Former chief of police, tow operator testify at Sheriff Buncich corruption trial
Chicago Tribune
August 08, 2017
At the mention of whether to pay cash or check, video played in Hammond federal court Tuesday showed former Lake County Police Chief Timothy Downs waving his hands and shaking his head.
"You're not asking. You never ask. I get that," said Scott Jurgensen, a tow operator and informant for the FBI.
The video of Downs and Jurgensen meeting at a Merrillville restaurant for breakfast in April 2014 was one of a couple of video and audio recordings played in court Tuesday on the second day of Lake County Sheriff John Buncich's public corruption jury trial.
Both of Buncich's co-defendants took the stand Tuesday. While Downs and William "Willie" Szarmach pleaded guilty and took plea agreements with the government, requiring them to testify at trial, Buncich has maintained his innocence over accusations that he accepted thousands of dollars in bribes for his campaign as part of an illegal towing scheme.
FBI Special Agent Nathan Holbrook took the stand as Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson played recordings made by Jurgensen. Most of what's said in the recordings was indecipherable without the transcripts passed out to the jury, but Benson and Holbrook helped explain portions of the recordings.
The April 2014 video switches between views of the ceiling and Downs' face as the two drink coffee and iced tea and discuss towing in Lake County.
Surveillance photos Benson presented of an August 2014 meeting between Downs, Jurgensen and Szarmach at a Hobart restaurant, which Holbrook said was a frequent meeting spot, show the three laughing and talking the parking lot with Szarmach's red CSA Towing truck parked nearby.
Benson said Downs and Szarmach often raised concerns about being recorded at the meetings, referencing George Van Til, a former Lake County Surveyor convicted for using county resources to run his campaign.
On the stand, Downs discussed how he was tasked by the sheriff with selling tickets to Buncich's campaign fundraisers each year to towing operators.
"I didn't like it and I didn't agree with it," Downs said.
While Downs admitted Buncich never explicitly said Downs would be fired if he didn't comply, Downs said, "Honestly, if I didn't do this, I wouldn't have a job."
He met with tow operators to collect money and to hear their requests, he said, but ultimately it was up to the sheriff who was on the tow list.
Downs also recalled June 3, 2015, the day he was arrested by the FBI after leaving a meeting at the Hobart restaurant with Szarmach and Jurgensen with thousands of dollars in cash in an envelope above the visor of his car, he said.
Downs told Benson he remembers that day and how he agreed to wear a wire for the FBI in the investigation. Benson asked Downs why he agreed to do so.
"It was the right thing to do," Downs said.
At his turn on the stand, Szarmach described the times he donated to Buncich's campaign fundraisers, followed by cash payments and restaurant meetings they had, once leaving money in an envelope on the front seat of his truck for Buncich.
Szarmach said he felt he needed to do that to "be able to secure a spot on the tow list."
By meeting with Downs and Buncich, Szarmach said he and Jurgensen wanted to improve their calls for towing in Lake County, including with the sheriff's department's involvement in towing for a Gary ordinance, in New Chicago and at Indiana University Northwest in Gary.
Larry Rogers, one of Buncich's defense attorneys, argued, though, that it was up to Szarmach how many tickets he bought and the payment method he used. Rogers also claimed that Downs and Buncich never directly asked for the money or threatened to kick Szarmach off the list if he didn't pay.
"Did (Buncich) tell you give me X amount of dollars and you will tow for me?" Rogers asked.
"No," Szarmach said.
"John Buncich never promised you anything, did he?" Rogers asked.
"No," Szarmach said.
Throughout the day, the government presented other pieces of evidence to the jury other than the video and audio recordings. Benson displayed two emails from Buncich outlining changes to towing operations in the county; sections about ethics and political activities conducted on government time from the Lake County Employee Handbook ;and a printout from the Lake County Sheriff's Department's website outlining the department's code of ethics.
Those in the courtroom Tuesday included people from the government, families of the defense attorneys, Mark Back, sheriff's department spokesman, Cmdr. Sharon Bennett, with the sheriff's SVU unit, John Bushemi, an attorney for the sheriff's department, and others.
Benson told the court he planned to resume with the recordings Wednesday morning.
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