kirsch II, who was then the mayor's defense attorney before being appointed as U.S. attorney, were seized in 2015, according to court documents.

Kirsch has recused himself from Snyder's case, according to court documents, and U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois would oversee and manage local prosecutors handling the case.

During the discovery process for Snyder's trial, Bennett said it was found that documents reviewed by the prosecutors contained confidential attorney-client material, according to court documents. Bennett said federal investigators used a "taint team" to review the email communication seized, according to court documents, but that review failed to shield all privileged communications from the trial team.

"We think they made a mistake and they don't want to acknowledge they made a mistake," Bennett said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster said, in court filings, investigators screened the emails using a three-stage process, which first started by flagging emails using a system at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.; then another team of FBI employees filtered any emails flagged by the system; and finally an assistant U.S. attorney not involved in the case reviewed to ensure no privileged communication survived the quarantine process.

In February 2018, an attorney from the Northern District of Illinois reviewed the contested emails and concluded they did not meet the legal standard for attorney-client privilege, according to Koster.

Bennett said federal investigators did not inquire if there was a coordinated defense or any other common interest between parties in the emails.

"In none of those stages did they ask that question broadly enough," Bennett said.

Koster said investigators took a lot of steps to make sure privileged material was screened out.

"There is no harm here of constitutional dimension to the defendant," Koster said.

Just because the emails contain Snyder's defense attorney's name, it does not mean they are privileged communications, Koster said.

"It is the defense's burden to prove these emails are privileged," Koster said.

The judge asked the prosecutors and defense attorneys to submit additional material that would help him determine if privileged communication between Synder and his attorneys were exposed.

Absent more information, Van Bokkelen said he can't connect the dots to see if the emails are what the defense claims.

"That's all I'm looking for is the dots," Van Bokkelen said.

03112018 - News Article - Three businesses file formal appeals over 'excessive' increases in Portage stormwater fees

Three businesses file formal appeals over 'excessive' increases in Portage stormwater fees
NWI Times
March 11, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/three-businesses-file-formal-appeals-over-excessive-increases-in-portage/article_2aa42199-a4bc-5156-8b25-4e8575f27993.html

PORTAGE — Three businesses have filed appeals claiming the city's new stormwater fees charged to businesses are excessive.

Allen Bridges, vice president and manager of Doyne's Marina, said the marina's fees increased 9,400 percent with the new system.

Bridges told the Utility Services Board during an appeal hearing that prior to October 2017, the 8-acre marina did not pay any stormwater fees at all. In October, they were charged $11.75 a month. Bridges said they didn't appeal the fee then because marina ownership didn't feel it was worth the time.

In January, he said, the bill went to $12 per month. In February, it climbed to $1,140 per month.

"Imagine our surprise to be billed $1,140, a 9,400 percent increase, with no notice. Upon inquiring as to the drastic increase in fees, I was told that the city had changed the formula as to how businesses are charged. One would think that a cost increase of this magnitude would come with a more detailed explanation than just the city changed its method of calculation," Bridges said.

The Utility Services Board adopted the new fee schedule in November. Previously, businesses had been charged stormwater fees based on the size of their water meters. The new system charges fees based on the amount of impervious surface on their property. Residential fees were unchanged.

The fees initially were to be charged beginning in January, but were delayed because of concerns of a potential lawsuit against the board. At its February meeting, the board directed the fees to be charged effective with the February billing. A lawsuit was filed March 1 by Mayor James Snyder against the City Council, which also serves as the USB, challenging the legality of the board and the validity of the ordinance creating the new fee structure. At its March 6 meeting, the USB approved holding all incoming fees based on the new system in an escrow account pending the outcome of the lawsuit.

Brian Gurgeon, who owns property at 5440 E. Melton Road, said his bill increased from $25 per month to $240 per month.

"Why so much, why such a dramatic increase? I'm trying to sell the property, and this is going to make it more difficult," Gurgeon said.

A third appeal was filed by James Pawlicki, owner of A1-U-Stor-It, 6094 Melton Road. Pawlicki told the board that his bill went from nothing to $1,140 per month.

Pawlicki asked the board to reconsider including his stone driveways in the impervious surface measurements. His business is located on sand, he said, which still allows drainage.

"I propose that not all rock surfaces are alike. Rock laid on a sand base could be considered to be pervious, which allows the water to percolate through the said," Pawlicki said.

Chris Scott, owner of commercial property on Douglas Drive, also questioned the new fee structure, but has not filed a formal appeal as outlined in the ordinance. Scott said his company's fees went from $24 per month to $240 per month for "absolutely no reason."

"For whatever reason, if the building didn’t have city sewer service or Indiana-American Water service, we didn’t bill them for stormwater. This dates back to the initial fee in 2010," Clerk-Treasurer Chris Stidham said as to why some businesses weren't being charged stormwater fees, even at the old rate, prior to the new system.

"As part of the impervious surface study work from Wessler Engineering, they identified those properties that should be assessed a stormwater fee, but weren’t being billed. There’s about 120 or so of them," Stidham said.

In addition, Stidham said, a flyer was sent to everyone about the new impervious system in October, which provided some information, but did not provide the rates that were finalized in November.

While the board discussed sending notifications to businesses that would see large increases, Stidham said the notices were never sent because of the potential of a lawsuit and the delay in sending out the new billings. Once it was decided at a Feb. 6 USB meeting to begin charging the fees that month, it gave his office little time to prepare the bills, so no advanced notification was sent.

"It certainly would have been our preference to send out such a notice if we could have," Stidham said.

The appeals were taken under advisement by the board. Chairman Scott Williams said the appeals will be reviewed by the city and will be considered only on the calculations of square footage used to determine the fees for each company.

03102018 - News Article - Ex-Lake County sheriff John Buncich is granted extension to file appeal

Ex-Lake County sheriff John Buncich is granted extension to file appeal
NWI Times
March 10, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/ex-lake-county-sheriff-john-buncich-is-granted-extension-to/article_5dc89af1-e855-53bc-9b06-3e2c70fb8ca3.html

Former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich was given a two-month extension to file his appeal, court records show. 

Highland appellate attorney Kerry Connor is representing the 72-year-old convicted felon, who earlier this week sought to extend the deadline for an appeal until May, citing a complex trial with voluminous documents and incomplete transcripts. 

"Mr. Buncich's trial involved a lengthy trial, complex issues, and a voluminous record. Appellate counsel was involved involved in the trial proceedings. Thus, in order to effectively prepare the opening brief in this case, counsel will need an opportunity to review and evaluate the record."

While some transcripts have been filed, the full set of transcripts will not be available until on or about March 30, Connor added in her request.

On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit granted the request, setting the new deadline to May 14. 

Buncich is serving a 188-month sentence after a U.S. District Court jury found him guilty in August of bribery and fraud charges that he solicited and received illegal payments from towing firms angling for lucrative towing work from Lake County police.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons website indicates Buncich was being housed earlier this month at its Federal Transfer Center located near the Will Rogers World Airport, west of Oklahoma City.

Buncich is currently housed at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.

His expected release date is September 8, 2031. 

03092018 - News Article - Convicted former sheriff gets extension to file appeal

Convicted former sheriff gets extension to file appeal
Chicago Tribune
March 0 9, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-buncich-appeal-new-deadline-st-0312-20180311-story.html

Convicted former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich got a two-month extension to file his appeal, according to court documents.

Kerry Connor, Buncich's appellate attorney, asked the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to push back the deadline to file an appeal until May as the trial transcript is still being completed, according to court documents. The 7th Circuit set a new deadline for Buncich to file an appeal for May 14.

"Mr. Buncich's trial involved a lengthy trial, complex issues, and a voluminous record. Appellate counsel was not involved in the trial proceedings," Connor wrote in court documents. "Thus, in order to effectively prepare the opening brief in this case, counsel will need an opportunity to fully review and evaluate the record."

Buncich, 72, was convicted for using his office to solicit bribes from tow operators, according to court records, and in January was taken into federal custody after being sentenced to a more than 15-year prison term.

The former sheriff first went to Metropolitan Correction Center, a federal holding facility in Chicago, according to the Bureau of Prisons, and is now at MCFP Springfield, a secure federal medical center in Missouri.

Judge James Moody in January sentenced Buncich to 15 years and eight months in federal prison after he was convicted of bribery and wire fraud during a 14-day trial in August.

Buncich, former 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.

03092018 - News Article - Old and new issues crop up at Portage council

Old and new issues crop up at Portage council
Chicago Tribune
March 09, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-portage-council-meet-st-0311-20180310-story.html
Portage City Council members welcomed a new, job-creating business and tackled tax abatement requests before debating the takeover of the Utility Service Board and the need for a police officer outside the clerk-treasurer's office.

The council approved a five-year tax abatement on $12.85 million in property for Voestalpine, an Austrian company that produces rods, wires and other equipment for welding, at 6797 Fronius Drive, in the AmeriPlex complex. The company will hire 25 workers in the first year, adding 25 more over the next three years, said Eddie Peinhopf, a managing director with Voestalpine.

"We want to come here," Peinhopf said. "We want to be part of the community here."

Portage Economic Development Director Andy Maletta said Voestalpine is "another international company that's looked at Portage and decided to call it home."

The council rejected two tax abatement requests from Marina Shores at Dunes Harbor, an upscale housing community on the city's north side. Marina Director David Bresnahan wants to build two model homes to "help prime the pump to get more construction going. It's easier to sell rooftops than to sell dirt."

While the council in November 2016 approved tax abatements for an 18-month period, which expires next month, Bresnahan's request was denied. Council members said the abatements were meant for homeowners, not the developer.

Following a moment of silence for Portage Police Det. Jeff Podgorski, who died of complications related to cancer March 5, council members, primarily Council President Mark Oprisko (D-At Large), and Mayor James Snyder spent the remainder of the meeting debating a number of issues.

The council's takeover of the Utility Service Board, or USB, last March remains a sticking point, though Snyder signed the ordinance approving the move. Since, though, Snyder hired Indianapolis-based law firm Bingham Greene and Doll, which found in December the council takeover of the USB was not legal.

The council responded with hiring another law firm to defend its move. The actions already have cost tax payers at least $50,000.

Councilman John Cannon, R-4th, moved to order the law firms to meet and discuss a resolution, but, following council attorney Ken Elwood's advice, the motion died for lack of a second.

There were other testy moments, including exchanges between Elwood and Cannon, and, later Oprisko and Police Chief Troy Williams regarding an officer stationed outside of the clerk-treasurer's office since late February.

Williams said the action was taken following a security assessment of city hall, which he shared with the council.

Williams also listed the extensive credentials of police officers who are working on an active shooter training seminar. Williams' comments came after he was called out in an e-mail blitz from council members on several issues.

03072018 - News Article - Prosecutors challenge alleged email violations in Portage Mayor James Snyder's federal criminal case

Prosecutors challenge alleged email violations in Portage Mayor James Snyder's federal criminal case
NWI Times
Mar 7, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/prosecutors-challenge-alleged-email-violations-in-portage-mayor-james-snyder/article_b62db74f-9cf1-5668-a1ad-1b0e071938e0.html

HAMMOND — Federal prosecutors in Portage Mayor James Snyder's public corruption case say his claims of constitutional rights violations are unfounded.

Snyder's defense team filed a motion in U.S. District Court last week claiming a "taint test" to review emails for potential attorney-client privilege had failed, allowing prosecutors to read certain privileged emails. The failure, the motion claimed, had violated Snyder's Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial. The motion asked for the government's trial team to be dismissed and/or that the federal case against him be dropped.

Snyder was indicted Nov. 18, 2016, on two counts of bribery and one count of tax evasion.

A hearing on the matter has been set for 10:30 a.m. March 15 in Hammond federal court. His trial is scheduled for June 4.

Federal prosecutors Wednesday filed a response asking for the court to rule against Snyder's motion without a hearing. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined further comment on the filing.

Snyder's defense attorney, Jackie M. Bennett of Indianapolis, did not immediately return a request for comment.

According to the court documents, the FBI began investigating Snyder in 2013. Snyder was questioned by FBI and IRS agents in July 2014. He soon hired Thomas L. Kirsch II as his defense attorney. The emails seized by a warrant in September 2015 went through a "three-stage filter" process by the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office to determine whether the content would be considered for attorney-client privilege.

Kirsch, who was appointed U.S. attorney for the Northern District in November 2017, recused himself from Snyder's case.

The review was "to be conducted by individuals with no prior (or subsequent) involvement in the investigation to ensure the prosecution team was not exposed to privileged attorney-client communications," according to the filing, which detailed the filter process. Of the about 900 emails and attachments examined, 573 were designated "not privileged." Those included the 35 emails under dispute.

An FBI special field agent, who was a member of the prosecution team at the time, reviewed some of the emails in question in spring 2016, but was transferred to Washington, D.C., in May 2016, months prior to the November 2016 indictment against Snyder. Acting U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. also reviewed all of the emails in late 2017 and early 2018.

After the prosecution team was informed of Snyder's concerns that the 35 emails had been inappropriately viewed, the emails went through another review that concluded "the 35 disputed emails did not constitute privileged attorney-client communications."

Prosecutors outlined eight specific reasons why the 35 emails were not considered attorney-client privilege. Reasons included some were forwarded to third parties or copied to third parties; some were inquiries from the media that did not include any comments seeking legal advice; some included information or attachments from third parties; did not include comments seeking or giving legal advice; were answered with information available publicly or dealt with administrative tasks.

The emails, according to the filing, were taken before Snyder was indicted and "lack any discussion between lawyer and client that can be reasonably be described as 'trial strategy.' The timing of the messages underscores this point. The emails were all sent or received by Defendant prior to September 2015 — over a year before he was charged."

03032018 - News Article - Portage mayor, council butting heads over need for security at city hall

Portage mayor, council butting heads over need for security at city hall
NWI Times
March 03, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/portage-mayor-council-butting-heads-over-need-for-security-at/article_e505fe72-d4aa-51f0-affa-c5105108ffd8.html

PORTAGE — Stationing a police officer at City Hall last week was another volley in the battle between Mayor James Snyder and some City Council members.

City Council President Mark Oprisko, D-at large, said Snyder authorized posting an officer, who is getting paid overtime, in the lobby because of concerns over utility department bills being paid at the clerk-treasurer's office.

"The reason for the officer, according to the mayor, is due to the utility department receiving money, and possible irate customers. There is no difference from the old utility building across the street and the clerk-treasurer’s office," said Oprisko, who called on Snyder to put the officer back on the street.

Snyder did not return requests for comment.

"The logic used by the administration is that businesses pay with cash and large amounts of money is being taken to City Hall for utility payments. This is nothing but a joke. I would venture to say that 100 percent of businesses in Portage pay by check or online," Oprisko said, adding he believes the mayor is "out of control with what he is doing with taxpayer dollars."

Council member John Cannon, R-4th, disagrees and said he supports Snyder's decision.

"Until our clerk-treasurer can get his office redesigned, handling the increased traffic of residents and the amount of money that is now being handled in that office is very unsafe for our city's employees," Cannon said.

Clerk-Treasurer Chris Stidham said his office is safe. He said he has $30,000 to redesign his office for utility personnel to move in, but was delayed because State Board of Accounts auditors have been in his office for multiple weeks conducting an audit. They just recently completed their work, he said.

"This was just as much of a surprise to me as it was to the council. My office wasn’t consulted before the officer was posted. We started receiving utility payments at our office in November and haven’t had any issues since that time. To my knowledge, an officer was never posted across the street when they received payments there," Stidham said.

"Forever and ever this office has collected money, including the six years when he's (Snyder) been upstairs," Stidham said, adding the majority of people are paying with a check or online. He said it is no different from funds being taken in at the parks department or marina, neither of which have security.

Police Chief Troy Williams said he has some concerns about security at the building and has conducted a safety review.

"There are some very public facts that anyone who used to go to the old utilities office and now comes to City Hall can plainly see. The former utility service building, where payments had been made, contained a bulletproof drive-thru window to make it easier for residents and safer for employees. Inside the building, the employees were also behind locked doors and bulletproof glass," Williams said. "This proves that at some time in the past, there was an urgent sense of a need for security where the utilities payments were being made."

Stidham said he's not in favor of adding bulletproof glass to his office.

That, along with the stationing of an officer at City Hall, "sends a terrible message to the public," Stidham said.

"The front entrance to City Hall is freely accessible, and the clerk-treasurer’s office layout with regards to security is currently limited due to its antiquated design," Williams said, adding they will provide suggestions on security and will maintain the officer until they feel the building is safe.

03022018 - News Article - UPDATE: Portage mayor files lawsuit against City Council, clerk-treasurer over utility board NWI Times

UPDATE: Portage mayor files lawsuit against City Council, clerk-treasurer over utility board
NWI Times
Mar 2, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/portage-mayor-files-lawsuit-against-city-council-clerk-treasurer-over/article_1cc14d69-6d63-584a-9e21-46cbea56a26b.html

PORTAGE — Mayor James Snyder has filed a lawsuit against the City Council and clerk-treasurer over the council's operation of the Utility Service Board.

Snyder, represented by Indianapolis law firm Bingham Greenbaum Doll, is asking the court for both immediate and permanent action to declare the board's operations illegal and rule the recently passed stormwater fees void and unenforceable.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Porter Superior Court. The suit specifically names council members Elizabeth Modesto, D-1st; Pat Clem, D-2nd; Scott Williams, D-3rd; John Cannon, R-4th; Collin Czilli, D-5th; Sue Lynch, D-at-large; Mark Oprisko, D-at-large, and clerk-treasurer Chris Stidham.

The lawsuit is the latest volley in a battle between Snyder and the City Council since the council took over operations of the Utility Service Board just over a year ago.

"After nearly 90 days of no written response from the City Council attorneys, my staff and the city Board of Works felt this was the best, most efficient and most cost-effective way to remedy the potential legal and financial risk the city has been put in by two ordinances that I signed that we have been informed by other mayors and legal experts are not legally valid," Snyder stated Friday in a written statement.

"We look forward to a speedy declaratory judgment and final resolution to the matter so residents know who to call when an issue arises. It is my job to enforce all city ordinances, and when being informed one is not valid or is potentially illegal, it is my duty to seek speedy remedy," Snyder said. "It is not a matter of the council’s convenience, it is a matter of doing what is right. We have had enough meetings; the residents deserve corrections and collaboration, and I truly believe a majority of the council wants this as well."

The council adopted an ordinance in February 2017 to take control of the Utility Service Board after wrangling with Snyder over his spending of USB funds.

City Council Attorney Ken Elwood said Snyder forced the council to take that action because of "spending money for his own benefit," including attempting to pay $93,000 for attorney fees to defend his federal corruption indictment and spending utility funds to lease "$60,000 to $70,000" vehicles for his own use.

The lawsuit contends that, under state law, the USB, which was created by combining separate stormwater and sanitary sewer boards in 2010, violates state code. In addition, he contends the ordinance that put the City Council at the helm of the USB is also in violation of state law. Because those two ordinances are in violation of state law, the suit also contends, an ordinance that gave the council a salary for running the USB and the ordinance establishing the use of impervious surface measurements to charge stormwater fees for nonresidential customers are illegal.

Snyder sought advice from Bingham Greenbaum Doll last year on the issue. The law firm produced a memo stating the USB was illegally created.

Elwood said the lawsuit came as a surprise to the council, which has hired its own Indianapolis-based law firm, Clark Quinn, for advice and representation. Clark Quinn issued an advocacy memo, Elwood said, which stated the laws are vague and there are "many arguments" on both sides.

Elwood said he has been working with City Attorney Gregg Sobkowski in attempts to work out the differences and had hoped the two Indianapolis-based firms could meet to negotiate an agreement.

"Instead, he's wanting to spend thousands of dollars to settle this. This will stop projects because we don't know how much money we will be spending on legal fees," Elwood said.

Michael Griffiths, an attorney with Bingham Greenbaum Doll, disputed Elwood, saying his firm has reached out to the council's firm to seek a resolution prior to going to court.

"We did reach out to them a few times and tried to resolve this. Our goal was to try and stop this before it went to this action," Griffiths said.

Elwood said he also questions Snyder's standing in filing the lawsuit and finds the action illogical.

"He was chairman of the Utility Service Board for six years and has taken all kinds of action," Elwood said, adding those actions could now come into question. "Where's the logic in that?"

"When the mayor took office, that structure was in place, and he had no reason to question it," Griffiths said.

While named as a defendant in the lawsuit, council member Cannon is defending the lawsuit and believes Elwood should be replaced as the council and USB attorney.

"For months now, Mayor Snyder has been transparent and open with the City Council about his concerns with the USB and fees. If this fee is not legal, it will cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars to litigate. If we are entering into contracts unlawfully all of us should pause and seek correction," Cannon said in a written statement.

"My request to Council President Oprisko is to get us new legal counsel that is not financially or ethically conflicted in this matter. The entire council is confused when Clerk-Treasurer Stidham, who is also an attorney at Rhame and Elwood, speaks on the matter. Neither Stidham nor Ken Elwood have written us an opinion for review despite repeated requests. It has been 90 days since the mayor informed us of this problem," Cannon said, adding he hopes this can be resolved outside of the courtroom.

"It is a sad day for Portage when one branch of government is suing the other two. This is a loss to the city of Portage, which will be paying for the legal fees," said Stidham, adding he could not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit, but called the action "bizarre" in that Snyder had signed both the ordinances to change the composition of the USB and for the use of the impervious surface fee system.

Oprisko, the council's president, declined comment.

Take a look back at corruption in the Region:
Corruption in the Region: Former Lake County Commissioner Steve C. Corey pleads guilty to lying and obstructing a federal investigation

Name: Steve C. Corey

Office held: Lake County Commissioner

Dates in office: 1983 to 1992

The crime: He lied to a U.S. District Court grand jury investigating bribery in Lake County Government.

Corey was a successful businessman who built a thriving Hobart bakery, once from the ground up in 1954 and again from the ashes of a fire that gutted the business in 1974.

He found time after making the doughnuts to become politically active. He served on the Hobart City Council in the 1960s and was elected to the Lake County Council in 1978 and 1982.

Corey became a county commissioner in December 1983, when Democratic precinct committeemen named him to replace Rudy Bartolomei, better known as Rudy Bart, who took over that year as sheriff.

Federal authorities soon charged Bartolomei with misconduct ranging from making county employees work on his political campaigns and work on a summer cottage on Lake Michigan as well as paying his housemaid with public money and extorting political contributions from county employees.

Bartolomei pleaded guilty to two felony counts and within weeks began cooperating with federal investigators and a grand jury on the web of public corruption over which he and his fellow county officials had presided.

Bartolomei had spent his time on the county board of commissioners cleaning up — so to speak — by awarding inflated janitorial contracts to vendors who paid kickbacks to him and other commissioners.

Authorities subpoenaed thousands of pages of documents, including minutes of commissioners meetings, payment vouchers in a probe called "Operation Lights Out," that resulted in a number of indictments, including that of Corey in 1993 on perjury and obstruction charges charges.

The government alleged Corey lied in July 1989 to a federal grand jury investigating whether Corey had accepted $30,000 from his long-time friend, East Chicago power broker Vincent Kirrin, to steer a lucrative government cleaning contract to a company Kirrin secretly owned and operated.

Corey denied wrongdoing and insisted the money was a business loan to his struggling bakery. But Corey pleaded guilty in February 1994 to lying and obstructing the federal investigation.

Former U.S. Attorney David Capp, who coordinated the federal investigation, said at the time the perjury conviction was "particularly important" because it revealed how contracts were awarded, not through independent assessment of their merits, but on cronyism.

A federal judge sentenced Corey to probation. Corey, who was suffering from a heart condition, died less than a year later.


Corruption in the Region: Corruption was spelled GUEA a decade ago

Name: Gary Urban Enterprise Association

Those involved: Jojuana Meeks, former Lake County Councilman Will Smith, former Gary attorney Willie Harris, former county tax collector Roosevelt Powell

The crime: Gary Urban Enterprise Association or GUEA came into existence in 1985 under a state law permitting U.S. Steel and other Gary businesses to reduce their property taxes by making charitable donations of more than $15 million to the association between 2000 and 2003.

The donations were supposed to improve the quality of life of the poor by redeveloping the nearly 3-square-mile area of Gary's Emerson neighborhood.

However, a Times investigation in 2004 found that former GUEA Director Jojuana L. Meeks and other in GUEA embezzling about $1 million through perks like her Jaguar sports car, a new, rehabilitated home and overpayments to herself and other GUEA officials.

The nonprofit collapsed in 2007 after being declared a corrupt business venture. Meeks pleaded guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion. She and other GUEA officials were convicted in U.S. District Court in Hammond.

Federal prosecutors also charged political insiders Roosevelt Powell, Willie Harris and Will Smith with conspiring with GUEA to further bleed it, the Gary Historical Society and Lake County government through an elaborate real estate scheme involving the abandoned Ralph's Grocery store in Gary's Miller section.

Smith learned of that through his political connections that its owners wanted to donate it as a tax write off. Smith conspired with Harris, an attorney for the Historical Society, take over the property.

They had Powell, a county tax collector, to use his influence to induce Meeks, to buy the store for $200,000 on the same day that Powell told a Lake County judge to wipe out $58,000 in back taxes on the building because it couldn't be sold.

The men pocketed significant profits without ever legally owning the building. Their defense lawyers argued the deal was legitimate, but a federal jury convicted them in September 2007.


Corruption in the Region: Former East Chicago city councilman Frank Kollintzas, infamous for sidewalks-for-votes scandal, remains at large after fleeing to Greece in 2005

Name: Frank Kollintzas

Office held: East Chicago city councilman

Dates in office: 1979 to 2005

The crime: A U.S. District Court jury in South Bend in November 2004 convicted then city councilman Frank Kollintzas as well as East Chicago Councilman Je De LaCruz and City Controller Edwardo Maldonado of misappropriating millions of dollars in concrete they gave to residents in the form of free driveways, sidewalks and patios to ensure the city administration's 1999 re-election.

Jurors also convicted Kollintzas of lying to the FBI, which investigated the so-called sidewalks scandal.

Kollintzas would have been forced to serve a prison term of 11 years and four months if he hadn't fled the county days before his sentencing in February 2005.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported Swissair sold a ticket from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to Zurich, Switzerland, to a man who presented a non-American, possibly Greek, passport to the airline in the name of Fotios Kollintzas.

Authorities believe Kollintzas, who was 62 when he bolted, fled to Greece, a nation that doesn't return American fugitives who receive Greek citizenship.

Kollintzas is a native-born American, but his parents emigrated from Greece and settled in East Chicago where they operated a family diner.

Just before his flight, he sent a letter to a federal court judge saying he couldn't face growing old or dying in prison. He conceded in the letter. "I know what I did. The concrete was poured, and I tried to make sure the people in my district got the work done at their property."

The man who fell from grace had a bachelor's degree from Indiana State University, a master's degrees in elementary education and in physical education from Indiana University and an advanced degree in administration and supervision from Indiana State University.

Kollintzas taught and also was director of athletics at East Chicago Central High School. Kollintzas also had a political career tied to Mayor Robert Pastrick, who was facing a troubling challenge in the 1999 municipal elections from Stephen R. "Bob" Stiglich.

Pastrick, Kollintzas and others in the city administration were worried enough about Stiglich to launch a giveaway of acres of free concrete to entice voters into supporting their re-election in the week leading up to that year's election.

Kollintzas, among others directed and paid contractors to pour concrete, initially just for public sidewalks and curbs, but eventually residents' private driveways, patios and walkways as well as free tree trimming on private property.

Pastrick won the spring primary that year and the concrete paving ended abruptly, sometime before individual jobs were competed, because the city had run out of cash.

Public complaints about shoddy concrete work prompted a Times investigation as well as the attention of then U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen and his assistant David Capp. They directed a federal investigation that resulted in 2003 indictments that eventually led to the convictions of seven elected officials, a number of private contractors.

Pastrick never faced criminal charges, but a federal judge did brand Pastrick’s administration as corrupt and ordered Pastrick and former political allies to pay $108 million in damages in 2011, forcing Pastrick into bankruptcy.

The courts issued a warrant for Kollintzas' arrest 13 years ago. He remains at large.


Corruption in the Region: Peter Benjamin

Name: Peter Benjamin, formerly of Hobart

Offices held and dates: He served as Lake County assessor from 1987-94, as Lake County auditor from 1999-02 and operated a lucrative law practice on the side.

The crime: A federal grand jury indicted him in 2002 on racketeering and money laundering allegations that included: defrauding clients, lying on tax returns to cover thousands of dollars he spent on prostitutes and police officers who supplied him with drugs and bribing former Lake County Council member Troy Montgomery, of Gary.

He also lied about attending continuing education courses the state requires for lawyers, instructed a prostitute to lie to a federal grand jury about Benjamin's wrongdoing and embezzled real estate from his ex-wife's family and dissipated a small fortune, $1.2 million and a promising political and law career during his crime spree.

Benjamin pleaded guilty in 2003 to providing Montgomery with cash and dining room furniture in exchange for Montgomery using his county government connections to steer lucrative business to Benjamin's law firm. Montgomery served a one-year federal prison term for accepting the bribe.

Benjamin agreed to cooperate with federal investigators and publicly promised to bring down as many people in local government as possible, but the quality of Benjamin's cooperation and the evidence he provided the government never appeared to have much impact on future federal prosecutions.

He later told the court he met about 20 times with FBI, IRS and other law enforcement agents in his eagerness to cooperate with their investigations, but he also was suicidal, heavily medicated, "physically, emotionally and psychologically exhausted."

Benjamin publicly laid out his faults in a 2005 letter to the court.

"I clearly bribed an elected official with expectation that I would be awarded a contract and committed other unlawful acts....I broke the law and have dishonored my family, the legal profession my community and myself. As a result, I have lost everything, my former wife, my law license, my career, assets, pension and self respect. I am only a shell of the person that I once was."

He served a 27-month prison term. Court documents indicate he was working a consultant in New York in 2010. He was still paying restitution the court ordered he must to Lake County, the Internal Revenue Service and his former wife's family.


Corruption in the Region: John Buncich

Name: John Buncich

Office held: Lake County sheriff

Dates in office: 1995 to 2002 and again 2011 to Aug. 24 of this year.

The crime: Bribery, wire fraud and honest service wire fraud.
A U.S. District Court jury convicted the former sheriff Aug. 25, following a 14 day trial, of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in cash from two towing firm owners in return for giving them more lucrative town work from the sheriff's department.

Buncich said it costs about $200,000 to run for sheriff. He showered political fund-raising tickets on towing firm owners, including Scott Jurgensen, a former Merrillville Police Department officer and confidential FBI informant, and William "Willie" Szarmach, who became cooperating government witness.

They in turn plied him with cash and requests for lucrative towing assignments and they said he delivered.

Buncich denied all wrongdoing during three days of testimony, saying his conduct was unchallenged and "All candidates do this."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson, who presented evidence against Buncich replied, "It's being challenged now isn't it?"

Benson provided jurors with video and photographic evidence that Buncich used his campaign fundraising as cover for a scheme to solicit kickbacks.

Defense lawyers argued, to no avail, that Buncich has had a spotless reputation for honesty during his more than four decades as a county police officer and the government was staging bribery scenes for their undercover cameras, including one involving Buncich's former second in command, Timothy Downs delivering $7,500 to Buncich inside the sheriff's office in 2015 after Downs began cooperating with the FBI.

An FBI video surveillance recording of Buncich leaning into Szarmach's tow truck and Jurgensen giving Buncich $2,500 April 22, 2016, in the parking lot outside of Delta Restaurant in Merrillville.

An FBI video surveillance recording of Jurgensen giving Buncich $2,500 on July 21, 2016, in the parking lot outside of Delta Restaurant in Merrillville.

He awaits sentence now scheduled to take place Dec. 6.

Take a look at this gallery featuring corrupt politicians caught by former U.S. Attorney David Capp:

Gallery: Corrupt politicians caught by former U.S. Attorney David Capp reminisces