Draining The Swamp In Porter County Indiana: May 2018

05302018 - News Article - US attorney testifies about indicted Portage mayor's emails

US attorney testifies about indicted Portage mayor's emails
Chicago Tribune
May 30, 2008
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-snyder-hearing-kirsch-st-0531-story.html

Northern Indiana’s U.S. attorney testified Wednesday about emails between him and indicted Portage Mayor James Snyder as a judge weighs whether prosecutors accessed privileged communications.

Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen continued hearing evidence during the ongoing dispute between Snyder’s defense attorneys and federal prosecutors over whether the mayor’s attorney-client privileged emails were exposed to the trial team. Snyder’s defense attorneys say the charges should be dismissed or trial attorney disqualified if those email communications were accessed.

Van Bokkelen allowed “limited” questioning of U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II, who represented Snyder prior to being appointed to his current office, during a closed hearing.

Kirsch has recused himself from Snyder’s case, according to court documents, and the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois has overseen and managed local prosecutors handling the case.

Wednesday’s hearing was the third closed-door session Van Bokkelen has held on the email issue.

While the courtroom was briefly open Wednesday, Van Bokkelen said he’s gone back and forth on the issue.

“I’ve not been through a hearing quite like this one,” the judge said.

The allegations against the prosecutors say email communications between Snyder, defense attorney Thomas Dogan, and Kirsch that were seized in 2015 were read by the government’s trial team, according to court documents.

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 allegedly accepting $13,000 in connection with a Board of Works contract, and allegedly obstructing Internal Revenue Service laws.

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

Van Bokkelen moved the start of Snyder and Cortina’s trial to October, according to court documents.

05302018 - News Article - U.S. Attorney Kirsch testifies behind closed doors during Portage mayor's hearing in public corruption trial

U.S. Attorney Kirsch testifies behind closed doors during Portage mayor's hearing in public corruption trial
NWI Times
May 30, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/u-s-attorney-kirsch-testifies-behind-closed-doors-during-portage/article_c9bab462-c41d-5f7c-8c4c-1d5441474623.html

HAMMOND — U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II testified behind closed doors Wednesday during a hearing in the public corruption trial of Portage Mayor James Snyder.

The hearing is the fourth since March to determine whether Snyder's Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial have been violated. Snyder, who did not attend Wednesday's hearing, contends federal prosecutors unfairly saw emails and work product that should have been considered attorney/client privilege. He is asking the court to either dismiss the indictment or disqualify the prosecuting team.

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.

The emails in question were between Snyder and Kirsch and were seized via a search warrant in 2015.

Snyder's defense team contends the federal "taint team" failed in its job to review emails, separating out those that could be considered attorney/client privilege.

At a hearing May 24, FBI agent Eric Field explained the three-step process in which first a computer, then a two-member FBI team and finally an assistant U.S. attorney not associated with the investigation reviewed the emails and the steps taken to make sure federal prosecutors did not see any potential privileged emails.

Snyder's team, led by Indianapolis attorney Jackie M. Bennett, claims the process failed.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen cleared the courtroom Wednesday morning, saying Kirsch would be testifying "en camera," meaning any government attorney on the trial team would also be asked to leave the courtroom. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster was not present. The prosecution's team was led by Timothy Chapman from the U.S. attorney's office of the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.

Van Bokkelen also said, before closing the courtroom doors, that he "feels badly" because of a decision he made and that "my first reaction was not the best reaction." He continued to say his second reaction would be the right one. He did not explain his comments further.

"I have not been through a hearing quite like this one," Van Bokkelen said.

Shortly after the courtroom was closed, Kirsch entered and remained inside for about an hour before leaving. About an hour later, he returned, entered the courtroom and stayed for about another hour. The court was adjourned shortly after Kirsch left the second time.

A set of deadlines was set for the filing of briefs. The deadline for Snyder's defense team to file a compilation brief is June 29, with the government's response due by July 27. Snyder's team was then given a deadline of Aug. 13 to file a response to that brief.

Snyder was indicted in November 2016 on three counts, including bribery and tax evasion. He has pleaded not guilty. His trial is set for Oct. 9.

05302018 - News Article - UPDATE: After open testimony about review process, judge shuts doors for afternoon during hearing on James Snyder email claim

UPDATE: After open testimony about review process, judge shuts doors for afternoon during hearing on James Snyder email claim
NWI Times
Updated May 30, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-after-open-testimony-about-review-process-judge-shuts-doors/article_98a16192-9b0b-5875-ada9-3b3b2750985b.html

HAMMOND — Arguments continued Thursday over whether or not indicted Portage Mayor James Snyder's Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial have been violated.

Half of Thursday's session was in open court as two witnesses testified about the email review process and about what protections are in place to prevent prosecutors from viewing documents deemed attorney/client privilege. The afternoon session was held in closed court.

There was no ruling at the close of Thursday's session in U.S. District Court before Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen.

Snyder contends that prosecutors read emails seized by a search warrant in 2015 between himself and his former attorney, now U.S. District Attorney Thomas Kirsch II. He claims those emails contained attorney/client privilege information and work product. Snyder asked that the three-count indictment against him be dismissed or that the current prosecution team be disqualified.

Snyder was indicted in November 2016 on charges of felony bribery, extortion and tax dodging counts. He has pleaded not guilty.

Under questioning by Assistant U.S. District Attorney Jill Koster on Thursday morning, FBI supervisory special agent Eric Field testified about the review process. Field told the court the investigation against Snyder was opened in September 2013, and in September 2015 search warrants were issued for both Snyder's city and personal email accounts along with emails from Snyder's administrative assistant and the city's assistant street superintendent.

Field explained that initially the seized emails went through a keyword search to filter out any that might have privileged information. From there, a two-person FBI team reviewed about 900 potentially privileged emails. Those they felt were possibly privileged were forwarded to Assistant U.S. District Attorney Maria Lerner for the third step of the review process.

Field said at no time did he see any of the documents in questions prior to them being deemed not privileged. In addition, he said, neither the other two FBI agents or Lerner had anything to do with the Snyder investigation.

Field said he told the two agents to be "overly cautious" in the review process.

Snyder defense attorney Jayna M. Cacioppo, of Taft Stettinius & Hollister of Indianapolis, questioned Field under cross examination as to what keywords were used in the text search, saying they did not include the words "attorney," "Kirsch" or "legal." She also questioned him as to why he didn't communicate with Kirsch before conducting the review to determine what keywords might be used or if Kirsch might have an alternative email address that was used in communication with Snyder.

Cacioppo also questioned Field about how he and others knew what might be considered privileged documents, citing none of the FBI agents involved were attorneys.

Field said he had been given verbal directions on what to look for regarding privileged emails and had passed on that information to the other two agents.

Field also said the process had looked at emails and had not heard of an issue regarding work product until a hearing on the same issue May 10.

Jesse Rodgers, a litigation technology specialist for the U.S. district attorney’s office, testified on the protection involved to prevent the prosecution team from accessing potentially privileged emails.

He explained the use of encryption and the firewall used to prevent the access of the prosecution team of any potentially privileged information.

Cacioppo also questioned Rodgers how one email could have ended up in both the privileged and non-privileged folders during the review process and if that was an indication the firewall failed during the review process.

Rodgers said it is possible a duplicate email could have gotten through the system, but was not an indication of a failure of the firewall.

Following a lunch break, Van Bokkelen closed the courtroom as he did two weeks ago to take testimony on individual emails. On May 10, nearly six hours of testimony was taken behind closed doors on the issue.

According to court documents also filed Thursday, the next hearing in the case will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. However the document does not say if the hearing pertains to this or another matter in the case as since the May 10 hearing, several documents have been filed by both sides, but sealed as to their content. The filing also set a June 8 deadline or Snyder's team to file a brief on an unnamed matter with the government to respond by June 22.

05242018 - News Article - UPDATE: After open testimony about review process, judge shuts doors for afternoon during hearing on James Snyder email claim

UPDATE: After open testimony about review process, judge shuts doors for afternoon during hearing on James Snyder email claim
NWI Times
May 24, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-after-open-testimony-about-review-process-judge-shuts-doors/article_98a16192-9b0b-5875-ada9-3b3b2750985b.html

HAMMOND — Arguments continued Thursday over whether or not indicted Portage Mayor James Snyder's Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial have been violated.

Half of Thursday's session was in open court as two witnesses testified about the email review process and about what protections are in place to prevent prosecutors from viewing documents deemed attorney/client privilege. The afternoon session was held in closed court.

There was no ruling at the close of Thursday's session in U.S. District Court before Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen.

Snyder contends that prosecutors read emails seized by a search warrant in 2015 between himself and his former attorney, now U.S. District Attorney Thomas Kirsch II. He claims those emails contained attorney/client privilege information and work product. Snyder asked that the three-count indictment against him be dismissed or that the current prosecution team be disqualified.

Snyder was indicted in November 2016 on charges of felony bribery, extortion and tax dodging counts. He has pleaded not guilty.

Under questioning by Assistant U.S. District Attorney Jill Koster on Thursday morning, FBI supervisory special agent Eric Field testified about the review process. Field told the court the investigation against Snyder was opened in September 2013, and in September 2015 search warrants were issued for both Snyder's city and personal email accounts along with emails from Snyder's administrative assistant and the city's assistant street superintendent.

Field explained that initially the seized emails went through a keyword search to filter out any that might have privileged information. From there, a two-person FBI team reviewed about 900 potentially privileged emails. Those they felt were possibly privileged were forwarded to Assistant U.S. District Attorney Maria Lerner for the third step of the review process.

Field said at no time did he see any of the documents in questions prior to them being deemed not privileged. In addition, he said, neither the other two FBI agents or Lerner had anything to do with the Snyder investigation.

Field said he told the two agents to be "overly cautious" in the review process.

Snyder defense attorney Jayna M. Cacioppo, of Taft Stettinius & Hollister of Indianapolis, questioned Field under cross examination as to what keywords were used in the text search, saying they did not include the words "attorney," "Kirsch" or "legal." She also questioned him as to why he didn't communicate with Kirsch before conducting the review to determine what keywords might be used or if Kirsch might have an alternative email address that was used in communication with Snyder.

Cacioppo also questioned Field about how he and others knew what might be considered privileged documents, citing none of the FBI agents involved were attorneys.

Field said he had been given verbal directions on what to look for regarding privileged emails and had passed on that information to the other two agents.

Field also said the process had looked at emails and had not heard of an issue regarding work product until a hearing on the same issue May 10.

Jesse Rodgers, a litigation technology specialist for the U.S. district attorney’s office, testified on the protection involved to prevent the prosecution team from accessing potentially privileged emails.

He explained the use of encryption and the firewall used to prevent the access of the prosecution team of any potentially privileged information.

Cacioppo also questioned Rodgers how one email could have ended up in both the privileged and non-privileged folders during the review process and if that was an indication the firewall failed during the review process.

Rodgers said it is possible a duplicate email could have gotten through the system, but was not an indication of a failure of the firewall.

Following a lunch break, Van Bokkelen closed the courtroom as he did two weeks ago to take testimony on individual emails. On May 10, nearly six hours of testimony was taken behind closed doors on the issue.

According to court documents also filed Thursday, the next hearing in the case will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. However the document does not say if the hearing pertains to this or another matter in the case as since the May 10 hearing, several documents have been filed by both sides, but sealed as to their content. The filing also set a June 8 deadline or Snyder's team to file a brief on an unnamed matter with the government to respond by June 22.

05242018 - News Article - Portage mayor back in federal court as a judge reviews whether prosecutors accessed privileged communication

Portage mayor back in federal court as a judge reviews whether prosecutors accessed privileged communication
Chicago Tribune
May 24, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-snyder-evidence-hearing-st-0525-story.html

Witnesses walked a federal judge through the process used to filter out potentially privileged emails between indicted Portage Mayor James Snyder and his attorneys.

Two witnesses testified Thursday in Hammond’s federal court about precautions taken to ensure potentially privileged communications between Snyder and his attorneys did not reach federal prosecutors after the communications were seized in 2015. Snyder’s defense attorneys argue the filter process failed and should warrant either the charges being dismissed or prosecutors disqualified from the case.

Thursday’s hearing continued vetting an issue that attorneys argued in a closed-door session earlier this month. Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen sealed the prior day-long hearing since arguments presented could reference attorney-client material. No decision was reached Thursday. A new hearing has been set for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Eric Field, an FBI supervisory special agent, said investigators set up a three-stage review of emails seized. The emails were first screened by agents at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.; then by two agents in Indiana; and finally by an assistant U.S. attorney in Hammond, Field said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster asked about the terms used during the first screening process and if it included names of Snyder’s then defense attorney and variations of names of attorneys representing other people in the investigation.

Field said those terms were on the list of screening terms given to agents in Washington.

Once that was done, Field testified the files were given to agents in the Merrillville field office for review. Field said he did not look at any of the emails.

“I told them to be overly cautious with how they were doing the review process,” Field said.

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.

Defense attorney Jayna Cacioppo asked about the search terms initially used during the first stage of review and if it was only limited to what Field told programmers to use.

“The term attorney was not included?” Cacioppo asked.

“That is correct,” Field said.

Cacioppo asked if “Kirsch,” “legal” or “Winston Strawn” were not used.

“That is correct,” Field said.

Koster said Field testified he knew Kirsch was then Snyder’s attorney and that the search terms included both Kirsch’s work email and the domain name for his former firm, Winston Strawn.

“Correct,” Field said.

Jesse Rodgers, a litigation technology specialist with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said he handled setting up a digital workspace for the assistant U.S. attorney who continued the email screening process. Rodgers said only that single attorney could access the potentially privileged emails during her review.

Koster asked if any of the prosecutors could access the same workspace as that attorney.

“That would obviously defeat the purpose,” Rodgers said.

After the morning’s round of testimony, Van Bokkelen again sealed court proceedings. Attorneys continued discussing the potentially privileged material, and Van Bokkelen said he’d allow limited questioning of Kirsch, if necessary.

“In this case, I think caution requires closing of the courtroom,” 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 allegedly accepting $13,000 in connection with a Board of Works contract, and allegedly obstructing Internal Revenue Service laws.

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

Van Bokkelen moved the start of Snyder and Cortina’s trial to October, according to court documents.

05242018 - News Article - Judge hears testimony on issues over emails in Portage mayor's corruption case

Judge hears testimony on issues over emails in Portage mayor's corruption case
Chicago Tribune
May 24, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-snyder-evidence-hearing-st-0525-story.html

Witnesses walked a federal judge through the process used to filter out potentially privileged emails between indicted Portage Mayor James Snyder and his attorneys.

Two witnesses testified Thursday in Hammond’s federal court about precautions taken to ensure potentially privileged communications between Snyder and his attorneys did not reach federal prosecutors after the communications were seized in 2015. Snyder’s defense attorneys argue the filter process failed and should warrant either the charges being dismissed or prosecutors disqualified from the case.

Thursday’s hearing continued vetting an issue that attorneys argued in a closed-door session earlier this month. Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen sealed the prior day-long hearing since arguments presented could reference attorney-client material. No decision was reached Thursday. A new hearing weas set for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Eric Field, an FBI supervisory special agent, said investigators set up a three-stage review of emails seized. The emails were first screened by agents at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.; then by two agents in Indiana; and finally by an assistant U.S. attorney in Hammond, Field said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster asked about the terms used during the first screening process and if it included names of Snyder’s then defense attorney and variations of names of attorneys representing other people in the investigation.

Field said those terms were on the list of screening terms given to agents in Washington.

Once that was done, Field testified the files were given to agents in the Merrillville field office for review. Field said he did not look at any of the emails.

“I told them to be overly cautious with how they were doing the review process,” Field said.

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.

Defense attorney Jayna Cacioppo asked about the search terms initially used during the first stage of review and if it was only limited to what Field told programmers to use.

“The term attorney was not included?” Cacioppo asked.

“That is correct,” Field said.

Cacioppo asked if “Kirsch,” “legal” or “Winston Strawn” were not used.

“That is correct,” Field said.

Koster said Field testified he knew Kirsch was then Snyder’s attorney and that the search terms included both Kirsch’s work email and the domain name for his former firm, Winston Strawn.

“Correct,” Field said.

Jesse Rodgers, a litigation technology specialist with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said he handled setting up a digital workspace for the assistant U.S. attorney who continued the email screening process. Rodgers said only that single attorney could access the potentially privileged emails during her review.

Koster asked if any of the prosecutors could access the same workspace as that attorney.

“That would obviously defeat the purpose,” Rodgers said.

After the morning’s round of testimony, Van Bokkelen again sealed court proceedings. Attorneys continued discussing the potentially privileged material, and Van Bokkelen said he’d allow limited questioning of Kirsch, if necessary.

“In this case, I think caution requires closing of the courtroom,” 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 allegedly accepting $13,000 in connection with a Board of Works contract, and allegedly obstructing Internal Revenue Service laws.

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

Van Bokkelen moved the start of Snyder and Cortina’s trial to October, according to court documents.

05242018 - News Article - FBI agent testifies about emails in hearing on Mayor Snyder's public corruption case

FBI agent testifies about emails in hearing on Mayor Snyder's public corruption case
NWI Times
May 24, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/fbi-agent-testifies-about-emails-in-hearing-on-mayor-snyder/article_98a16192-9b0b-5875-ada9-3b3b2750985b.html

HAMMOND — FBI Special Agent Eric Field spent most of Thursday morning testifying about the taint team that reviewed more than 109,000 emails in the Portage Mayor James Snyder public corruption investigation to determine which emails might be covered by attorney-client privilege.

Snyder was indicted in November 2016 on charges of felony bribery, extortion and tax dodging counts, which carry long prison terms if he is convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.

Field explained the three-step process, which included using search terms to determine an initial base of potentially privileged emails, an additional step which involved the review by other FBI agents and an assistant district attorney not involved in the investigation.

Jesse Rodgers, a litigation technology specialist for the U.S. district attorney’s office, testified on the protection involved to prevent the prosecution team from accessing potentially privileged emails.

He explained the use of encryptions and the firewall used to prevent the access of the prosecution team of any potentially privileged information.

Field told the court that he told the FBI agents involved in viewing the emails with the potentially privileged information to be “overly cautious in their review.”

Field said the investigation into Snyder's was opened in September 2013 and that the emails in question were obtained through search warrents issued in September 2015 and came from Snyder’s and two other city employees’ city email accounts and Snyder’s and another employee’s personal email accounts.

The initial hearing on Snyder's emails and whether federal prosecutors violated his Sixth Amendment Rights was held May 10.

Six hours of closed-door testimony and arguments were held in U.S. District Court before federal Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen.

At issue is the contention that federal prosecutors may have violated Snyder's rights to a fair trial by having read emails and work product that were considered attorney/client privilege. If they had viewed the emails, which included the discussion of legal strategy, Snyder's defense believes his case has been prejudiced.

Snyder has asked that the three-count indictment against him be dropped, or that the current prosecution team be dismissed.

The trial on bribery and tax evasion charges is currently set to go before a jury on Oct. 9.

The hearing will continue later this afternoon.

05152018 - News Article - Portage Mayor James Snyder's trial reset for Oct. 9

Portage Mayor James Snyder's trial reset for Oct. 9
NWI Times
May 15, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/portage-mayor-james-snyder-s-trial-reset-for-oct/article_e4a0e327-d5e4-54b5-9e19-bc4a044c37d5.html

HAMMOND — Indicted Portage Mayor James Snyder's public corruption trial has been reset for Oct. 9.

U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge John E. Martin issued an order Tuesday morning setting the final pre-trial conference for Sept. 14, at 9:45 a.m. before himself and the trial for Oct. 9, at 11:30 a.m. before District Court Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen.

Snyder, who was indicted in November 2016 on two counts of bribery and one count of tax evasion, had filed a motion last week asking the trial be continued until October. Van Bokkelen vacated the June 4 trial date last week.

The trial has been delayed this time because of a continuing court battle between Snyder's defense team and federal prosecutors over emails. Snyder contends that federal prosecutors and investigators reviewed privileged emails that violate his Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial.

Van Bokkelen held a six-hour closed door hearing last week to take testimony and evidence on the status of the emails. That hearing is to continue at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 24.

Snyder's attorney, Jackie M. Bennett Jr., of Indianapolis, also contended the defense received a substantial number of documents through discovery on April 24 and would be unable to review them in time for the June 4 trial date.

05142018 - News Article - Source says former Porter County cop being investigated in connection with $200K missing from FOP - Officer Larry LaFlower

Source says former Porter County cop being investigated in connection with $200K missing from FOP
NWI Times
May 14, 2018
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/source-says-former-porter-county-cop-being-investigated-in-connection/article_34634a89-df95-5581-a529-bb1f74566c4d.html

VALPARAISO — Porter County Sheriff's officer Larry LaFlower, who resigned Tuesday, is reportedly being investigated in connection with an estimated $200,000 missing from a Fraternal Order of Police fund, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Indiana State Police spokeswoman Sgt. Ann Wojas would not confirm that LaFlower is the target of the investigation, but said the funds were reported missing by the Porter County FOP.

Investigators are working to determine the exact amount of money missing, she said.

No charges have been filed and the investigation is expected to continue for a few more weeks, Wojas said.

The sheriff's department confirmed LaFlower's resignation and referred all further questions to the Indiana State Police.

LaFlower had previously served as public information officer for the county department and was on the board of directors for the Porter County Substance Abuse Council.

He was credited in 2015 with helping to save a woman suffering a potentially fatal drug overdose. He successfully administered an effective dose of naloxone, which quickly neutralizes the effect of heroin and other opioids such as vicodin, oxycontin, percocet and morphine.

05112018 - News Article - Portage mayor's public corruption trial push back to undetermined date

Portage mayor's public corruption trial push back to undetermined date
NWI Times
May 11, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/portage-mayor-s-public-corruption-trial-push-back-to-undetermined/article_065d1b55-8c89-5ab3-988f-850fac8a78c0.html

HAMMOND — The public corruption trial of Portage Mayor James Snyder has been pushed back again.

In a filing Friday morning, the June 4 trial date has been vacated and will be reset by a separate order, according to documents. Snyder's defense attorney, Jackie M. Bennett Jr., of Indianapolis, had filed a motion on Wednesday asking for a continuance of the trial to no earlier than Oct. 1.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen also issued an order to continue a hearing which began Thursday to 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 24.

On Thursday, defense and prosecutors spent nearly six hours behind closed doors giving testimony about emails Snyder contends are attorney/client privilege and work product between himself and his former defense attorney Thomas Kirsch II, now the U.S. district attorney for the Northern District of Indiana.

In a motion filed by Snyder in February, he contends that prosecutors read those emails and that action has prejudiced his right to a fair trial, violating his Sixth Amendment rights. He has asked the court to either dismiss the three-count indictment brought in November 2016 or disqualify the prosecuting team.

Van Bokkelen closed the hearing on Thursday after both prosecuting and defense attorneys argued it would be in the best interest of the case not to allow prosecutors who had not previously viewed the emails or the general public, including media, to view them at this point in the process. No decision was made at that hearing, which will ultimately decide if Snyder's rights were violated.

05102018 - News Article - Hearing on Portage mayor's email status held in closed federal court

Hearing on Portage mayor's email status held in closed federal court
NWI Times
May 10, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/hearing-on-portage-mayor-s-email-status-held-in-closed/article_7d792654-d8e0-5603-ace3-ca82d8396c42.html

HAMMOND — Six hours of closed-door testimony and arguments over indicted Portage Mayor James Snyder's emails ended without an answer Thursday.

Just after the hearing began in U.S. District Court, federal Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen agreed to shut the doors on the hearing.

U.S. Assistant District Attorney Phil Benson told the judge that he and Snyder's defense attorney Jackie M. Bennett, of Indianapolis, agreed people who have not seen the emails in question should not be present in the hearing. That included Benson himself, the media and others who had gathered to hear the arguments.

"A decision to close the courtroom is very serious," Van Bokkelen said. "I am not a big fan of closing courts. The public has the right to know what is going on."

However, there are cases in which the courtroom should be closed, including this one, "out of an abundance of caution," he said.

At issue is the contention that federal prosecutors may have violated Snyder's Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial by having read emails and work product that were considered attorney/client privilege.

If they had viewed the emails, which included the discussion of legal strategy, Snyder's defense believes his case has been prejudiced. Snyder has asked that the three-count indictment against him be dropped, or that the current prosecution team be dismissed.

Those who had seen at least some of the emails in question, including attorneys and investigators, were allowed to remain. The hearing continued for nearly six hours with only two short breaks. There was no resolution nor a date set for a continuance.

In addition, Bennett filed a motion to continue the trial to Oct. 1, or later, this year. The trial had been set to begin June 4. The motion, filed late Wednesday, cites the lack of resolution in the email issue and a large amount of discovery just turned over last month.

"In short, a trial on the merits cannot occur until the propriety of the government’s email seizure is decided — this inquiry is necessarily complex, as neither the propriety of email account seizures nor the use of tainted teams as applied by government agents in this investigation, have been settled by the Seventh Circuit," the latest motion reads.

"But even if the government shows that it did nothing wrong, a continuance is still necessary because of the time it will take to review and organize the mass of financial information, the number of witnesses, and the complexity of the issues involved in this matter. Those complexities also necessitate an adjustment to the Court’s current schedule for pretrial disclosures," the motion continues.

05102018 - News Article - Judge hears arguments on dismissing corruption case against Portage mayor

Judge hears arguments on dismissing corruption case against Portage mayor
Chicago Tribune
May 10, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-snyder-hearings-corruption-case-st-0511-story.html

A federal judge Thursday held a closed door hearing on whether emails viewed by prosecutors jeopardized the corruption case against Portage Mayor James Snyder.

The hours-long closed hearing gave Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen time to review series of email communications between Snyder and his attorneys that were used by federal investigators. Whether the emails contained privileged information, Van Bokkelen would need to rule on a request to either dismiss the corruption charges against the mayor or disqualify the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s trial team.

In April, Snyder’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the corruption case saying the emails reviewed by prosecutors violated the mayor’s constitutional rights.

The email issue was barely discussed Thursday before the judge decided to seal the court.

Defense attorney Jackie Bennett Jr. said because the matters discussed would include privileged attorney-client communication, allowing the public and press to remain in the courtroom could prejudice the case against Snyder. Bennett said an open hearing would prohibit the defense from talking about the substance of the questioned emails.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson said he’d agree with closing the court, but said prosecutors still maintain that the emails up for discussion do not contain privileged communication.

“We respect their request,” Benson said.

Van Bokkelen said closing a court is a “very serious decision” and that some emails are already out in public.

“This is not a preferred procedure,” Van Bokkelen said.

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 for the Northern District of Indiana, 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.

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, according to court documents.

05092018 - News Article - UPDATE: Indicted Portage mayor calls federal prosecutors' latest filing in case 'baffling'

UPDATE: Indicted Portage mayor calls federal prosecutors' latest filing in case 'baffling'
NWI Times
May 08, 2018
Updated - May 09, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-indicted-portage-mayor-calls-federal-prosecutors-latest-filing-in/article_2a84f98f-cd99-5d58-a4f4-1a0efc14049b.html

HAMMOND — Federal prosecutors and indicted Portage Mayor James Snyder continued to take shots at each other Tuesday in filings in federal court.

Prosecutors accused Snyder of going on another "fishing expedition," this time by planning to call up to a dozen witnesses at Thursday's hearing, including Snyder's former attorney and now U.S. District Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II.

Snyder called the government's claim "baffling" and questioned why they are just now objecting to information they were aware of for more than a week.

In a filing Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors asked for either a status conference or "further direction" from the court prior to the 10:30 a.m. hearing Thursday, which should determine whether federal prosecutors and investigators violated Snyder's Sixth Amendment rights by reading privileged emails.

Snyder is asking for the indictment to be dismissed, or that the prosecution team be disqualified if the judge finds his rights were violated.

That filing comes a day after Magistrate Judge John E. Martin ruled against Snyder's request for additional information ahead of the Thursday hearing.

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court on Monday, Martin wrote that Snyder's request for additional information regarding whether prosecutors had access to privileged emails was not relevant.

"None of the information being sought by defendant in the instant motion appears relevant to that question, and, as described above, he has not specifically described how any of the materials he seeks would prove his case," Martin wrote.

"It may be that Judge (Joseph) Van Bokkelen will determine that he needs more information to reach a decision about the constitutional question raised by defendant, and, if so, will order specific discovery at that time. But defendant has not explained in these briefs exactly what discovery he is still seeking from the government, or how those materials both fall within the scope of discoverable material and support his claim of constitutional violation."

Defense slates dozen witnesses for Thursday hearing
In Tuesday's filing, prosecutors said they have learned that Snyder's attorney, Jackie M. Bennett Jr., intends to call up to a dozen witnesses at Thursday's hearing, including Kirsch, two FBI agents, two assistant U.S. attorneys, two IRS agents, "a confidential human source," and four others, in response to Monday's ruling.

"Based on the above information, it appears to the government that defendant intends to attempt to accomplish through witness testimony what Magistrate Judge Martin denied him the opportunity to do via Rule 16 discovery: embark on a wide-ranging fishing expedition into areas that have no bearing on defendant’s guilt or innocence as to the crimes charged, and, as will be shown below, also have no legal relevance to the resolution of defendant’s motion to disqualify government counsel," Tuesday's filing by the U.S. attorney's office reads.

Bennett struck back in the later filing Tuesday afternoon, saying the government "now two days before that hearing seeks to drastically limit the hearing's scope. The government's tactic of having Snyder prepare for one hearing and then seeking to limit that hearing two days before is yet another illegitimate procedural tactic."

Bennett also accused the government of withholding information and releasing it in a "trickle," and attempting to "keep its conduct secret."

Prosecutors seek to clarify witnesses' testimony
Prosecutors also are asking for clarification before Thursday's hearing on whether the 12 witnesses will be called "to explore issues not germane to the court's ruling on the pending motion." Prosecutors contend that defense attorneys should not be allowed to question "the filter team members' deliberative process."

Bennett said he, too, would like to have a status conference, but wants the court to confirm that the hearing "is actually going to be an evidentiary hearing with the witnesses the government has already agreed to subpoena."

The document also reveals of the initial 35 emails in question, only three are relevant to issues likely to arise at the trial slated to begin June 4, and that only one of those will be added to the government's exhibit list. That email, according to a footnote on the filing, was retrieved from Assistant Street Superintendent Randy Reeder's personal email.

"A process entailing the review of tens of thousands of email messages that resulted in dispute as to only 35, only one of which the government may seek to use at trial, cannot, in any logical way, be branded as outrageous government conduct. Thus, any inquiry by the defense into the filter team members’ deliberative process (i.e., their legal analysis of any particular email) would be meaningless and should not be allowed," government prosecutors wrote.

05092018 - News Article - Judge in James Snyder's public corruption case will decide on necessity of witnesses at Thursday hearing

Judge in James Snyder's public corruption case will decide on necessity of witnesses at Thursday hearing
NWI Times
May 09, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/judge-in-james-snyder-s-public-corruption-case-will-decide/article_4921acb4-386f-5387-b78c-9bf568325ee9.html

HAMMOND — Whether Portage Mayor James Snyder is allowed to call witnesses at his hearing Thursday will be decided at the hearing.

In an order issued Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen, Van Bokkelen writes that the court will hold an oral argument regarding disputed emails, giving Snyder a chance to explain why "a violation warranting sanctions against the government occurred." Prosecutors will also have a chance to respond.

It is only then that Van Bokkelen will allow argument by both sides and decide if an evidentiary hearing will be held regarding Snyder's allegations that federal prosecutors unfairly saw emails that should be considered privileged. If the judge decides to hold an evidentiary hearing, witnesses may be called, according to the order.

At issue is whether prosecutors read emails that could be considered privileged, include work product between Snyder and his former attorney Thomas Kirsch II, now U.S. District Attorney. Snyder contends they were read and his Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial were violated. He is asking the indictment be dismissed or the prosecution team be disqualified.

Prosecutors on Tuesday asked for clarification from the court on whether or not up to a dozen witnesses could be called by Snyder's defense attorney Jackie M. Bennett Jr., of Indianapolis. The witnesses include Kirsch, along with FBI and IRS agents. Prosecutors contend it is unnecessary to call the witnesses and accused Snyder's defense of embarking on a "fishing expedition."

The hearing will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the federal courthouse in Hammond.

05082018 - News Article - UPDATE: Indicted Portage mayor calls federal prosecutors' latest filing in case 'baffling'

UPDATE: Indicted Portage mayor calls federal prosecutors' latest filing in case 'baffling'
NWI Times
May 08, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-indicted-portage-mayor-calls-federal-prosecutors-latest-filing-in/article_2a84f98f-cd99-5d58-a4f4-1a0efc14049b.html

05072018 - News Article - Judge rules against Portage mayor in motion to compel discovery

Judge rules against Portage mayor in motion to compel discovery
NWI Times
May 07, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/judge-rules-against-portage-mayor-in-motion-to-compel-discovery/article_2a84f98f-cd99-5d58-a4f4-1a0efc14049b.html

HAMMOND — A federal magistrate has ruled against indicted Portage Mayor James Snyder's request for additional information ahead of a Thursday hearing that could determine whether or not Snyder's rights were violated.

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court on Monday, Magistrate Judge John E. Martin wrote that Snyder's request for additional information regarding whether or not prosecutors had access to privileged emails was not relevant.

"None of the information being sought by defendant in the instant motion appears relevant to that question, and, as described above, he has not specifically described how any of the materials he seeks would prove his case," Martin wrote. "It may be that Judge (Joseph) Van Bokkelen will determine that he needs more information to reach a decision about the constitutional question raised by defendant, and, if so, will order specific discovery at that time, but defendant has not explained in these briefs exactly what discovery he is still seeking from the government or how those materials both fall within the scope of discoverable material and support his claim of constitutional violation."

In late February, Snyder's defense attorney Jackie M. Bennett Jr., of Indianapolis, filed a motion seeking to disqualify prosecutors in the case or dismiss the indictment entirely, contending privileged emails had been read by prosecutors and that had violated attorney-client privilege, a violation of Snyder's Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial.

While an initial motion to provide discovery was granted, Bennett filed the second motion to compel last month.

In the filing Monday, Martin wrote: "Indeed, none of Defendant’s briefs actually describe what specific documents he is requesting or make any arguments about how particular documents are material to his defense."

A hearing is set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Van Bokkelen's courtroom to determine whether or not the federal privilege review process failed and if Snyder's rights have been violated.

Snyder's public corruption trial is set for June 4.

05032018 - News Article - Tow operator in Portage corruption case sticks with attorney after conflict issue probed

Tow operator in Portage corruption case sticks with attorney after conflict issue probed
Chicago Tribune
May 03, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-cortina-attorney-conflict-st-0504-story.html

A tow operator indicted with Portage Mayor James Snyder in November 2016 waived his ability to question witnesses who could testify against the mayor.

Federal Magistrate John Martin held a hearing Thursday to remove any concern that John Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, would not get adequate legal representation from Kevin Milner because Milner also represented Portage city staffers who were called before a federal grand jury.

Martin said that if Cortina retained Milner, the defense attorney’s prior representation of several potential witnesses, would preclude him from questioning those people during the tow operator’s trial. Martin said Milner will also not be able to use any information he knows about the witnesses to aid Cortina’s defense.

“You will not have a voice to ask that question,” Martin said.

“I understand,” Cortina said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson said he wanted it to be clear that if one of those six potential witnesses says anything derogatory or detrimental about Cortina, that he will be unable to question them.

“That may or may not happen,” Benson said. “Probably not going to happen.”

“Mr. Cortina, do you understand what Mr. Benson is saying?” Martin asked.

“Yes,” Cortina said.

Milner previously represented several Portage employees and the former owners and employees at Great Lake Peterbilt, according to the motion, and federal prosecutors may call one or more of those people as witnesses during the trial.

Prosecutors say Snyder arranged for Milner to represent the city employees, and the city eventually paid for those legal costs.

Martin questioned Milner’s prior clients: Randy Reeder, Portage’s assistant street superintendent; Amanda Lakie, Synder’s administrative assistant; Robert and Steven Buha, former owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt; and Brett Searle and Scott McIntyre, of Great Lakes Peterbilt.

“Mr. Milner will not be able to share any information he has about you six,” Martin said.

Milner said two of the six are represented by another attorney and the other four already have that information.

“They will have an attorney available should they want one,” Milner said.

None of the six raised any issue with needing another lawyer since Milner is representing Cortina.

The motion said Milner’s prior representation of potential witnesses could affect Cortina’s right to an attorney free of conflicts, according to court documents, but the defendant could file a waiver with the court.

Martin said he’d found that Cortina understood what he was waiving.

Snyder and Cortina were charged 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 allegedly accepting $13,000 in connection with a Board of Works contract, and another count for allegedly obstructing Internal Revenue Service 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.

05032018 - News Article - Portage Mayor Snyder co-defendant, potential government witnesses waive possible attorney conflicts

Portage Mayor Snyder co-defendant, potential government witnesses waive possible attorney conflicts
NWI Times
May 03, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/portage-mayor-snyder-co-defendant-potential-government-witnesses-waive-possible/article_85156f65-c643-506c-971a-1e22ab645fea.html

HAMMOND — Portage Mayor James Snyder's co-defendant John Cortina waived any concerns his attorney may have regarding conflicts of interest heading into his and Snyder's public corruption trial next month.

During a hearing Thursday in front of U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge John E. Martin, Cortina was questioned along with six potential government witnesses regarding their understanding of conflict of interest issues related to Cortina's attorney Kevin Milner.

Cortina was indicted along with Snyder in November 2016. He was charged with one count of bribery, alleging he gave Snyder $12,000 to be put on the city's tow list. They are both set to stand trial June 4. Snyder has also been charged with a second count of bribery and a count of tax evasion regarding his private mortgage business.

Martin explained to Cortina that Milner will not be able to cross examine the six potential government witnesses because they previously were clients of Milner's. Milner also is not allowed to use information he may have gained about those witnesses when he represented them.

The six were Randy Reeder, assistant street superintendent; Amanda Lakie, Snyder's administrative assistant; Steve and Robert Buha, former owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt; and Brett Searle and Scott McIntyre, employees of that company.

The second bribery count against Snyder alleges he solicited $13,000 from the trucking company in return for city contracts.

"You have a right to a conflict-free trial," Martin told Cortina, adding maintaining Milner as his attorney would mean that neither Cortina nor Milner could ask the witnesses questions during the trial.

"You have no voice to ask questions," Martin said. "I cannot determine if that will be significant or not. If it is, you can't use it on appeal. You are giving up your right to a conflict-free counsel regarding those six witnesses."

Cortina told the judge he wanted to continue with Milner as his attorney.

The judge also asked questions of the six potential witnesses, telling them another defense attorney from Snyder's legal team would have to cross examine them if called as witnesses by the government. He also said they would have to hire different attorneys if they sought legal counsel. None had any objections. McIntyre joined the hearing by telephone, something, Martin said, was unusual, but allowed in this case because of McIntyre's work obligations.