Portage mayor owes $10K to co-defendant in federal bribery case, report shows
Chicago Tribune
January 18, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-snyder-campaign-reports-st-0119-20180118-story.html
Portage Mayor James Snyder owes a tow truck operator, who is a co-defendant in the mayor's federal bribery case, $10,000, according to a recently filed campaign finance report.
Snyder's 2017 campaign finance report showed he owes John Cortina, owner of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, $10,000 that the tow operator loaned the mayor's election committee in 2016. The Portage mayor's campaign has $19,327.69 in debt — $10,000 to Cortina and $9,327.69 to himself, the report said.
"One of the debts we still have to pay is to Mr. Cortina and it has always been considered by the campaign to be a loan, not a bribe," said Kenard Taylor, Synder's campaign treasurer, adding Cortina donated to Snyder's campaign for several years.
The campaign's debts to Snyder and Cortina also were reflected in the 2016 report.
Snyder did not return a call seeking comment.
Snyder and Cortina were both indicted in November 2016 on bribery charges. Authorities said Snyder allegedly solicited money from Cortina and a confidential source and gave them a towing contract for the city.
The two have pleaded not guilty. Their trials are scheduled for June.
Taylor said health issues prevented him from filing a more detailed report by the deadline, which was Wednesday.
"Because of the special circumstances he's in, we want to make sure they're 100 percent accurate," Taylor said.
The report showed more than $91,000 in income and expenditures for last year, two years before the next city election cycle.
The report showed Snyder had $1,160.11 on hand at the start of last year; that he received $91,391 in donations; spent $91,385.29; and had $1,165.82 at the end of the year.
The form does not detail who the money was received from or what the expenditures were, though Taylor said a detailed report will be filed by Jan. 24.
The 2017 form, Taylor said, reflects a drop in income and expenditures from 2016 of about $40,000, and the amounts are not unusual for off years for campaigns.
"You receive and spend a lot of money on fundraising. Another thing is you have staff, people you keep on board, and you make a lot of donations," Taylor said, adding the funds also can be used for things that can't typically come out of a city budget, like taking staff to lunch. "They are allowed to spend campaign funds on that."
Taylor, who also files Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson's campaign finance reports in Lake County, said she has used the funds to attend conferences and association meetings. Elected officials of both parties use the practice, he added; Snyder is a Republican and Freeman-Wilson is a Democrat.
"It keeps their name out in the public eye," he said.
For comparison, Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas' report for 2017 reflects $221.50 in funds on hand at the start of last year; $6,000 in income and expenditures; and $7,000 in debt, which the campaign owes to Costas, the report says. The expenditures were donations to the county and state Republican parties.
Snyder's 2016 report reflected $22,000 in legal fees paid to Thomas Kirsch II throughout that year. Kirsch, who was appointed as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana in October, previously served as Snyder's lawyer and represented Snyder in his criminal case until he was selected for his new post.
The 2017 report will have legal fees as well and may include payments to Kirsch from earlier in the year, Taylor said.
Taylor filed an incomplete form, he said, to avoid potential fines from the county election board, which are $50 a day for a missed deadline and $10 a day for inaccurate or incomplete forms.
"You're better off getting something in," Taylor said.
The election board typically does not issue fines for missing the deadline, said election board president David Bengs.
"We've issued warnings to get them to file their campaign reports on time" but no fines, he said.
2017 campaign reports for Lake County mayors
The amount of money raised and spent by Lake County mayors varied in 2017.
* Crown Point Mayor David Uran raised $109,181.27 in 2017 and spent $90,259.63. Uran still has $142,018.28 on hand, according to his campaign finance report, and $254.34 in debt owed to the committee.
* East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland raised $64,000 in 2017 and spent $82,626.78. Copeland still has $172,529.40 on hand, according to his finance report, and zero debt.
* Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson raised $130,516.49 in 2017 and spent $131,659.20. Freeman-Wilson has $12.18 on hand, according to her campaign finance report, and $1,500 in debt owed by the committee.
* Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. raised $278,722.50 in 2017 and spent $218,620.34. McDermott has $202,226.16 on hand, according to his campaign finance report, and $35,000 in debt owed to the committee.
* Hobart Mayor Brian Snedecor raised $60,027 in 2017 and spent $41,235. Snedecor still has $113,670.80 on hand, according to his campaign finance report, and zero debt.
* Whiting Mayor Joe Stahura raised $84,925 in 2017 and spent $63,903.63. Stahura has $37,676.71 on hand, according to his campaign finance report, and has $53,292.15 in debt owed to the committee.
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