Tuesday, January 16, 2018

01162018 - News Article - Former Northwest Indiana sheriff gets 15 years in prison for public corruption



Former Northwest Indiana sheriff gets 15 years in prison for public corruption
Post-Tribune
January 16, 2008 - 3:57 PM
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-buncich-sentencing-hearing-st-0117-20180116-story.html

A federal judge Tuesday sentenced convicted former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich to 188 months in federal prison after Buncich was convicted of public corruption charges in August.

Judge James Moody handed down the sentence after federal prosecutors argued for a weighty prison term after the former sheriff, 72, was convicted of using his office to solicit bribes from tow truck operators. Buncich, who has maintained his innocence, sought a more lenient sentence.

A jury convicted Buncich of bribery, wire fraud and honest services wire fraud in August after 14 days of testimony.

Buncich, former Chief Timothy Downs and William Szarmach, of C.S.A. Towing, were named in a multicount indictment in November 2016 alleging a towing scheme where 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 2016, according to court documents, and Szarmach pleaded guilty in July 2017. Both agreed to testify against Buncich during his August trial.

Sentencings for Downs and Szarmach have not been set, according to court documents.



No comments:

Post a Comment