Judge agrees to move sheriff's trial to April
Post-Tribune
January 10, 2017
A federal judge on Tuesday agreed to push back the trial of Lake County Sheriff John Buncich to April.
The sheriff, who was indicted in November on a series of corruption charges, was slated for his trial to begin Jan. 17, according to court documents, but Judge Paul Cherry consented to delaying the court proceeding until Buncich's defense team has had adequate time to prepare his defense and review information collected by federal authorities during their investigation.
Cherry, in his order, wrote that not moving the trial date would make it difficult for Buncich and his attorneys to prepare their case.
Buncich's attorney, Bryan Truitt, filed a motion last week in federal court that aimed to move the sheriff's trial from Jan. 17 to April, according to court documents, and cited the potential for needing to review "voluminous" material, including more than 45 CDs of audio and video recordings.
Truitt, in his motion, said that Buncich's defense team has yet to receive discovery material from federal authorities and would not be able to prepare for a January trial. Without being prepared, Buncich would not receive a fair trial, Truitt said.
"The government represents that the discovery is massive and the defense would not be able to sort through it all by Jan. 17, 2017, even if the same were received today," Truitt wrote.
Buncich, former Chief of Police Timothy Downs and William Szarmach, of CSA Towing in Lake Station, were named in a multicount indictment alleging an illegal towing scheme in which the sheriff accepted bribes in the form of thousands of dollars in cash and donations to his campaign fund, Buncich's Boosters, according to court records. All three are facing charges of wire fraud, while Buncich and Szarmach also are charged with bribery.
The sheriff, whose department was in charge of deciding which companies were called for towing services, and the chief allegedly steered business toward towing operators in exchange for cash and checks, the U.S. attorney alleged in a 14-page indictment. Buncich allegedly took more than $25,000 in cash bribes and $7,000 in checks from Szarmach and another towing operator identified as "Individual A," according to the indictment.
Buncich and Szarmach pleaded not guilty during their initial appearances in November.
Downs struck a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office, which a federal judge has not yet accepted, admitting he allegedly cooperated with Buncich to solicit bribes from tow truck operators for favorable treatment. In addition, Downs, in the agreement, said he submitted his resignation from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
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