08132023 - News Article - Former Portage Mayor James Snyder asks US Supreme Court to consider his case

 





Former Portage Mayor James Snyder asks US Supreme Court to consider his case
Chicago Tribune 
Aug 13, 2023
Former Portage Mayor James Snyder filed a petition earlier this month asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider overturning his conviction in federal court over taking $13,000 in regards to a contract for garbage trucks.

At the crux of the argument filed by his attorneys is whether that payment, which according to court documents was received after the garbage trucks were purchased in exchange for consulting services reportedly provided by Snyder to Great Lakes Peterbilt, the company that sold the garbage trucks, was a gratuity.

Snyder has exhausted his options in the federal appellate court system, with a denial last month by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to give his case another hearing. His attorneys argue in their petition that the circuit courts don’t agree on what constitutes a gratuity, and the Supreme Court has the opportunity to clarify the matter by taking up Snyder’s case.

“There is a split in the Circuits with respect to whether or not the bribery statute also includes gratuities at the State and local level. The Seventh Circuit’s position is that the statute covers both. The First and Fifth Circuits have issued opinions to the contrary. We continue to pursue justice for Mr. Snyder,” Andrea Gambino, one of Snyder’s attorneys, said in an email last month.

The federal statute as it now stands, according to the filing, “criminalizes only quid pro quo bribes — corrupt exchanges like paying a governor to veto a bill, or giving a house inspector a luxury watch in exchange for a passing grade.”

The statute doesn’t cover gratuities, “payments for actions already taken or planned,” like a donation to the governor’s campaign after a veto or buying a gift for the inspector after the report is complete.

“Yet the government’s gratuity theory sweeps much farther,” the filing notes, going on to include the examples of a grandmother thanking a governor for supporting military troops on a donation check after a fight to keep a military base open, or a nurses’ union holding a gala for state public health officials who supported vaccine mandates.

“Those acts ‘reward’ public official for past conduct and thus risk ten years in federal prison for both the official and the grateful constituent,” with a risk of “‘chilling effects’ on protected speech.”

Federal prosecutors have said in court testimony and documents that there was no written agreement between Snyder and the Bruha brothers, who owned Great Lakes Peterbilt, to provide consulting services for health care and information technology, nor was there evidence of any work done under the arrangement.

Snyder filed the petition for a writ of certiorari on Aug. 1; attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice have a Sept. 5 response deadline.

Snyder, 45, a Republican, was first elected mayor in 2011 and was reelected in 2015. He was ordered in late June to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons before 2 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 16 to begin serving his sentence. His placement has yet to be determined.

Snyder’s case has moved in fits and starts since he was first indicted in U.S. District Court in Hammond in November 2016 on a charge of corrupt solicitation involving a contract with Great Lakes Peterbilt for garbage trucks; interfering with the IRS, for hiding funds from the federal agency from his mortgage company; and receiving a bribe for a tow truck contract.

A federal jury found Snyder guilty on the charges involving the garbage truck contract and the IRS and acquitted him on the allegations involving the towing contract.

Snyder asked for and received a new trial on the count involving the garbage trucks, and that trial, in March 2021, also resulted in a jury conviction.

Snyder filed another appeal in October 2021 in an attempt to have both of his convictions overturned and the court granted him bond pending that appeal. The appeals court rejected Snyder’s bid to have his convictions dismissed in a June 15 ruling.

On July 14, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago noted that “no judge in active service has requested a vote on the petition” that Snyder filed asking for a rehearing before the full court, and “all the judges on the original panel have voted to deny the petition for panel rehearing.”

The order went on to note that “Circuit Judge Thomas L. Kirsch II did not participate in the consideration of this petition for rehearing en banc.” Early on in Snyder’s case, Kirsch was his defense attorney before being appointed as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District and later being appointed as an appellate judge.

Snyder has a pending federal lawsuit against Lynch and Dan Whitten, the city attorney, alleging they coached Randy Reeder, a witness in the garbage truck case, not to meet with Snyder or his legal team.

Lynch and Whitten have filed to have the case dismissed.

08122023 - News Article - Former Portage mayor asks Supreme Court to hear his appeal

 






Former Portage mayor asks Supreme Court to hear his appeal
NWI Times
Aug 12, 2023 



WASHINGTON, D.C. — Convicted former Portage Mayor James Snyder is asking the Supreme Court to hear his appeal before he is required to begin his prison term this fall. 

In a 36-page petition for a writ of certiorari, which is a request for the Supreme Court to hear a case, Snyder's lawyers challenge the federal statute under which he was convicted that prohibits a public official from accepting a bribe. His attorneys write that the each of the twelve United States federal circuit courts interpret the law differently, and therefore request an assessment from the nation's highest court. 

The petition was filed Aug. 1, according to court records. The Supreme Court is required to respond by Sept. 5.

The petition comes after U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Matthew Kennelly denied a request July 14 for Snyder, 45, to have his case reheard en banc, meaning his case would be heard before all the court's judges. Snyder's attorneys filed the petition on June 29 after he was denied an appeal on June 15. 

Kennelly previously ordered Snyder to surrender himself Oct. 16 to begin serving a 21-month prison term. Federal prosecutors initially requested Snyder turn himself in the week after his appeal was denied, but Kennelly struck down the request. Since the court denied his motion, he will likely still be required to begin his prison sentence in October. 

In the appeal argued before the Seventh Circuit appeals court in January, attorneys said court should vacate Snyder's convictions because of an alleged government intrusion into the attorney-client relationship as it pertains to the seizure of Snyder's personal and professional email accounts as part of the criminal investigation. Judges determined that none of Snyder’s Fourth and Sixth Amendment rights were violated during the course of the investigation into his conduct.

Snyder was first convicted in February 2019. When his attorneys moved for a judgment of acquittal or a new trial, the district court denied the motion for acquittal but granted Snyder a new trial on the bribery charge. He was convicted for a second time in March 2021 for charges of corrupt solicitation and interfering with the Internal Revenue Service. He accepted a $13,000 bribe in 2014 in return for steering a $1.125 million contract for the purchase of garbage trucks for the city of Portage to the local Great Lakes Peterbilt company and dodged the IRS when they tried to collect his unpaid taxes from his mortgage company. 

When reached by phone Saturday evening, Snyder deferred to his attorneys for comment. His attorneys were not immediately available.

06242023 - News Article - Snyder ordered to prison in Oct. - Former Portage mayor must begin 21-month sentence

 




Snyder ordered to prison in Oct. 
Former Portage mayor must begin 21-month sentence
Post-Tribune, The (Merrillville, IN)
June 24, 2023 
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/



The saga of the federal court case against disgraced former Portage Mayor James Snyder inched closer to a conclusion when a judge on Friday ordered him to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on Oct. 16 to begin serving his 21-month sentence on convictions for bribery and defrauding the IRS.

His sentence also includes one year on supervised release. His sentences on each conviction are to run concurrently.

After Snyder's most recent attempt at an appeal was tossed out by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on June 15, federal prosecutors filed a motion on June 20 to revoke his bond and have him report to begin his sentence within seven days because he could only remain free on bond pending his appeal.

But defense attorney Andrea Gambino in a June 21 filing said that the appeals process still had some life to it and that, throughout Snyder's case, which began with his indictment in November 2016, he had never posed a flight risk or a danger to others, so he should therefore remain free on bond in the meantime.

In the end, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly gave Snyder, 45, four months to turn himself in while admitting that there was the slimmest of chances he could gain some relief through the appellate courts on the bribery conviction, but not the one for the IRS charge. The ruling came during a brief telephonic conference.

Kennelly also said that it's been three years since Snyder's trial and the case has been going on for "longer than that."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu noted the conviction on the IRS charge and said he "can't see any reason under the sun" why an appeal on that charge would go forward.

Kennelly agreed and said the tax charge is "not something the Supreme Court is likely to take up."

In her filing requesting that Snyder's bond remain in place, Gambino said her client will be asking for a panel rehearing on both counts, and that Snyder "has received offers from several large firms with Supreme Court practices, to assist him in preparing a petition for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court," or a review by the higher court, on the bribery charge.

She added that the "offers express the view that the Supreme Court is likely to grant" review of the issue.

During Friday's hearing, Gambino reiterated that Snyder's sentence on the two convictions are to run concurrently. If he were to go into custody now and start serving his sentence on the IRS charge while his appeal of the bribery case went forward and he were to lose the appeal, he could end up serving the sentences consecutively instead.

"It would be remanded for resentencing," Kennelly said, later ruling that Snyder is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons by 2 p.m. on the third Monday in October.

Snyder, a Republican, was first elected mayor in 2011 and was reelected in 2015. He was indicted on two bribery counts, involving garbage truck purchases and towing contracts, and one related to the IRS in November 2016.

The last year of his second term was cut short in February 2019 when a federal jury convicted him 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 from the IRS when he owed personal and business taxes.

He was acquitted on the second bribery charge involving the towing contracts, a charge that generated a guilty plea from co-defendant John Cortina.

Snyder asked for and received a new trial on the bribery conviction involving the garbage trucks, and that trial, in March 2021, also resulted in a jury conviction.

Snyder filed another appeal in October 2021 in an attempt to have both of his convictions overturned and the court granted him bond pending that appeal.

Snyder has a pending federal lawsuit against current Portage Mayor Sue Lynch and Dan Whitten, the city attorney, alleging they coached Randy Reeder, a witness in the bribery case, not to meet with Snyder or his legal team.

Lynch and Whitten have filed to have the case dismissed.

06232023 - News Article - Former GOP Portage Mayor Snyder given surrender date to begin federal bribery, tax prison sentence

 




Former GOP Portage Mayor Snyder given surrender date to begin federal bribery, tax prison sentence
Times, The (Munster, IN)
June 23, 2023 
HAMMOND — A federal judge Friday ordered former GOP Portage Mayor James Snyder to surrender himself Oct. 16 to begin serving a 21-month prison term for his bribery and tax violation convictions.

Federal prosecutors sought to have 45-year-old Snyder turn himself in by Tuesday, but that request was denied by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly.

During the Friday morning telephonic hearing, Kennelly referred to defense hopes of a successful appeal, specifically on the bribery charge, but said it remains a longshot.

"This is a really old case," he said.

In arguing for a delay in Snyder's surrender, defense attorney Andréa E. Gambino said, "We're not finished with the appeals process."

Snyder intends to seek another appellate hearing, as well as potentially seek to have the case heard by the Supreme Court, she said in a filing before the court.

"Mr. Snyder has received offers from several large firms with Supreme Court practices, to assist him in preparing a petition for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court," according to the defense. "These offers express the view that the Supreme Court is likely to grant certiorari on the issue."

The action in the case comes just more than a week after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit rejected all of Snyder's claims of error in his case, which upheld his convictions.

"Now that the judgment has been affirmed, it is appropriate to revoke the defendant's bond and have the defendant surrender to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons," Amarjeet Bhachu, special attorney for the United States, had written in his request for a more immediate surrender.

The motion references federal code "permitting bond pending appeal only when appeal presents a 'substantial question of law' likely to result in reversal or new trial."

"In view of the fact that this matter has been pending for a considerable period, the government respectfully requests that the defendant be ordered to surrender within seven days, on or before June 27, 2023," the motion reads.

The sentence, passed down Kennelly in October 2021, was well below the recommended sentencing guideline of 46 to 57 months on Snyder's federal bribery and tax violation convictions.

Kennelly then in December 2021 granted Snyder's request to remain out on bond while appealing his convictions, one of which had been affirmed during two different trials.

Snyder was found guilty of soliciting and accepting a $13,000 bribe in 2014 in return for steering a $1.125 million contract for the purchase of garbage trucks for the city of Portage to the local Great Lakes Peterbilt company. Additionally, federal prosecutors said he obstructed the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to collect unpaid taxes on a private mortgage company he ran.

He was tried and found guilty in February 2019. When Snyder's attorneys moved for a judgment of acquittal or a new trial, the district court denied the motion for acquittal but granted Snyder a new trial on the bribery charge. He was convicted for a second time in March 2021.

In an appeal argued before the court in January, Snyder's defense team said his rights were violated when the government seized email communications between him and his attorney as part of the discovery of evidence in the case.

The government maintained the integrity of its investigation through a filtering process in which federal agents determine which emails are considered "privileged" communications that should not be disclosed to the prosecution.

"The emails had been seized and the filter process completed before Snyder was indicted in November 2016, and only at that time did his Sixth Amendment right to counsel attach," the appellate court wrote. The court also concluded that seizure of Snyder's emails under the warrant did not violate the particularity requirement of the Fourth Amendment.

Snyder's team further argued that his conviction was not supported by sufficient evidence, which the judges did not find to be legitimate.

"The evidence here was sufficient to support the jury's verdict," the judges said. "Evidence at trial established that Snyder owed personal and payroll taxes and that the IRS had taken 'specific, targeted' steps to collect by levying Snyder's personal and business bank accounts."

Snyder's legal team took additional action in March, suing the city of Portage, Democratic Mayor Sue Lynch and city attorney Dan Whitten, accusing the two of instructing city employees, including case witness Randall Reeder Jr., to not meet with Snyder and his legal team as they prepared for his second trial.

Attorneys for the city, Lynch and Whitten filed a motion in May to dismiss. Snyder's legal team has five days to respond to the motion, according to federal court records.

06212023 - News Article - Feds want Snyder to surrender himself

 




Feds want Snyder to surrender himself
June 21, 2023 
Times, The (Munster, IN)
HAMMOND — Federal prosecutors are seeking to have former Republican Portage Mayor James Snyder surrender himself in no more than a week to begin serving a 21-month prison sentence on his bribery and tax violation convictions.

The request, which was filed Tuesday, comes in the wake of Thursday's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit that rejected all of Snyder's claims of error in his case, which upheld his convictions.

"Now that the judgment has been affirmed, it is appropriate to revoke the defendant's bond and have the defendant surrender to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons," according to Amarjeet Bhachu, special attorney for the United States.

The motion references federal code "permitting bond pending appeal only when appeal presents a 'substantial question of law' likely to result in reversal or new trial."

"In view of the fact that this matter has been pending for a considerable period, the government respectfully requests that the defendant be ordered to surrender within seven days, on or before June 27, 2023," the motion reads.

Snyder's defense attorney had not filed a response by early Tuesday afternoon.

Snyder, 45, was found guilty of soliciting and accepting a $13,000 bribe in 2014 in return for steering a $1.125 million contract for the purchase of garbage trucks for the city of Portage to the local Great Lakes Peterbilt company. Additionally, federal prosecutors said he obstructed the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to collect unpaid taxes on a private mortgage company he ran.

He was tried and found guilty in February 2019. When Snyder's attorney's moved for a judgment of acquittal or a new trial, the district court denied the motion for acquittal but granted Snyder a new trial on the bribery charge. He was convicted for a second time in March 2021.

In an appeal argued before the court in January, Snyder's defense team said his rights were violated when the government seized email communications between him and his attorney as part of the discovery of evidence in the case.

The government maintained the integrity of its investigation through a filtering process in which federal agents determine which emails are considered "privileged" communications that should not be disclosed to the prosecution.

"The emails had been seized and the filter process completed before Snyder was indicted in November 2016, and only at that time did his Sixth Amendment right to counsel attach," the appellate court wrote. The court also concluded that seizure of Snyder's emails under the warrant did not violate the particularity requirement of the Fourth Amendment.

Snyder's team further argued that his conviction was not supported by sufficient evidence, which the judges did not find to be legitimate.

"The evidence here was sufficient to support the jury's verdict," the judges said. "Evidence at trial established that Snyder owed personal and payroll taxes and that the IRS had taken 'specific, targeted' steps to collect by levying Snyder's personal and business bank accounts."

Snyder's legal team took additional action in March, suing the city of Portage, Democratic Mayor Sue Lynch and city attorney Dan Whitten, accusing the two of instructing city employees, including case witness Randall Reeder Jr., to not meet with Snyder and his legal team as they prepared for his second trial.

Attorneys for the city, Lynch and Whitten filed a motion in May to dismiss. Snyder's legal team has five days to respond to the motion, according to federal court records.

06212023 - News Article - Friday hearing set on request for former GOP Portage Mayor Snyder's prison surrender

 




Friday hearing set on request for former GOP Portage Mayor Snyder's prison surrender
June 21, 2023 
Times, The (Munster, IN)
HAMMOND — Former GOP Portage Mayor James Snyder could find out Friday morning if he will be required to surrender himself by Tuesday as requested by federal prosecutors to begin serving a 21-month prison term.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly, who had sentenced Snyder in October 2021, announced Wednesday morning his intention to hold a telephonic meeting to address the surrender date.

The sentence was well below the recommended sentencing guideline of 46 to 57 months on Snyder's federal bribery and tax violation convictions.

Federal prosecutors filed a request Tuesday for the prompt surrender date following Thursday's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit that rejected all of Snyder's claims of error in his case, which upheld his convictions.

"Now that the judgment has been affirmed, it is appropriate to revoke the defendant's bond and have the defendant surrender to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons," according to Amarjeet Bhachu, special attorney for the United States.

The motion references federal code "permitting bond pending appeal only when appeal presents a 'substantial question of law' likely to result in reversal or new trial."

"In view of the fact that this matter has been pending for a considerable period, the government respectfully requests that the defendant be ordered to surrender within seven days, on or before June 27, 2023," the motion reads.

Snyder's defense attorney had not filed a response by late Wednesday morning.

Snyder, 45, was found guilty of soliciting and accepting a $13,000 bribe in 2014 in return for steering a $1.125 million contract for the purchase of garbage trucks for the city of Portage to the local Great Lakes Peterbilt company. Additionally, federal prosecutors said he obstructed the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to collect unpaid taxes on a private mortgage company he ran.

He was tried and found guilty in February 2019. When Snyder's attorney's moved for a judgment of acquittal or a new trial, the district court denied the motion for acquittal but granted Snyder a new trial on the bribery charge. He was convicted for a second time in March 2021.

In an appeal argued before the court in January, Snyder's defense team said his rights were violated when the government seized email communications between him and his attorney as part of the discovery of evidence in the case.

The government maintained the integrity of its investigation through a filtering process in which federal agents determine which emails are considered "privileged" communications that should not be disclosed to the prosecution.

"The emails had been seized and the filter process completed before Snyder was indicted in November 2016, and only at that time did his Sixth Amendment right to counsel attach," the appellate court wrote. The court also concluded that seizure of Snyder's emails under the warrant did not violate the particularity requirement of the Fourth Amendment.

Snyder's team further argued that his conviction was not supported by sufficient evidence, which the judges did not find to be legitimate.

"The evidence here was sufficient to support the jury's verdict," the judges said. "Evidence at trial established that Snyder owed personal and payroll taxes and that the IRS had taken 'specific, targeted' steps to collect by levying Snyder's personal and business bank accounts."

Snyder's legal team took additional action in March, suing the city of Portage, Democratic Mayor Sue Lynch and city attorney Dan Whitten, accusing the two of instructing city employees, including case witness Randall Reeder Jr., to not meet with Snyder and his legal team as they prepared for his second trial.

Attorneys for the city, Lynch and Whitten filed a motion in May to dismiss. Snyder's legal team has five days to respond to the motion, according to federal court records.

08132023 - News Article - Former Portage Mayor James Snyder asks US Supreme Court to consider his case

  Former Portage Mayor James Snyder asks US Supreme Court to consider his case Chicago Tribune  Aug 13, 2023 https://www.chicagotribune.com/...