Federal bribery trial for ex-Portage mayor put on hold
NWI Times
March 12, 2020
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/federal-bribery-trial-for-ex-portage-mayor-put-on-hold/article_d4674dd5-5257-5d80-aaa1-4922ec30b4b7.html
HAMMOND — The federal bribery trial of former Portage Mayor James E. Snyder is on indefinite hold while a judge decides whether to hold such a trial at all.
U.S. District Court Judge Theresa L. Springmann canceled a jury trial that had been set to begin April 27 to give lawyers for the government and Snyder’s defense team time to present written argument whether Snyder would be a victim of double jeopardy if the trial were to go forward.
Snyder is pleading not guilty to allegations he used his office as Portage mayor to steer $1.125 million in city contracts to a trucking firm and then solicited and received $13,000 from the firm’s former owners in return.
A federal jury found Snyder guilty of bribery Feb. 14, 2019, but his defense lawyers succeeded in getting a judge to set that verdict aside on grounds of prosecutorial irregularities that denied Snyder a fair trial.
Having won a new trial, his lawyers now argue a second trial would violate the U.S. Constitution’s rule against putting a person on trial twice for the same crime.
Snyder’s lawyers argue there would be no need for a second trial because last year’s jury would likely have acquitted Snyder, but for prosecutorial misconduct.
Judge Springmann is giving federal prosecutors until April 10 to respond to the double jeopardy question. The judge then will give Snyder’s lawyers until April 24 — only three days before the trial was set to begin — to reply to the federal prosecutors' arguments before ruling on the matter.
Springmann didn’t schedule a new beginning for a second trial, if she decides such a trial is still necessary.
Federal prosecutors first charged Snyder in November 2016 with two bribery counts and one tax evasion count.
A jury, overseen by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen, heard evidence in the case against Snyder early last 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.
But the same jury found Snyder guilty of bribery for the $13,000 payment.
Snyder contends the $13,000 was for legitimate work as a consultant for the trucking firm.
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 guilty verdicts removed Snyder from public office.
Snyder’s defense team pressed Van Bokkelen to overturn the two guilty verdicts, arguing misconduct by federal prosecutors denied Snyder a fair trial.
Van Bokkelen ruled Nov. 27 Snyder deserves a new trial on the garbage truck bribery count before dropping out of the case. Springmann entered to oversee the new trial.
Van Bokkelen stopped short of condemning prosecutors of misconduct, but 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 has argued to Van Bokkelen and now Springmann that Steve and Bob Buha, owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt, would have convinced a jury, had they testified, they didn’t pay Snyder a bribe, but rather paid him for legitimate consulting services he had earned in working for Great Lakes.
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