02272020 - News Article - Former Portage Clerk-Treasurer Stidham charged

Former Portage Clerk-Treasurer Stidham charged
Chesterton Tribune
February 27, 2020
http://www.chestertontribune.com/PoliceFireEmergency/former_portage_clerktreasurer_st.htm

Former Portage clerk-treasurer Chris Stidham has been charged in Porter Superior Court with one count of official misconduct.

Following an investigation by the Indiana State Police, Stidham, 37--with a listed address of 2943 Wingstem Drive in Portage--was charged on Tuesday with “creating obligations in excess of appropriations by issuing a bond, certificate, or warrant for the payment of money in excess of appropriation.”

The case was referred by the Porter County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to Special Prosecuting Attorney Stanley M. Levco. The probable cause affidavit detailing the specific circumstances of the charge against Stidham was not immediately available today.

Offical misconduct is a Level 6 felony punishable by a term of six to 30 months.

Former Portage mayor John Cannon released the following statement on Wednesday: “My administration successfully rooted out corruption in Portage, in the face of obstruction by my own Democrat-controlled City Council. I want to thank my special investigative committee, Ron Necco, Bill Fekete, and Steven Nelson, who worked in a bipartisan fashion, with counsel Chris Buckley, to expose this criminal scheme to enrich Mr. Stidham at the taxpayers’ expense. We are gratified that today’s charges vindicate our work.”

02262020 - News Article - Former Portage clerk-treasurer charged with official misconduct; audit calls on him to reimburse city $8,000

Former Portage clerk-treasurer charged with official misconduct; audit calls on him to reimburse city $8,000
Chicago Tribune
February 26, 2020
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-portage-stidham-investigation-st-0227-20200226-l6s55wtm65eehhayoj7qhujsqi-story.html

Former Portage Clerk-Treasurer Christopher Stidham was charged Wednesday with a felony for official misconduct, the same day a special audit by the state called on him to reimburse the city for $8,000 “for disbursing funds without authority and for services not rendered.”

The criminal charge, a Level 6 felony, regards the same time period as the special audit conducted by the State Board of Accounts, which is Jan. 1, 2015, through Dec. 31, 2016, when, according to the audit, Stidham was paying his then-girlfriend’s various businesses to perform bookkeeping services on contract with his office.

Stidham, 37, of the 2900 block of Wingstem Drive, is scheduled to appear before Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary DeBoer at 1 p.m. March 17 for an initial hearing on the criminal charge, though that date is likely to change because Stanley Levco, the special prosecutor in the case, said he has a conflict. Levco is based in Evansville.

Stidham referred questions on the matter to his attorney, Paul Stracci.

“At this time, it would be inappropriate for us to comment,” Stracci said.

The audit revealed a slew of problems, including paying his then-girlfriend, Rachel Glass, whom he later married, for bookkeeping services that were never done and not submitting invoices for her businesses to the Board of Works. The audit also requests that Stidham reimburse the state for the cost of the special investigation at $6,564.55.

“I’m really disturbed and troubled to know Chris knowingly misused the public’s trust,” said Mayor Sue Lynch, who served on the City Council when Stidham was clerk-treasurer. Stidham lost a primary bid for mayor last year to Lynch.

The public, she added, puts their trust in elected officials to do the right thing and when officials don’t do that, “it taints the rest of us.”

The audit and the criminal charge, she said, come as the city is trying to rebuild public trust after the conviction of former Mayor James Snyder early last year on federal corruption charges.

“Chris is going to have to face the consequences of his actions. What a shame,” Lynch said. “We’re working hard to rebuild trust in our city and we keep getting slammed with things,” she said.

The criminal investigation, according to the charging document, was conducted by Levco and Chris Campione, a detective with Indiana State Police.

Levco declined to comment, other than to say “it’s a total coincidence” that the audit was released and the felony charge was filed on the same day.

The genesis for the special investigation began in late June when then-Mayor John Cannon announced a committee’s findings “that predicted a ‘sufficient likelihood’ of unlawful conduct warranting further investigation by law enforcement and other officials.”

Cannon, who called on Stidham to resign, said at the time that he appointed a bipartisan executive committee in April to investigate possible wrongdoing in the clerk-treasurer’s office. That report was later turned over to the State Board of Accounts and the state police, agencies that went on to conduct their own investigation.

“It’s a good day. Our work was fruitful,” Cannon said, adding the details of the felony charge are unknown but his team’s investigation showed Stidham had paid his then-girlfriend’s companies more than $58,000.

The total, according to the audit, was $58,416.16 for the two years in question.

Cannon, who lost a bid for mayor to Lynch in November, said over the summer and reiterated Wednesday that the objective of the investigation was a return of the city’s money.

“That was our goal from the beginning,” he said.

The investigation involved unapproved payments made by Stidham’s office in 2015 and 2016 to Glass, who operated, at different times, three businesses that reportedly provided bookkeeping services on contract to the clerk-treasurer’s office: Keeping the Books; E.R.G. Advisors; and Paramount Technology Solutions.

The work by Glass continued until shortly before she and Stidham married.

Stidham, who declined Cannon’s demand to resign and promised to finish his second term in office through the end of 2019, claimed over the summer that the attack was politically motivated and prompted by his testimony in Snyder’s federal corruption trial about hiring his girlfriend to do work for the office as a contractor.

“This is all the regurgitation of a slam against me that the former mayor brought up in his trial trying to save himself,” Stidham said in June, adding he and Glass “were obviously in a relationship so it doesn’t always appear the greatest. We were married and it was done.”

Stidham and Cannon tangled publicly over the investigation for much of the summer, with Stidham defending how he handled claims for the Board of Works, one of the many deficiencies outlined in the audit.

Lynch, then president of the City Council, and Cannon disagreed as well, because she wanted state and law enforcement authorities to look into the alleged improprieties rather than the citizen-led committee appointed by Cannon.

In all, the city paid $18,911.62 to McEuen Law Office for work done related to the special investigation committee, according to documents provided by Lynch.

According to the audit, Rachel Glass Stidham’s businesses were paid $8,000 in 2016 for services related to bank reconcilements, but those documents weren’t prepared until January 2018.

“… it is our position that the City paid for services not received. Furthermore, only one invoice, which included an $875 payment for bank reconciling services, was approved by the BOW,” the audit states.

According to the audit, there were no written contracts for the work done by Rachel Glass Stidham’s firms; the Board of Works minutes didn’t reflect approval of contracts with them; the invoices weren’t submitted to the board for approval; and the city did not properly file tax forms with the IRS for her businesses.

“It is uncertain what, if any, penalties the City might incur for failing to issue and/or properly report information to the Internal Revenue Service,” the audit states.

02262020 - News Article - Former Portage Clerk-Treasurer Stidham charged with official misconduct

Former Portage Clerk-Treasurer Stidham charged with official misconduct
NWI Times
February 26, 2020
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-portage-clerk-treasurer-stidham-charged-with-official-misconduct/article_e4af774f-63e0-57c4-bba5-995f7469628b.html

PORTAGE — Former Democratic Portage Clerk-Treasurer Chris Stidham, who kicked off last year's failed bid for mayor by calling to take the city back from "scandal and chaos," was charged Wednesday with a felony count of official misconduct.

The charge accuses 37-year-old Stidham of "creating obligations in excess of appropriations by issuing a bond, certificate or warrant for the payment of money in excess of an appropriation" while performing his official duties.

The offense occurred between Jan. 1, 2015, and Dec. 31, 2016, according to the charge.

The charge was filed by Special Prosecutor Stanley Levco, a former county prosecutor and judge from Evansville, who was brought in to investigate the case.

Levco could not be reached Wednesday afternoon to elaborate on the charge.

Stidham, an attorney, referred all comments to his defense attorney, Paul Stracci, who was not immediately available for comment.

Stidham is alleged to have paid Keeping the Books, ERG Advisors and Paramount Technology Solutions a combined total of $70,000, contracting them without the city Board of Public Works' approval. All three companies were registered to Rachel E. Glass, Stidham's then-girlfriend and now wife.

The allegations against Stidham originated in April, when then-Mayor John Cannon, a Republican, appointed a bipartisan executive investigative committee to look into potential malfeasance in the clerk-treasurer's office.

Stidham has denied any wrongdoing and previously has said the allegations stem from personal political motivations.

Cannon said in a prepared statement issued Wednesday, "My administration successfully rooted out corruption in Portage, in the face of obstruction by my own Democrat-controlled City Council. We are gratified that today’s charges vindicate our work."

Stidham served two terms as clerk-treasurer before losing a primary battle last year for mayor to fellow Democrat Sue Lynch, who went on to unseat Cannon for the city's top job.

Lynch said Wednesday afternoon she is disappointed by the news.

"I'm troubled to know he knowingly abused the public's trust," she said.

"We're trying to rise above all that in this administration," Lynch said. "We're trying to rebuild the public's trust."

Stidham had sparred with former Republican Portage Mayor James Snyder, who was found guilty last year in federal court of a corrupt truck purchase as well as obstructing the Internal Revenue Service’s collection of income taxes by falsifying documents.

He was granted a new trial on the garbage truck bribery charge and that is now set for April 27.

An initial hearing on Stidham's charge is scheduled for 1 p.m. March 17 before Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary DeBoer.

02112020 - News Article - Former Portage mayor’s bribery trial moved to April

Former Portage mayor’s bribery trial moved to April
NWI Times
February 11, 2020
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/portage/former-portage-mayor-s-bribery-trial-moved-to-april/article_ddd980f7-392f-5abd-8224-2f30873dda3e.html

HAMMOND — A federal judge is giving prosecution and defense attorneys an additional month to prepare for the next public corruption trial of former Portage Mayor James Snyder.

U.S. District Judge Theresa Springmann reset the beginning of Snyder’s jury trial on a bribery count from March 23 to April 27.

Both the government and Snyder’s defense team requested the additional time to prepare, and the judge agreed a delay was needed.

Snyder is pleading not guilty to allegations he solicited a bribe from the former owners of a Portage trucking sale firm in return for steering the city of Portage to buy a used truck from that firm for garbage collection.

A jury heard evidence in the case over 19 days early last year.

Jurors found Snyder guilty of a corrupt truck purchase as well as obstructing the Internal Revenue Service’s collection of income taxes by falsifying documents, but the jury acquitted Snyder of another bribery count involving towing services for Portage.

Snyder’s defense team argued the two guilty verdicts were unjust and that the former mayor should be acquitted of them as well, or at least granted a new trial before a different jury.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen, who had presided over last year’s jury trial, gave the defense a split decision.

He ruled Nov. 27 that Snyder deserved to have a new jury hear evidence on the garbage truck bribery charge. Van Bokkelen upheld the guilty verdict in Snyder’s tax evasion charge.

Van Bokkelen bowed out of the case after that ruling. Springmann took over the case in December. She declined demands by the defense and prosecution to upset Van Bokkelen's final rulings.

02052020 - News Article - Lawyers for former Portage mayor request delay in retrial

Lawyers for former Portage mayor request delay in retrial
Chicago Tribune
February 05, 2020
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-snyder-retrial-update-st-0206-20200205-cpao6l5iozge3jr3f3l2kgf4ue-story.html

Lawyers for Former Portage Mayor James Snyder have requested that his upcoming retrial of one count against him be pushed back one month.

In a joint motion with prosecutors filed Monday, Snyder’s attorneys requested to continue his March 23 trial date to April 27 “to ensure that Mr. Snyder’s counsel will be available to try the case."

Snyder’s attorneys argue that “granting the requested continuance outweigh the interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial," according to the joint motion. If the court doesn’t approve the continuance it “might result in a miscarriage of justice” and “would deny counsel reasonable time for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence," according to the request.

Snyder, who was indicted in November 2016, 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 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, 41, has agreed to forfeit $13,000 to the federal government, documents show.

In February 2019, Snyder filed a motion for a new trial and acquittal on the two counts because of “alleged prosecutorial misconduct” related to the soliciting bribes count and “the Government failed to present sufficient evidence from which a rational jury could find the defendant guilty” regarding corruptly interfering with the administration of IRS laws, according to the order.

In November, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen denied Snyder’s motion for acquittal to both charges, according to the court order. Van Bokkelen denied a motion for a new trial for the corruptly interfering with the IRS charge, but he granted the motion for a new trial on soliciting bribes charge, according to the order.

In December, after Chief Judge Theresa L. Springmann was assigned to the case, Snyder filed motions to dismiss the two counts and a motion to “strike, or in the alternative, an extension of time to seek reconsideration,” on Van Bokkelen’s ruling on the soliciting bribes count, according to the court order.

Springmann issued an order Jan. 21 denying the motions, among other motions that still required rulings in the case.

In January, a jury trial had been set to start March 23 and could last about two weeks, according to court records. Jayna Cacioppo, one of Snyder’s attorneys, confirmed the trial will focus on the soliciting bribes count and that the obstruction charge stands because he was convicted by the jury.

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.

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 2019 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 tria.

Cortina was sentenced Jan. 22 to time served and a $12,000 fine.