FBI agent testifies he saw Lake County Sheriff Buncich take cash from tow operator
Chicago Tribune
August 10, 2017
Under questioning by a defense attorney representing Lake County Sheriff John Buncich, an FBI agent testified Thursday that he saw a tow operator give Buncich $7,500.
Bryan Truitt, during cross-examination, asked FBI Special Agent Nathan Holbrook if, during a September 2016 meeting at a Merrillville restaurant, he saw Buncich hand Scott Jurgensen, of Samson's Towing, any fundraiser tickets in exchange for $7,500.
"No," Holbrook said.
Buncich was indicted nine months ago and charged with accepting thousands of dollars in bribes for his campaign as part of an illegal towing scheme, according to prosecutors.
While Buncich opted to go to trial, his two co-defendants in the case, Timothy Downs, former Lake County chief of police, and William "Willie" Szarmach, of CSA Towing in Lake Station, took plea agreements and are testifying for the government.
Federal prosecutors continued screening a series of recordings and surveillance videos Thursday that reportedly showed the underpinnings of a scheme to solicit bribes, often via campaign fundraiser tickets, from tow operators with promises of getting more territory from the Lake County Sheriff's Department.
The series of audio and video clips played by prosecutors for the jury followed a timeline, from when the tow operators told the sheriff about the lack of jobsto a series of meetings with the officer then in charge of those enforcing the Gary towing ordinance to the eventual assignment of a new officer to that detail.
The original enforcement officer told Buncich and Downs that he was hearing he should be towing more cars, according to undercover recordings made by Downs and the FBI.
"I just don't want you mad at me," he said.
Jurgensen and Buncich met at the Merrillville restaurant in September 2016, once a new officer had been assigned to enforce the Gary ordinances.
During that exchange, Holbrook said surveillance photos taken showed Jurgensen handing Buncich a white envelope containing $7,500 cash.
Jurgensen is heard on one of the recordings taken during that meeting saying that the new officer seemed to be working out pretty well.
"Well John, I really appreciate what you did for me," Jurgensen said on the audio recording.
Both Downs and Szarmach testified earlier in the week about how the sheriff allegedly had an expectation that in exchange for more tow jobs, people had to pay.
On Wednesday, jurors saw a video recorded by Downs in July 2015 where he delivered $7,500 in cash to Buncich, who was seated at his desk at the Lake County Government Center in Crown Point.
That same day, prosecutors presented more than seven hours of audio and video recordings that chronicled transactions between Downs, Szarmach, Jurgensen and Buncich.
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