01162018 - News Article - UPDATE: In 'the darkest day' of his life former Sheriff John Buncich is sentenced to 188 months in prison

UPDATE: In 'the darkest day' of his life former Sheriff John Buncich is sentenced to 188 months in prison
NWI Times
January 16, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-in-the-darkest-day-of-his-life-former-sheriff/article_469007a8-dedb-5946-84e1-53e1760b9700.html

HAMMOND — A federal judge has sentenced former Sheriff John Buncich to immediately begin serving a 188-month prison term — a little more than 15 years — for public corruption.

The man who had been the face of law enforcement in Lake County for decades appeared stunned by the pronouncement, which his lawyer, Bryan Truitt, called tantamount to a death sentence for his 72-year-old client.

U.S. District Court Judge James Moody refused the usual courtesy to public corruption figures, the freedom to report directly to his federal penitentiary at a later date.

Moody said the embarrassment Buncich caused to his police department and the harm he caused to Lake County's reputation in the state was staggering and denounced Buncich's abuse of power for self-enrichment and his "blind obedience to the political cult. Shame on you."

Buncich's voice was reduced to a whisper after learning of his sentence. He only had time to briefly look back to the court audience, which contained a number of his supporters, before court security officers led Buncich in restraints out of the court and into a holding cell.

The court also imposed a $250,000 fine on Buncich.

U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II said his office requested Buncich be detained immediately for fear he would flee to avoid having to serve such a lengthy sentence. Kirsch said there was evidence of large amounts of "unexplained cash" associated with Buncich's bank accounts.

Truitt said it was ridiculous to believe a man of Buncich's age and poor finances would be able to live long on the run. Truitt said his client will appeal the conviction and sentence within weeks.

What's next?
Buncich likely would spend the next 45 to 60 days at Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Center until he is transferred to a federal penitentiary. Truitt said Buncich preferred to spend his sentence at a federal camp in Yankton, South Dakota.

"This is the darkest day of my life," Buncich told the judge earlier in the six-hour sentencing hearing. Nevertheless, he said he was proud of his career and that he brought more minority police officers and civilian employees into the department than any previous sheriff.

The judge said he was struck by Buncich's almost complete lack of remorse, as was Kirsch, who said he is forming a new task force "to root out public corruption wherever it exists in the Northern District of Indiana."

Kirsch declined to comment on who might be indicted next, although testimony by FBI Agent Nathan Holbrook during the sentencing hearing hinted the towing investigation extended beyond the Sheriff's Department to the towns of Merrillville and Schererville.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson reminded the court of evidence during Buncich's trial in August that the sheriff received tens of thousands of dollars in illegal payments from William Szarmach, a Lake Station towing firm owner and longtime Buncich associate, and undercover government informant Scott Jurgensen, owner of Samson's Towing of Merrillville, between 2014 and 2016.

Buncich found guilty of bribery
A jury last August found Buncich guilty of bribery counts on evidence the payments from Szarmach and Jurgensen amounted to bribes because they were made on condition Buncich provide them the choicest towing districts, and that Buncich delivered.

Prosecutors said the bribery took place under the cover of campaign fundraising. Buncich was elected sheriff in 1994, 1998, 2010 and 2014, and named chairman of the Lake County Democratic Party in 2014.

A federal grand jury indicted Buncich, Timothy Downs, Buncich's second-in-command at the time, and Szarmach in November 2016. Downs later revealed he had become a cooperating government witness, as did Szarmach eventually. Both have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing themselves.

The government equipped Jurgensen with audio and video equipment that recorded payments. The evidence was used by the government to win its conviction of Buncich, who was forced from office by the guilty verdict.

Buncich told the court he worked 70-hour weeks to ensure public safety as well as rehabilitate the County Jail, which was under federal mandate to correct nearly 100 deficiencies in inmate medical and mental health care.

But Benson presented evidence that Buncich was so obsessed with receiving bribes from towing firms that he directed his gang unit to put off their regular duties to ticket more cars for towing.

Holbrook said the department was receiving complaints from the public about their cars being towed for minor infractions and costing their owners hundreds of dollars to recover their vehicles. Holbrook said the joke around the Sheriff's Department was they had become the "towing police."

Benson said Buncich's list of approved towing firms were all political contributors, and he considered those who didn't buy fundraising tickets, or who contributed to his political opponents, to be unfriendly and unworthy of county business.

Truitt argued Buncich didn't feel remorse, because he still doesn't believe he did anything wrong. He said Buncich only engaged in political fundraising like any other local elected official and had cars towed for legitimate reasons.

The guilty verdict in August forced Buncich from office. One of his political opponents, Oscar Martinez Jr., now occupies Buncich's old office. The Lake County Board of Commissioners has taken control of awarding towing contracts away from the Sheriff's Department.