08162017 - News Article - UPDATE: Buncich Trial day 8: Defense witnesses say they were not pressured to buy fundraiser tickets

UPDATE: Buncich Trial day 8: Defense witnesses say they were not pressured to buy fundraiser tickets
NWI Times
August 16, 2017
nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-buncich-trial-day-defense-witnesses-say-they-werenot/article_8eab2696-bd02-5ca6-b98e-ebfcb513e8a3.html

HAMMOND — Lake County Sheriff John Buncich's lawyers continued to make their case that bribery had nothing to do with Lake County towing.

Buncich's public corruption trial entered its eighth day Wednesday, although it was cut short when U.S. District Court Judge James Moody recessed at 10:45 a.m. for the day.

Three defense witnesses testified in the early morning.

Stephen R. "Chip" Lukasik, owner of Stan's Towing in St. John, testified he and his father before him towed for Buncich and other county sheriffs for more than six decades.

He said he didn't pay to get on Buncich's tow list. He said he typically bought 10 tickets so he and his guests could occupy a table at Buncich's fundraisers. "I looked forward to going to the fundraisers," Lukasik said.

He said he was never pressured to buy tickets.

Lukasik said on cross-examination he always paid his donations with a check. "You want a trail, to be above-board," he said.

The government alleges cash payments were made by its witnesses, Scott Jurgensen, owner of Samson's Towing in Merrillville and a confidential FBI informant, and William "Willie" Szarmach, of Hobart, the owner of CSA Towing in Lake Station. Szarmach has pleaded guilty to bribing the sheriff with cash.

Mary Eaton, a Lake County E-911 police dispatcher, testified on direct examination the county's computer system designated which towing firm should be called to remove a vehicle from county streets or highways.

Earlier witnesses said the sheriff divided the county into districts to give each of a dozen towing firms working for the county a fair share of the work.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Benson argued the sheriff made changes in the towing distribution system in response to payments by Jurgensen and Szarmach.

Joseph Hamer, an internal affairs investigator for the sheriff's department, testified he has become friends with the sheriff, who he believes has a reputation for being honest and law-abiding. "He is someone I've (idolized) for many years," Hamer.

Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson testified Tuesday morning she and the sheriff agreed to have the sheriff deploy county police officers to assist the understaffed Gary Police Department in reducing crime in the city, which included county officers towing derelict vehicles that were contributing to blight and crime in the city.

Government witnesses earlier indicated the Gary towing was inspired by Jurgensen and Szarmach for the purposes of generating towing revenue and kickbacks for the sheriff.

Jurgensen was a confidential FBI informant, and Szarmach agreed to become a government witness after pleading guilty to paying the sheriff bribes.

The two testified last week they gave the sheriff about $30,000 in campaign contributions and kickbacks between 2009 and 2016 in return for more lucrative towing work.

Freeman-Wilson said she contributed to Buncich's political campaigns but only wrote checks, never gave cash.

Jim Simonovski, of Simons Auto Repair, testified Tuesday he wasn't pressured to buy the sheriff's fundraising tickets. He said he bought between five and 10 tickets about twice a year. He said he only bought a few and was never punished for not buying all.

The sheriff's lawyers indicated they could rest their case as early as Thursday, unless the sheriff takes the stand in his own defense, a decision they won't make until then.