Lake County, Indiana, Sheriff John Buncich found guilty of fraud, bribery
Post Tribune
August 24, 2017
chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-buncich-trial-day-14-st-0825-20170824-story.html
Lake County Democrats soon will select a new sheriff after a federal jury on Thursday convicted John Buncich on public corruption charges accusing him of accepting bribes for larger shares of local tow truck work.
A 12-person jury, composed of eight men and four women, returned a guilty verdict Thursday morning on five counts of wire fraud and honest services wire fraud and one count of bribery. Buncich, 71, remains on bond until his sentencing Dec. 6, but must immediately forfeit his post as the county's top law enforcement official, officials said.
"The United States Attorney's office will continue to vigorously prosecute public officials who use their public office as means for personal enrichment," Acting U.S. Attorney Clifford Johnson said in a statement. "All citizens deserve public officials who work for the public interest and not their own interest."
The jury began deliberating shortly before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday before breaking just before 10 p.m. Jurors resumed their deliberations at 9 a.m. Thursday and reached a verdict by 10:05 a.m., capping the 13-day trial filled with testimony from local tow-truck operators, accountants and public officials.
Federal prosecutors presented evidence and testimony alleging the sheriff accepted bribes, often in the form of campaign fundraising tickets, to help tow operators get more jobs through the county. Defense attorneys argued the donations were made without any intention of influencing Lake County's top cop and that it was all set up by the FBI.
Defense attorney Bryan Truitt said he and co-counsel Larry Rogers were "very disappointed" by the jury's verdict. Truitt said he and Rogers have been practicing law for a long time and tried a lot of cases, and neither has been so firmly convinced of their client's innocence as they were with Buncich.
"Mr. Buncich holds his head up high knowing that the truth is that he didn't do anything wrong, that he is a good man and proud of his service to Lake County," Truitt said in front of the federal courthouse in Hammond after the verdict.
Buncich, meanwhile, stood off to the side, and did not give a personal statement.
James Wieser, chairman of the Lake County Democratic Central Committee, said state law requires the sheriff step down once the jury rendered its verdict, starting the process to plan a caucus to fill the vacancy. Wieser said he'll call a caucus of the county's Democratic precinct committeemen within 30 days of the office being vacated and select a new sheriff.
The committee is in the process of figuring out the date, location and sending out notices for the caucus, he said.
Buncich found guilty of fraud, bribery
Lake County Chief Dennis M. Eaton will run the the sheriff's department during the interim, Wieser said.
"He's a respected career law enforcement officer," Michael Repay, president of the Lake County Board of Commissioners, said of Eaton. "Eaton will carry the ball until the caucus."
Repay said Eaton has the full support of the Board of Commissioners.
"This is a big operation to keep going and we have confidence he will keep it going," Repay said.
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, who testified for the defense last week, said Thursday in a statement: "As a citizen, I respect the province of the jury. As a friend and colleague, I am praying for Sheriff Buncich and his family. We must all remember the sacred nature of our public trust."
Wieser said he's known Buncich for a long time and never anticipated anything like this would happen.
"I'm saddened by the verdict. I don't take any joy in it," Wieser said. "I'm upset again for the Democratic Party."
Wieser said part of the reason he ran for party chairman is to see the party take a new direction, and it's time to change the culture and image of impropriety.
"There's just no room for it," Wieser said.
During closing arguments Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson said Buncich is heard on the recordings wanting to get back the $85,000 he invested in his campaign and the evidence shows he sought to recover that money from tow operators.
"You now know that he was absolutely serious about getting that money back because you saw how he got it," Benson said.
Rogers, during closing arguments, said the sheriff had a stellar reputation among law enforcement and the community until the government began its investigation. Rogers said the FBI produced encounters with the sheriff to make it appear Buncich is corrupt.
"The government has systematically set out to paint the sheriff as a bad person," Rogers said.
Buncich, former Lake County Chief of Police Timothy Downs and William Szarmach, of CSA Towing in Lake Station, were named in a multicount indictment in November, alleging a towing scheme in which the sheriff accepted bribes in the form of thousands of dollars in cash and donations to his campaign fund, Buncich Boosters, according to court records.
Downs pleaded guilty in December and resigned his position at the Lake County Sheriff's department, according to court documents. Szarmach pleaded guilty in July, a week before the trial started.
Both agreed, as a condition of the agreements, to testify against Buncich.
Truitt said the defense will do everything it can to have the verdict set aside.
"I don't want to speculate on what they (the jury) were thinking," Truitt said. "I think they sure as heck got something wrong or confused."
As part of a stipulation filed Thursday in the case, Buncich agreed to forfeit $34,000 tied to the case if he was convicted on any of his counts, court records show.
"Public officials who abuse their positions for personal financial gain at the expense of the taxpayers will not be tolerated," W. Jay Abbott, special agent in charge of the FBI's Indianapolis Division, said in a statement. "The FBI and our federal, state and local partners will continue to aggressively pursue those across Indiana who corrupt their office for self-serving motives."
Dan Dernulc, chairman of the Lake County Republican Party and a Lake County councilman, said elected officials should be held to a higher standard, calling the case a "a black eye for Lake County."
"If you do something that is not right, you're going to be found out for sure," Dernulc said. "You should not enrich yourself, especially on the public clock."
Incidents such as the case against the Buncich impact how the public views elected officials, Wieser said, and most are honest and decent.
"Everybody gets painted with a broad brush," Wieser said.
Repay said the verdict allows Lake County to move beyond the corruption case.
"Today was a day where justice was served," Repay said.
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