06142018 - News Article - John Buncich granted second extension to file appeal on bribery, fraud charges

John Buncich granted second extension to file appeal on bribery, fraud charges
NWI Times
June 14, 2018
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/john-buncich-granted-second-extension-to-file-appeal-on-bribery/article_98c62e7e-f442-5e97-8ac4-a1980c145475.html

Former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich was granted a second extension to file an appeal for his conviction on bribery and fraud charges, court records state.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit granted a request Monday by Buncich's attorney, Kerry Connor, to extend the deadline for filing the 72-year-old defendant's appeal.

The new deadline to file is July 16.

Connor wrote in the motion she was working diligently on the opening brief, but “this appeal involves evaluation of rulings spanning 13 days of evidence and a lengthy sentencing hearing.”

“Though counsel has had previous extensions, the substantial, complex and multiple issues involved in this case warrant additional time,” she wrote.

Connor said the U.S. Attorney's Office did not object to the extension. The attorney was granted a two-month extension in March to file the appeal.

Buncich is serving a 188-month sentence after a U.S. District Court jury found him guilty in August of bribery and fraud charges for soliciting and receiving illegal payments from towing firms angling for lucrative towing work from Lake County police.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons website states Buncich is incarcerated at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. He is scheduled for release in September 2031.

U.S. District Court Judge James Moody has scheduled a sentencing hearing July 9 for Timothy Downs, Buncich's former second-in-command, who pleaded guilty to selling Buncich's fundraising tickets on public time, and William Szarmach, a Lake Station towing firm owner and longtime Buncich associate, who pleaded guilty to paying bribes.