Juror from Portage mayor's bribery trial: 'No one thought he was not dirty'
Chicago Tribune
February 15, 2019
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/james-snyder-s-legacy-leaves-a-mix-of-scandal-and/article_b92909d0-b26e-5694-8aaa-ce8d0f1c24e1.html
For the jury that convicted former Portage Mayor James Snyder, the decision was “obvious” on two guilty verdicts but reasonable doubt led to one not guilty verdict.
Erin Guerra, one of the Snyder jurors, talked about what went into the four women and eight men of the jury finding the now former Portage mayor guilty of bribery for taking a kickback off garbage truck contracts and obstructing the IRS, but cleared him of a second bribery count that made allegations of pay-to-play towing. Guerra is a former Post-Tribune employee.
Guerra said during deliberations, the jurors worked their way through each count, listened to each other’s perspectives on the facts of the case, and eventually reached unanimous verdicts.
For both bribery counts, Guerra said the jury was split at the beginning.
“No one thought he was not dirty,” Guerra said.
Guerra said the jury argued over reasonable doubt on both bribery counts.
After a 19-day trial, Snyder was convicted Thursday. His sentencing is tentatively set for May.
When the jury began deliberations Wednesday morning, they first tackled the obstructing the IRS charge.
Guerra said the jury quickly made up its mind, but still discussed the charge, even though they didn’t need to.
“It was very obvious,” Guerra said.
Prosecutors said 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. Snyder had money flow through a company called SRC, but did not tell the IRS about that bank account.
“We could not see any good purpose for the account other than to hide assets,” Guerra said.
With the garbage truck deal, Guerra said all the facts gathered up were against Snyder.
Prosecutors said 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 Robert and Steve Buha.
Great Lakes Peterbilt is now owned by a different firm.
Defense attorneys said Snyder used his experience in offering health insurance to city employees through the Affordable Care Act, and making technology upgrades to advise Great Lakes Peterbilt about making similar changes.
Some jurors almost bought that Snyder was consulting for the Buhas, Guerra said, but the timing of the payment and the purchase order the then-mayor signed looked suspicious.
The defense couldn’t even decide what Snyder was consulting on, Guerra said.
Throughout the trial, Snyder’s attorneys said he consulted on health care and information technology, but testimony from defense witnesses told jurors it was about phones, payroll, or referring Great Lakes Peterbilt to a tax attorney.
Guerra said a contract for the work couldn’t be produced, either by a subpoena from federal investigators or by the defense.
The bulk of deliberations centered on allegations of pay-to-play towing, she said.
Federal prosecutors said the mayor allegedly solicited money from John Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, and “Individual A” and gave them a towing contract for Portage.
Cortina, 79, who was indicted alongside the mayor, 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’s defense said during the trial that prosecutors presented no evidence that Snyder knowingly accepted any money that was purported to be a bribe. The defense said Snyder considered the money a loan from Cortina, a friend and political supporter, to help cover his legal fees.
Part of the first day and the entire second day centered on that one count, Guerra said. Jurors listened to some of the undercover recordings, read over transcripts of those conversations, and pored over the evidence, which was packaged in roughly 10 binders and a large box.
The jurors deliberately tried to see other people’s perspective on the charge as they discussed it, Guerra said.
Guerra said there wasn’t a smoking gun. She said there was concern about how much time had lapsed from the time of the payment to when Cortina and Jurgensen got on the list, and that Snyder and Cortina had known each other for several years.
“We thought it was fishy,” Guerra said. “It feels wrong but the evidence is just not there.”
When the trial was over, Guerra said she started reading articles about the case, and watched a video of Snyder discussing the verdict after it was announced.
“Today, we were able to knock one of the charges out. Thankfully the jury can see through that one,” Snyder said, after the verdict was announced. “The journey is still ongoing. We have two more counts to deal with.”
Guerra said she was surprised to see what Snyder told reporters outside the courthouse.
“Not one of us thought you were innocent,” Guerra said. “You weren’t technically guilty.”
Snyder said he will appeal the convictions.
“It’s weird making a decision knowing the whole thing will be appealed,” Guerra said.
When Guerra arrived at the federal courthouse in Hammond for jury selection on Jan. 14, many prospective jurors were worried about the fact the trial could run for a month. Guerra said when the judge said what case the jury would hear, she thought, “OK, at least it’ll be interesting.”
“I’m glad I did it,” Guerra said.
The jurors spent much of deliberations in a room that left just enough room for a conference table and chairs. The jurors had a white board they used to work through the charges, Guerra said, and a “nice, big” window.
When they were first picked, Guerra said it was quiet as the jurors hadn’t gotten to know each other yet, and they weren’t used to not having their phones accessible. As time wore on, Guerra said the jurors started joking around to help pass the time.
The judge, staff and court security officers were accommodating, Guerra said,
“They did everything they could to make sure serving was not a burden,” Guerra said.
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