07272018 - Deborah Soderquist Released From Federal Prison

07272018 - Deborah Soderquist Released From Federal Prison

[IN] Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist - FBI Investigation - Indictment And Conviction For Federal Public Corruption 

04162014-Miranda-Brakley-AND-Mayor-Keith-Soderquist-AND-Deborah-Soderquist--Federal-Indictment

04162014-Mayor-Keith-Soderquist-AND-Deborah-Soderquist--Federal-Indictment

Soderquist starts prison sentence

Post-Tribune (IN) 

October 16, 2016

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/resources/doc/nb/news/1600C94BA5E1F3C8?p=AWNB

Former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist reported to prison Friday to begin his four-year prison term for public corruption, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website.

Soderquist, 47, is listed as an inmate in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.

Soderquist was sentenced last month to 42 months for crimes he committed with his wife, followed by another six months for abetting his stepdaughter in committing a crime.

His wife, Deborah Soderquist, 58, was sentenced to two years in prison, and his stepdaughter, Miranda Brakely, 36, received a six-month home detention sentence. She pleaded guilty to one count of theft from a program receiving federal funds.

The couple also must pay more than $26,000 in restitution to the city of Lake Station and to the Internal Revenue Service.

A jury found the couple guilty of using money from his campaign fund and the Lake Station Food Pantry to pay for dozens of gambling trips to Michigan.

Soderquist also pleaded guilty to helping Brakely hide thousands of dollars she stole from the city when she worked there as a court clerk.

During the summer, Soderquist admitted in court documents to recording and listening to thousands of phone calls made by city hall employees since 2011, including a call made from a phone in the private chambers of a Lake Station City Court judge. Though he wasn't charged for the wiretapping, it factored into the sentencing, documents said.

07142018 - News Article - No charges for jail employee who was also imprisoned Lake County sheriff's 'significant other,' prosecutor says

No charges for jail employee who was also imprisoned Lake County sheriff's 'significant other,' prosecutor says
Chicago Tribune
July 14, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-back-prosecutor-decision-st-0714-story.html

The Lake County Prosecutor’s office decided Friday that charges would not be filed against a former jail contact employee from her testimony at former Sheriff John Buncich’s sentencing.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department launched an internal investigation in January after Deborah Back, who was the director of nursing at Correctional Health Indiana and Buncich's “significant other,” was questioned in Hammond’s federal court about her use of the Spillman system to find information on a confidential source.

“Back’s improper use of the sheriff’s internal database system was directed by former Sheriff John Buncich and therefore criminal intent could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” Prosecutor Bernard Carter said Friday in a news release.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson asked Deborah Back about the topic at Buncich’s sentencing hearing Jan. 16.

“Yes, I viewed it,” Back said, but denied doing it at the direction of the former sheriff.

“I don't routinely run people. Period,” she said. “I know that it was wrong.”

Benson said there's a warning in the Spillman that “unauthorized access is a violation of law.”

The FBI spoke with a sheriff's department employee who searched the records of the jail contract employee's use of Spillman and found several occasions where information outside the normal scope was sought.

During testimony, FBI special agent Nathan Holbrook said that the employee searched for two people tied to the Buncich trial: the confidential source and Benson.

Buncich was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in prison after he was convicted in August of bribery and wire fraud, among other charges, for soliciting bribes from county tow operators in his public corruption trial.

Buncich was indicted in November 2016 in a towing scheme in which he accepted bribes in the form of thousands of dollars in cash and donations to his campaign fund, Buncich Boosters, according to court records.

07132018 - News Article - Prosecutor declines to charge former Sheriff John Buncich's girlfriend with illicit spying

Prosecutor declines to charge former Sheriff John Buncich's girlfriend with illicit spying
NWI Times
July 13, 2018
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/prosecutor-declines-to-charge-former-sheriff-john-buncich-s-girlfriend/article_119fb22a-44d1-5cf8-9b2f-07bd277a83de.html

CROWN POINT — Lake County Prosecutor Bernard A. Carter announced Friday he won't press charges against a former County Jail nursing director for using a police database to help former Sheriff John Buncich spy on government witnesses accusing him of corruption.

Carter stated in a written press release, "Criminal charges will not be filed against Deborah Back, former nursing director for the Lake County Jail. Back's improper use of the sheriff's internal database system was directed by former Sheriff John Buncich and therefore criminal intent could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

Her unauthorized access to the restricted police data system came to light Jan. 16 when she took the witness stand to testify at Buncich's sentencing hearing.

A federal grand jury indicted Buncich Nov. 17, 2016, on honest government service fraud and bribery counts alleging the sheriff sold his public office to the towing firm that gave him the most campaign contributions.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson accused Back with twice using her access to the Lake County Sheriff Department's Spillman's data system after the indictment to investigate the government's lead investigators against Buncich.

Back responded in January, "I know it was wrong." Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. banned her from working in the Sheriff's Department shortly after her admission.

Back had access to the system because of her position at the Lake County Jail, a job that paid between $158,000 and $230,000 a year — more than Buncich, who made $146,000 annually. She said she routinely used it to determine the medical status of jail inmates.

Back and the sheriff had been dating for four years — two years after she first began working at the jail — and they have been living together recently. Benson said federal authorities arrested Buncich at her Crown Point home in November 2016 when he was first indicted on bribery charges.

Buncich also employed her son, Mark Back, as his public relations spokesman in 2015 and in 2016.

A jury convicted Buncich of bribery and wire fraud after a 15-day jury trial in August. Buncich is serving a prison sentence of 15 years, 6 months in a federal secure medical facility in Springfield, Missouri.

Back couldn't be reached for comment. She no longer works in the sheriff's department, according to Dr. William Forgey, the jail's medical director and owner of Correctional Health Indiana Inc., which has provided medical services to jail inmates since 2012.

07102018 - News Article - Co-defendants of former Sheriff Buncich get probation for roles in bribery scheme

Co-defendants of former Sheriff Buncich get probation for roles in bribery scheme
Chicago Tribune
July 10, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-downs-szarmach-towing-sentencing-st-0710-story.html

Two men charged alongside convicted former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich in a pay-to-play towing scheme will avoid jail time.

Judge James Moody on Monday sentenced former Lake County Chief of Police Timothy Downs and William Szarmach, of C.S.A. Towing in Lake Station, to two years of probation. Both men were tied to the case against Buncich, with Downs soliciting and collecting bribes, and Szarmach paying the former sheriff money to secure and expand his towing territory.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson said Downs’ testimony against Buncich showed how the bribes benefited the former sheriff, and Szarmach gave insight into what tow operators gained by making the payments.

Downs, 67, Szarmach, 61, and Buncich 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.

Szarmach was later charged with filing a false tax return, and agreed to pay upward of $89,000 in restitution as a part of his sentence.

Downs pleaded guilty in December 2016, according to court documents, and Szarmach pleaded guilty in July 2017. Both testified against Buncich during his trial.

Moody in January sentenced Buncich to 15 years and eight months in federal prison after he was convicted of bribery and wire fraud during a 14-day trial in August. Buncich is in the process of filing an appeal.

“I take full and complete responsibility for what I did,” Downs said.

“What were you thinking?” Moody asked.

Being a law enforcement officer, Moody said Downs could have stopped the scheme.

“Better off to tell Mr. Buncich, ‘Hey, it’s not legal,’” Moody said.

The judge noted Downs’ lengthy career in law enforcement, including 18 years as the president of the state Fraternal Order of Police.

“He really had a sterling background before this, didn’t he?” Moody asked.

Moody said Downs wasn’t going to do anything to stop the practice until he got caught. Absent getting caught, Moody said Downs would have continued on bilking Lake County taxpayers.

“I would concede that,” said defense attorney Matthew Fech.

Benson said Downs agreed to cooperate with investigators immediately after being stopped by the FBI. Downs made recordings of meetings with Buncich, Benson said, and even taped a cash delivery to the sheriff’s office.

“That was rather dangerous, wasn’t it,” Moody said. “It took a lot of guts to do that.”

Benson said that recorded was visual proof that Buncich was the one who took the money.

Downs’ cooperation was key to the case against Buncich, Benson said.

“It’s highly unusual,” Benson said. “It’s conduct that should be rewarded.”

Prosecutors asked Moody to sentence to six months in prison and six months home confinement, according to court documents, and give Szarmach a year and a day in prison.

Downs could have faced up to a year and a half in prison absent the downward departure, according to court records, and Szarmach’s sentence could have carried a maximum of four years and three months.

William Szarmach arrives at the Federal Court in Hammond on July 9, 2018, for his sentencing. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)
“I have no one to blame for this but myself,” Szarmach said.

Szarmach said he’s let down his son, his family and his friends. He said if he’s incarcerated, the company he built himself would be in ruin and strain his family.

“I will never make this same bad decision again,” Szarmach said.

Defense attorney Daniel Purdom said Szarmach was the guy who got shaken down in the whole scheme in order to protect his business.

“This guy was a victim,” Purdom said. “This guy had no choice.”

It was Buncich who victimized the county tow operators by seeking bribes to guarantee them business, Purdom said.

“He’s the bad guy here,” Purdom said. “He’s the guy who abused his badge.”

07092018 - Must be tempting for John Cortina/Kustom Auto Towing, to cooperate with Feds in case against Portage Mayor James Snyder, eh

After witnessing those indicted with Lake County Sheriff Buncich receive probation - instead of prison time, for their role in the Lake County Towing bribery case - it makes one wonder if John Cortina will do the right thing likeTimothy Downs and William Szarmach did, by cooperating with Feds in return for a lighter sentence.

Wonder how arrogent and untouchable Portage Mayor James Snyder is taking the recent news on Downs' and Szarmach's light sentence...

11172016--John-Cortina--Kustom-Auto-Towing--Indictment--Case-216CR160--Federal-Program-Bribery

UPDATED: 2 men dodge jail time in towing bribery case that took down Lake County sheriff
NWI Times
July 09, 2018
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/federal-judge-gives-probation-to-men-in-towing-bribery-case/article_8b0959a0-110a-5d91-b1e9-f25aaebff9e5.html

HAMMOND — U.S. District Court Judge James Moody handed out get out of jail free cards Monday to two major players in the towing bribery scandal who helped bring down former Sheriff John Buncich.

Timothy Downs, 67, the former second-in-command of the Lake County Sheriff's Department, will serve two years probation and six months of home detention, to be served concurrently, for receiving bribes on behalf of former Sheriff John Buncich, who shook down towing firms seeking business from county police.

William Szarmach, 61, who owns CSA Towing in Lake Station, received two years probation and one year home detention, also to be served concurrently, for paying Buncich bribes to win the former sheriff's favor and receive more lucrative towing assignments.

Moody and Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson said Downs and Szarmach deserved leniency because they helped government investigators end the former sheriff's extortion of towing firms and the sale of government influence to the highest bidder.

"It took a lot of guts to do that. It is unusual in history of Lake County corruption," Benson said. "Some officials become more indignant when their corruption is uncovered," he said.

Moody agreed both defendants have demonstrated genuine remorse, which distinguishes them "from the rest of the universe of Lake County corruption."

A federal grand jury indicted Buncich, Downs and Szarmach on Nov. 17, 2016, on fraud and bribery counts alleging the sheriff sold his public office to the towing firm that gave him the most campaign contributions.

Moody told Downs, "What were you thinking? You just wanted to save your job? You would have been better off telling Mr. Buncich it's not legal. You had an honorable law enforcement career. It's all tarnished now."

Downs served as a county police officer and jail guard from 1979 until his initial retirement in 2000. He was elected president of the state Fraternal Order of Police in 1998 and remained president for 18 years.

Downs returned to the Sheriff's Department in 2011 to serve as Buncich's chief of police, an office he held until his resignation four weeks after the indictment when he pleaded guilty to wire fraud when he revealed in court he had been secretly cooperating for more than a year.

Benson said Downs returned to undercover work, which he hadn't done in many years by wearing audio and video recording devices in his talks with the sheriff.

Downs testified for hours on the second day of Buncich's trial last year, detailing the inner workings of the sheriff's control over which towing firms worked for county government and a first-hand account of Downs' distribution of Buncich's political fundraising tickets and collection of the cash they paid.

One of the most dramatic pieces of evidence at last year's Buncich trial was a video from a camera concealed in a briefcase Downs carried July 15, 2015, into the sheriff's office that recorded Buncich receiving $7,500 in campaign contribution cash and shoving the bills into his desk drawer.

Benson said that ended any argument Buncich could make that only Downs was taking bribes.

A jury convicted Buncich of bribery and wire fraud after a 15-day jury trial in August. Buncich is serving prison sentence of 15 years, 6 months in a federal secure medical facility in Springfield, Missouri.

U.S. attorney encourages ethical behavior
Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson argued in a sentencing memo that Downs shouldn't get off scot-free, but granting him leniency would "encourage other, similarly situated political figures in Lake and surrounding counties to do what is right and accept responsibility for their actions and, when needed, cooperate with the federal government."

Szarmach pleaded guilty to fraud and bribery charges a year ago, only days before Buncich's trial began late last summer. But U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II said that once arrested, following his indictment, Szarmach immediately began his cooperation and provided great insight "revealing that Buncich was soliciting bribes even prior to obtaining the office of sheriff."

He said Szarmach was an effective witness against Buncich, providing evidence that Buncich used his influence to obtain towing opportunities for Szarmach in return for campaign cash, despite attacks on his character by Buncich's trial lawyer.

Szarmach broke down Monday while telling the court that he had built up his company, C.S.A. Towing in Lake Station, single-handedly from the late 1970s from a few trucks to one that did specialty towing other companies couldn't.

"I bought the trucks. I answered the phones and all the office work. I did the oil changes, the tire changes to keep money in the company," he said.

His defense lawyer, Daniel Purdom, said Szarmach paid Buncich bribes because he had little other choice to get access to the sheriff who had exclusive control over county police towing.

"I made a poor choice," Szarmach said.

He said imprisonment would result in him having to shut down his company and ruin him financially, making it impossible to pay restitution or put his son through college.

Szarmach agreed to pay $89,448 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for unpaid taxes related to the illicit behavior. He said he would make a $24,000 down payment on it this week.

Benson said other federal prosecutors might have considered Szarmach a victim and not charged him, but they were unsure of whether to trust him at the time. Benson said once they arrested Szarmach, he cooperated completely. Purdom said Buncich extorted bribes from a dozen towing firms, but none of the others was charged.

The federal investigation into the Lake County Sheriff's Department has swept up a number of local government figures, including in neighboring Porter County, where Portage Mayor James Snyder and John Cortina, owner of a Portage towing firm, are now set to stand trial Oct. 9 in U.S. District Court.

Daniel Murchek, a 24-year veteran of the Lake County police force and former third-in-command under Buncich, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about receiving illegal campaign contributions as part of a towing bribery scandal. He is awaiting sentencing.

Tom Goralczyk, a former Merrillville town councilman, must serve a 15-month sentence for his guilty plea earlier to accepting bribes — of a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and a 2008 Ford Focus — in return for promises of a lucrative contract to Scott Jurgensen, the undercover FBI informant who is a former Merrillville police officer and towing company owner.

07092018 - News Article - UPDATED: 2 men dodge jail time in towing bribery case that took down Lake County sheriff

UPDATED: 2 men dodge jail time in towing bribery case that took down Lake County sheriff
NWI Times
July 09, 2018
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/federal-judge-gives-probation-to-men-in-towing-bribery-case/article_8b0959a0-110a-5d91-b1e9-f25aaebff9e5.html

HAMMOND — U.S. District Court Judge James Moody handed out get out of jail free cards Monday to two major players in the towing bribery scandal who helped bring down former Sheriff John Buncich.

Timothy Downs, 67, the former second-in-command of the Lake County Sheriff's Department, will serve two years probation and six months of home detention, to be served concurrently, for receiving bribes on behalf of former Sheriff John Buncich, who shook down towing firms seeking business from county police.

William Szarmach, 61, who owns CSA Towing in Lake Station, received two years probation and one year home detention, also to be served concurrently, for paying Buncich bribes to win the former sheriff's favor and receive more lucrative towing assignments.

Moody and Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson said Downs and Szarmach deserved leniency because they helped government investigators end the former sheriff's extortion of towing firms and the sale of government influence to the highest bidder.

"It took a lot of guts to do that. It is unusual in history of Lake County corruption," Benson said. "Some officials become more indignant when their corruption is uncovered," he said.

Moody agreed both defendants have demonstrated genuine remorse, which distinguishes them "from the rest of the universe of Lake County corruption."

A federal grand jury indicted Buncich, Downs and Szarmach on Nov. 17, 2016, on fraud and bribery counts alleging the sheriff sold his public office to the towing firm that gave him the most campaign contributions.

Moody told Downs, "What were you thinking? You just wanted to save your job? You would have been better off telling Mr. Buncich it's not legal. You had an honorable law enforcement career. It's all tarnished now."

Downs served as a county police officer and jail guard from 1979 until his initial retirement in 2000. He was elected president of the state Fraternal Order of Police in 1998 and remained president for 18 years.

Downs returned to the Sheriff's Department in 2011 to serve as Buncich's chief of police, an office he held until his resignation four weeks after the indictment when he pleaded guilty to wire fraud when he revealed in court he had been secretly cooperating for more than a year.

Benson said Downs returned to undercover work, which he hadn't done in many years by wearing audio and video recording devices in his talks with the sheriff.

Downs testified for hours on the second day of Buncich's trial last year, detailing the inner workings of the sheriff's control over which towing firms worked for county government and a first-hand account of Downs' distribution of Buncich's political fundraising tickets and collection of the cash they paid.

One of the most dramatic pieces of evidence at last year's Buncich trial was a video from a camera concealed in a briefcase Downs carried July 15, 2015, into the sheriff's office that recorded Buncich receiving $7,500 in campaign contribution cash and shoving the bills into his desk drawer.

Benson said that ended any argument Buncich could make that only Downs was taking bribes.

A jury convicted Buncich of bribery and wire fraud after a 15-day jury trial in August. Buncich is serving prison sentence of 15 years, 6 months in a federal secure medical facility in Springfield, Missouri.

U.S. attorney encourages ethical behavior
Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson argued in a sentencing memo that Downs shouldn't get off scot-free, but granting him leniency would "encourage other, similarly situated political figures in Lake and surrounding counties to do what is right and accept responsibility for their actions and, when needed, cooperate with the federal government."

Szarmach pleaded guilty to fraud and bribery charges a year ago, only days before Buncich's trial began late last summer. But U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II said that once arrested, following his indictment, Szarmach immediately began his cooperation and provided great insight "revealing that Buncich was soliciting bribes even prior to obtaining the office of sheriff."

He said Szarmach was an effective witness against Buncich, providing evidence that Buncich used his influence to obtain towing opportunities for Szarmach in return for campaign cash, despite attacks on his character by Buncich's trial lawyer.

Szarmach broke down Monday while telling the court that he had built up his company, C.S.A. Towing in Lake Station, single-handedly from the late 1970s from a few trucks to one that did specialty towing other companies couldn't.

"I bought the trucks. I answered the phones and all the office work. I did the oil changes, the tire changes to keep money in the company," he said.

His defense lawyer, Daniel Purdom, said Szarmach paid Buncich bribes because he had little other choice to get access to the sheriff who had exclusive control over county police towing.

"I made a poor choice," Szarmach said.

He said imprisonment would result in him having to shut down his company and ruin him financially, making it impossible to pay restitution or put his son through college.

Szarmach agreed to pay $89,448 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for unpaid taxes related to the illicit behavior. He said he would make a $24,000 down payment on it this week.

Benson said other federal prosecutors might have considered Szarmach a victim and not charged him, but they were unsure of whether to trust him at the time. Benson said once they arrested Szarmach, he cooperated completely. Purdom said Buncich extorted bribes from a dozen towing firms, but none of the others was charged.

The federal investigation into the Lake County Sheriff's Department has swept up a number of local government figures, including in neighboring Porter County, where Portage Mayor James Snyder and John Cortina, owner of a Portage towing firm, are now set to stand trial Oct. 9 in U.S. District Court.

Daniel Murchek, a 24-year veteran of the Lake County police force and former third-in-command under Buncich, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about receiving illegal campaign contributions as part of a towing bribery scandal. He is awaiting sentencing.

Tom Goralczyk, a former Merrillville town councilman, must serve a 15-month sentence for his guilty plea earlier to accepting bribes — of a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and a 2008 Ford Focus — in return for promises of a lucrative contract to Scott Jurgensen, the undercover FBI informant who is a former Merrillville police officer and towing company owner.