11082019 - News Article - Lawyers for former Portage Mayor James Snyder, found guilty of bribery, argue two witnesses would have proved his innocence

Lawyers for former Portage Mayor James Snyder, found guilty of bribery, argue two witnesses would have proved his innocence
Chicago Tribune
November 08, 2019
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-snyder-mistrial-hearing-st-1109-20191109-kyxievwd5ncwdhxlvcxd34e5ue-story.html

The legal team for former Portage Mayor James Snyder, who was found guilty of bribery and obstructing the IRS, made its case Friday for why two key witnesses should’ve testified before the jury, but prosecutors stated the witnesses weren’t called because it was likely they would’ve lied.

Snyder’s attorneys argued that during trial, the prosecutors presented the jury with a “gap” in evidence and that “the government’s case was merely speculative.”

Jackie Bennett Jr., Snyder’s attorney, stated the prosecutors blocked the former owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt, Robert and Steve Buha, from testifying.

Both brothers denied the bribery and payment for garbage trucks in grand jury testimony, and stated that they paid Snyder $13,000 for consultant work, Bennett said. Both brothers also stated that Snyder was in a financial bind and needed money, but was willing to work for it, Bennett said.

Ultimately, Bennett said, Snyder provided health insurance and information technology consultants, and referred the brothers to a lawyer.

“(Snyder) was, in a word, innocent,” Bennett said. “We have not found, and the government hasn’t shown, any evidence contrary to the Buha grand jury testimony.”

Federal prosecutors said “ideally, it would be nice” to have the Buha brother’s testify, but that the prosecution did not believe their story because of inconsistencies in what they told law enforcement and their grand jury testimony.

Additionally, prosecutors said, based on the Buhas grand jury testimony, their statements wouldn’t have helped Snyder. But, prosecutors said, had his defense lawyers wanted the brothers’ side of the story presented to the jury, the attorneys could’ve presented the transcript of their grand jury testimony to the jury.

Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen will consider the information before Snyder’s December sentencing.

In February, Snyder, 41, was convicted of taking a $13,000 bribe in exchange for contracts to sell five garbage trucks to the city and using a shell company to hide income and assets from the IRS while owing back personal and business taxes. The jury acquitted Snyder of a third count that alleged he took a $12,000 bribe to get a company on Portage’s tow list.

Snyder has agreed to forfeit $13,000 to the federal government, documents said.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, which oversaw the prosecution, said that Snyder could face up to 10 years in prison on the bribery charge, and up to three years in prison on the obstruction charge.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana was recused from the case, absent two prosecutors, as U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II previously represented Snyder.

Snyder, a Republican, was indicted in November 2016 and charged with allegedly violating a federal bribery statute and obstruction or impeding the IRS.

Prosecutors said that when Snyder ran for mayor in 2011, he told residents he planned to automate Portage’s trash pickup, but wound up steering contracts for $712,882.50 and another for $425,355 to Great Lakes Peterbilt, which was then owned by the Buhas.

Defense attorneys say that Snyder used his experience in offering health insurance to city employees through the Affordable Care Act, and making technology upgrades to advice Great Lakes Peterbilt about making similar changes.

A second count said that Snyder, while owing tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS, funneled income through a shell company, and failed to disclose any of those assets to the IRS.

In September, Snyder’s sentencing date had been pushed back a second time from Sept. 24 to two days in December “to allow time to rule on the pending post-trial motions,” according to court records.

On Dec. 6, the court will give the parties an opportunity to present evidence and any additional arguments regarding their objections to the pre-sentence report and sentencing factors, according to a court order.

On Dec. 17, the court will issue a ruling regarding the objections to the pre-sentence report and will announce Snyder’s sentence, according to the court order. Federal prosecutors said Snyder allegedly solicited money from co-defendant John Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, and “Individual A” and gave them a towing contract for Portage.

Cortina, 80, in January pleaded guilty to a charge that he paid bribes to Snyder to get a spot on the tow list. Cortina did not testify during the trial, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself, according to court documents.

Snyder has maintained his innocence during the more than two years since he was indicted.

Following Snyder’s sentencing delay, Cortina, who was indicted alongside the mayor, requested his sentencing be reset to Jan. 10.