12312019 - News Article - Prosecutors say Portage tow operator tied to former Mayor James Snyder’s public corruption conviction should serve home detention

Prosecutors say Portage tow operator tied to former Mayor James Snyder’s public corruption conviction should serve home detention
Chicago Tribune
December 31, 2019
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-portage-cortina-sentencing-st-0101-20191231-wcwpddrnjra5zktcdbggtvredq-story.html

Federal prosecutors are recommending John Cortina, the towing operator who pleaded guilty to a bribery charge over a towing contract with former Portage Mayor James Snyder, serve probation and eight months on home detention for his role in the scheme, according to court documents.

The sentencing recommendation, filed Dec. 26 in U.S. District Court in Hammond, is a downward departure from sentencing guidelines for the crime because of Cortina’s acceptance of responsibility and cooperation with authorities.

In November 2016, Cortina, 80, and Snyder were indicted on bribery charges related to a $12,000 payment Cortina told authorities he and “Individual A” made to Snyder to get on the city’s towing list.

Cortina, according to court documents, pleaded guilty to one of the three charges against him in January 2019, for paying a bribe to a public official. Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, agreed to cooperate with the U. S. Attorney’s Office in exchange for the plea agreement.

Cortina, according to court documents, gave Snyder two cashier checks at the former mayor’s direction, one payable to “Citizens for Snyder” for $10,000, and another for $2,000 made out to “Round Table for Snyder” to secure a spot on the city’s list of towing companies. Snyder’s defense attorneys have argued that the funds, which Cortina gave to Snyder in January 2016, were a campaign loan.

The sentencing memorandum, filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson, notes that Cortina agreed to testify if called as a witness at Snyder’s trial but because the government was able to introduce other evidence, it wasn’t necessary to call Cortina as a witness.

“Although not needed at trial, the proffer information provided by Cortina was useful in determining how specific writing on the cashier’s checks came to be present and that in fact, the $12,000 total payment was a bribe,” the document notes.

Evidence presented at trial included a recorded conversation between Cortina and Snyder in which Cortina said, “Christmas is here” and “I got Christmas” before Cortina gave Snyder the cashier checks.

The sentencing range for the charge against Cortina would be 18 to 24 months but the government is requesting a downward departure to a sentence of eight to 14 months. In the sentencing memorandum, the government recommends a sentence of probation with a condition of that probation being that Cortina serve eight months of home detention.

Cortina is scheduled to be sentenced sometime in January.

Snyder was found guilty in February on charges of bribery, involving the purchase of garbage trucks, and defrauding the IRS. A jury acquitted him of the charge involving Cortina.

A federal judge has granted a new trial on the bribery charge involving the garbage trucks. Prosecutors have until later in January to decide how to proceed.

12262019 - News Article - Felon ex-mayor to make old argument with new judge

Felon ex-mayor to make old argument with new judge
KPCnews.com
December 26, 2019
https://www.kpcnews.com/news/state/article_b3aeef1a-037a-576e-b8db-5fed6cefb740.html

HAMMOND — Defense lawyers seeking to clear former Portage Mayor James E. Snyder of public corruption charges are replaying some old arguments for a new federal judge.

Snyder’s legal team is asking Chief U.S. District Court Judge Theresa L. Springmann to dismiss a tax evasion conviction and the remaining bribery count still against him.

They do so less than three weeks after U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen instructed them not to demand judicial reconsideration of his recent decision to uphold Snyder’s guilty verdict on a felony tax evasion conviction and granting a new trial on a count of felony bribery.

But Van Bokkelen, based in Hammond federal court, isn’t the judge of the case anymore. He left, with little explanation three weeks ago, and Springmann had to take it over.

Snyder’s lawyers are greeting the new judge with arguments they previously made to Van Bokkelen — that the charges against Snyder must be dismissed because they are tainted by prosecutors' miscues and misconduct.

The government has yet to respond, and the judge has yet to rule in favor or against the defense motions.

Federal prosecutors first charged Snyder in November 2016 with two bribery counts and one tax evasion count.

A jury heard the case against Snyder over 19 days earlier this year.

Jurors acquitted Snyder of one bribery count alleging he corruptly arranged for the city of Portage to award public vendor contracts for towing services.

Jurors found Snyder guilty Feb. 14 of the other bribery count, that he corruptly arranged for Portage to award garbage truck purchases. The jury also convicted Snyder of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service’s collection of income taxes by falsifying documents to conceal from the IRS the true financial status of his private business ventures.

Those two verdicts removed Snyder from public office.

His defense team pressed Van Bokkelen over the course of the next nine months to either acquit or grant a new trial.

The defense argued there was insufficient evidence to support the guilty verdicts and that misconduct by federal prosecutors denied Snyder a fair trial.

Van Bokkelen ruled Nov. 27 that Snyder deserves a new trial on the garbage truck bribery count.

The judge stopped short of condemning prosecutors for misconduct. But Van Bokkelen did conclude “gamesmanship” by the prosecution prevented the jury from hearing testimony from the former owners of the truck dealership, who paid Snyder $13,000.

Snyder’s defense team argues Steve and Bob Buha, owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt, would have convinced a jury, if they testified, that they didn’t pay Snyder a bribe, but rather for legitimate consulting services he had earned in working for Great Lakes.

They now argue to the new judge the prosecutorial irregularities cannot be cured by a new trial, so the bribery count must be dismissed, making a new trial unnecessary.

Federal prosecutors may choose to dismiss the bribery count on their own. They have asked for time to review that bribery count before deciding whether to proceed on it with a new jury.

Although Van Bokkelen upheld the tax count, Snyder’s lawyers argue the violations they allege against Snyder are so old, the government waited too long to bring their case to court.

Snyder’s defense lawyers made a similar argument about Snyder’s alleged tax violations being too stale last year.

Van Bokkelen ruled against them last January, stating the tax count alleges more recent violations, so federal prosecutors were still within their deadline to charge Snyder.

However, Snyder’s team now argues federal prosecutors still have a deadline problem on the tax case because the evidence at Snyder’s trial didn’t prove Snyder committed any tax violations within the last six years.

12212019 - News Article - Former Portage mayor could learn jury trial fate early next year

Former Portage mayor could learn jury trial fate early next year
NWI Times
Dec 21, 2019
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-portage-mayor-could-learn-jury-trial-fate-early-next/article_907cc546-236d-55f6-b11b-8a7a5d7f7bc5.html

HAMMOND — Former Portage Mayor James Snyder may learn before next Valentine’s Day if he faces a second jury trial on a bribery charge.

Federal court records indicate federal prosecutors told a judge they must weigh their options before deciding whether to proceed further with allegations Snyder corruptly solicited a $13,000 bribe in 2014 from a Portage truck dealership.

If they decide to drop that charge, it would be vindication for Snyder who has maintained since his indictment three years ago he didn’t sell out his office.

Snyder still would have to appeal a second guilty verdict of tax evasion stemming allegations he cheated the Internal Revenue Service by hiding income from his private mortgage business.

He could face a prison sentence of more than two years in prison on that count.

However, Snyder was able to celebrate Thanksgiving with a win against federal prosecutors.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen granted Snyder a new trial Nov. 27, overturned a conviction based on allegations Snyder corruptly steered a garbage truck contract to the former owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt of Portage.

A federal jury reached that verdict Valentine’s Day this year.

Had the judge upheld the bribery verdict, Snyder would be preparing for a longer sentence.

Instead, federal prosecutors now must weigh their chances of winning a new conviction before a new jury trial in the light of evidentiary problems exposed by Snyder’s vigorous defense.

Court records indicate Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip Benson and Jill Koster conferred by telephone Friday with Snyder’s legal team and the judge. The prosecutors asked the court to give them 45 days to review the transcripts of Snyder’s 19-day before deciding on how to proceed with the case.

Snyder’s legal team agreed to the continuance and won’t push for a speedy trial, which is Snyder’s right.

Approximately six years ago, federal investigators began looking into public contracts awarded under the administration of Snyder, a Republican businessman, served as mayor of Portage, the third largest city in Northwest Indiana from 2011 until his conviction removed him from office.

Federal prosecutors allege solicited a $13,000 bribe from Steve and Bob Buha, the former owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt of Portage in return for giving his approval to a $1.125 million contract to the Buhas to provide the city with garbage trucks.

The judge stated in his 17-page ruling there were several irregularities practiced by federal prosecutors.

He said the government tried to prove bribery against Snyder without the testimony from the Buhas, the central players in the alleged bribery scheme.

Federal prosecutors refused to call the brothers to the witness stand at trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Koster told the judge she believed the brothers might give the jury false or conflicting testimony about their motive in giving Snyder $13,000.

The brothers then refused to testify as defense witnesses, on Snyder’s behalf either.

Snyder’s legal team said they were unable to call the Buhas as defense witnesses because federal prosecutors refused to grant the brother immunity from future prosecution if they took the witness stand.

The government had given the brother immunity earlier to testify before a grand jury investigating the bribery allegations three years ago.

Faced with the threat of future prosecution, the brothers exercised their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

Snyder didn’t take the witness stand either.

Judge Van Bokkelen, who served many years as a former U.S. Attorney and worked in private practice as a defense attorney, said in his ruling he couldn’t recall a case that was tried without the testimony of the giver or the receiver of the bribe or the testimony of some other direct witness of the bribery.

The judge said federal prosecutors presented too much of the government’s case against Snyder through testimony by an FBI agent who investigated the case, rather than witnesses with first-hand knowledge of the disputed acts by Snyder and others.

This tactic denied Snyder’s defense attorneys a meaningful chance to question the validity of government allegations since the agent was only reciting the comments of others who weren’t testifying under oath.

12162019 - News Article - New judge takes over Snyder public corruption case

New judge takes over Snyder public corruption case
NWI Times
December 16, 2019
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/new-judge-takes-over-snyder-public-corruption-case/article_589eaa68-1dcf-575b-ab83-81ce9c675044.html

HAMMOND — If former Portage Mayor James Snyder has to face a new trial on a federal bribery count, it will be before a different federal judge.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen recently announced he will no longer preside over the Snyder public corruption case, after three years on the job.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge Theresa L. Springmann is taking over the matter.

Van Bokkelen gave no reason in his recusal order for removing himself from future proceedings in the Snyder case other than “for the reason of efficient administration of the docket.” It remains unclear whether there will be a new trial.

Van Bokkelen ruled late last month that Snyder deserved a new trial over allegations Snyder corruptly solicited a $13,000 bribe in 2014 from a Portage truck dealership to assure the dealership won the city of Portage’s purchase of garbage trucks.

The judge last week gave prosecutors 45 days to decide whether or not they want to proceed on the bribery count before a new jury.

Van Bokkelen had presided over the case since the U.S. attorney’s office first charged Snyder in November 2016 with bribery and tax evasion.

Snyder’s 19-day trial ended on Feb. 14 this year with a federal jury acquitting Snyder of allegations he corruptly awarded towing contracts, but found him guilty of bribery in the garbage truck contract.

The jury also convicted Snyder of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service by refusing to timely pay taxes due from his private mortgage business.

Those two convictions removed Snyder from public office, but his defense team pressed Van Bokkelen over the course of the next nine months to either acquit or grant a new trial.

The defense argued there was insufficient evidence to support the guilty verdicts and that misconduct by federal prosecutors denied Snyder a fair trial.

Van Bokkelen ruled Nov. 27 that Snyder deserves a new trial on the garbage truck bribery count.

The judge stopped short of condemning prosecutors of misconduct, but he did conclude “gamesmanship” by the prosecution prevented the jury from hearing testimony from the former owners of the truck dealership, who paid Snyder the $13,000.

Snyder’s defense team argues Steve and Bob Buha, owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt, would convince a jury they paid Snyder for legitimate consulting services and that the money wasn’t a bribe.

Van Bokkelen upheld the tax evasion count.

Although Snyder eventually paid his taxes, Van Bokkelen concluded in his Nov. 27 ruling that prosecutors proved Snyder created false documents to conceal from the IRS the true financial status of his private business ventures.

12092019 - News Article - Prosecutors have 45 days to move forward in new trial for former Portage Mayor James Snyde

Prosecutors have 45 days to move forward in new trial for former Portage Mayor James Snyder
Chicago Tribune
December 09, 2019
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-snyder-case-govt-45-days-st-1210-20191209-kjebsuk7tze3baxkxxdhhpwflu-story.html

Prosecutors have a month and a half to determine how to move forward after a judge granted a new trial on one of the counts against former Portage Mayor James Snyder, who was found guilty of bribery and obstructing the IRS in February.

On Nov. 27, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen denied Snyder’s motion for acquittal to both charges of the purchase of garbage trucks and corruptly interfering with the administration of the Internal Revenue laws, according to the court order.

Van Bokkelen denied a motion for a new trial for the corruptly interfering with the administration of the Internal Revenue laws charge, but he granted the motion for a new trial on the purchase of garbage trucks charge, according to the order.

Following the ruling, Snyder’s sentencing dates of Dec. 6 and Dec. 17 were vacated. A new sentencing date has not yet been set.

In a teleconference on Dec. 6, Van Bokkelen granted a motion from prosecutors “for a 45 day continuance” on the purchase of garbage trucks count to “review the transcripts” to decide how to move forward, according to court records.

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 assets from the IRS while owning 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 Peterbuilt, which was then owned by Robert and Stephen Buha.

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.

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. 9.