U.S. attorney recommends leniency for former high-ranking cop who lied to FBI
NWI Times
August 30, 2018
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/u-s-attorney-recommends-leniency-for-former-high-ranking-cop/article_a80c92ce-7271-54bc-9a0e-3396a5916abb.html
HAMMOND — U. S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II is recommending probation for former high-ranking Lake County police Officer Dan Murchek for lying to the FBI.
Kirsch's recommendation comes as part of an agreement to treat Murchek with leniency in return for his prompt guilty plea to a felony that has ended Murchek's long career in law enforcement.
Daniel Murchek, once the third-ranking officer in the Lake County Sheriff's Department, admitted he coached a towing firm owner how to falsify a $500 campaign donation to Murchek's campaign for county sheriff. The towing firm owner was an informant for the FBI. When agents asked Murchek whether he had violated state campaign finance laws, Murchek falsely denied it.
Kirsch states in his recommendation,"Murchek's decision to admit his guilt even prior to indictment differentiates him from many other similarly situated public corruption defendants." He said most deny guilt as long as possible and continue to draw a salary at the public's expense.
Daniel Murchek, former life-saving cop, hopes to win probation after lying to FBI
NWI Times
August 27, 2018
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/daniel-murchek-former-life-saving-cop-hopes-to-win-probation/article_b93748fa-a1a9-5147-baa3-08260e84cd36.html
HAMMOND — A former high-ranking Lake County police official who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI wants a judge to release him on probation.
Daniel Murchek, once the third-ranking officer in the Lake County Sheriff's Department, argues in a new court filing his crime of falsifying campaign donations should be balanced against decades of hard work as a police officer and union official.
Murchek admitted in May to U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge John E. Martin he accepted a $500 check to fund his former campaign for Lake County sheriff knowing the money came from someone other than the person whose name was on the check.
Murchek said when FBI agents questioned him about that contribution, he falsely denied it was illegal.
His admission was part of a plea agreement Murchek made to avoid a trial on the charge and win the U.S. attorney's recommendation that Murchek receive the minimum sentence under federal guidelines and a fine of only $3,500.
No sentencing date has been scheduled yet.
Paul Stracci, Murchek's defense lawyer, argues in a sentencing memorandum Murchek's lie "was the low point in a life otherwise filled with honor. It was a moment in time during which he was trying to be the politician he wasn't, instead of the police officer he was.
"Mr. Murchek does not deny he had neither the savvy nor the finesse to muddy his way through Lake County politics," Stracci said. Murchek would likely have been able to remain a policeman even if convicted in state court of a campaign violation if only he hadn't denied the violation to federal agents, he added.
"He is now a convicted felon, will never again serve his community as a law enforcement officer, and, although not required to do so, he has resigned from the leadership roles he held in many labor and community service organizations so as not to further tarnish their missions," Stracci said.
Murchek had been president of the Northern Indiana Area Labor Federation and the Lake County Police Association Local 72.
Murchek served variety of posts in law enforcement
Stracci said Murchek began as a security guard for a local hospital, he became a reserve officer and later a full-time officer for the Hebron Police Department, where he did undercover work for the Porter County Drug Task Force.
He served with Dyer police before moving to the sheriff's department.
Stracci said Murchek saved the life of a suicidal neighbor, rescued a child from a burning building, arrested a wanted rapist and later a car thief lurking about a Calumet City apartment complex.
He received numerous commendations for his police work, became president of the department's police union to help raise the salaries of officers who have been among the lowest paid in the county.
Murchek rose to third-in-command as deputy chief of the Lake County Sheriff's Department between 2011 and last fall under former Sheriff John Buncich, who is now serving a 188-month prison term, currently at a federal secure medical facility in Springfield, Missouri, for bribery.
Stracci said Murchek had no involvement in Bunich's shakedown of towing firms working for the sheriff's department, but a federal grand jury indicted Murchek earlier this year on allegations he solicited campaign financial support for a run for sheriff in fall 2015 from Willie Szarmach, owner of CSA Towing in Lake Station, and Scott Jurgensen, owner of Samson’s Towing in Merrillville, who were involved in the Buncich investigation.
Murchek told the towing owners how they could disguise campaign contributions to him by making them the names of other people to avoid the maximum limit for business corporations.
On Sept. 23, 2016, Jurgensen gave Murchek a $1,000 contribution in the name of the towing business and a $500 check illegally structured to look like a separate contribution from one of his towing employees, although Jurgensen told Murchek he was the source of the money for both checks.
FBI agents later questioned Murchek about whether he received a structured contribution from Jurgensen. Murchek said he didn't, but now admits his denial was a lie.
The sentencing memorandum includes a number of letters in support of leniency for Murchek, including one from state Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, who she has known since she was a Hammond police officer.
Two Union Officials Charged With Labor Extortion Conspiracy
Department Of Justice
August 16, 2018
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-union-officials-charged-labor-extortion-conspiracy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Two Indiana men are charged with labor-related extortion offenses in a three-count Indictment unsealed today, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II for the Northern District of Indiana, Special Agent in Charge James Vanderberg of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General’s Chicago Regional Office and Special Agent in Charge Grant Mendenhall of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office.
Thomas R. Williamson, 67, of Schererville, Indiana and Jeffrey R. Veach, 55, of Portage, Indiana, were arrested earlier today and each charged in a three-count indictment filed in the Northern District of Indiana with one count of Hobbs Act Extortion Conspiracy and two counts of Attempted Hobbs Act Extortion. Williamson and Veach had their initial court appearances and arraignment earlier today before U.S. Magistrate Judge John E. Martin for the Northern District of Indiana and were released on $20,000 unsecured bond.
According to the indictment, Williamson and Veach used threats of violence and actual violence against non-union ironworkers in the course of their extortion plot. The defendants allegedly sought to extort a labor contract from “John Doe #1,” who owned a steelworking company, and a business contract from “John Doe #2,” who owned a construction company.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case is being investigated by the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and the FBI with the assistance of the Dyer Indiana Police Department. Trial Attorneys Conor Mulroe and Robert Tully of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section are prosecuting the case with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana.
Union officials already accused of attacking workers now indicted on extortion charges
Post Tribune
August 16, 2018
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-steelworker-extortion-indictment-st-0817-story.html
Two union officials have been charged with extortion offenses after being sued for reportedly attacking workers at a construction site in 2016.
Thomas R. Williamson, 67, of Schererville, and Jeffrey R. Veach, 55, of Portage, were arrested Thursday, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana states.
Williamson and Veach were charged in an indictment unsealed Thursday with one count of Hobbs Act extortion conspiracy and two counts of attempted Hobbs Act extortion.
The two made their initial court appearances Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Martin and were released on $20,000 unsecured bond, the release states.
“According to the indictment, Williamson and Veach used threats of violence and actual violence against non-union ironworkers in the course of their extortion plot,” the release states.
They reportedly sought to extort a labor contract from “John Doe #1,” who owned a steelworking company, and a business contract from “John Doe #2,” who owned a construction company, the release states.
The indictment alleges the crimes occurred on Jan. 7, 2016, court records show.
Veach and Williamson were named as two defendants in a lawsuit from a Jan. 7, 2016, incident at a Dyer construction site.
The lawsuit claims Northwest Indiana union members attacked Illinois-based D5 Ironworks employees while they were working at the site of Plumb Creek Christian Academy, at U.S. 231 and Calumet Avenue.
On Jan. 6, 2016, Williamson, a member of Local 395 Ironworkers, approached a D5 worker about using union workers at the site, the lawsuit states. Williamson then went to Dyer Baptist Church, which owned the school, and said “it was unethical to use non-union labor,” according to the lawsuit.
The next day, Williamson returned and got into an argument with a D5 worker, who told Williams to leave, the lawsuit states. Williams then shoved the worker and said, “I’m taking this back to old school,” according to the lawsuit.
Later that day, Williamson, Veach and about 10 other people arrived and attacked the D5 workers, punching, hitting them with scrap wood from the construction site and kicking them with steel-toe boots, the lawsuit states. The attackers said it was union work and their territory, according to the lawsuit.
One of the people attacked suffered a broken jaw and had to be taken to a hospital, according to the lawsuit.
D5 stopped working at the school site after the attack, the lawsuit states.
The civil case is ongoing, court records show.
The Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, FBI and Dyer police investigated the case leading to Williamson’s and Veach’s indictments.
Attorneys Conor Mulroe and Robert Tully of the criminal division’s organized crime and gang section are prosecuting the case with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana.
Two union members indicted in attack on non-union laborers at Dyer construction site
NWI Times
August 16, 2018
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/two-union-members-indicted-in-attack-on-non-union-laborers/article_f24bb08a-47bb-5a6a-b204-ec888939920c.html
MUNSTER — Two union members were arrested Thursday morning on federal extortion charges in the alleged attack on non-union laborers two years ago at a Dyer construction site.
Thomas R. Williamson, 67, of Schererville, and Jeffrey R. Veach, 55, of Portage, were indicted Wednesday for committing a Hobbs Act extortion conspiracy and two counts of attempted Hobbs Act extortion. The charges were unsealed Thursday.
The men allegedly used threats and violence against non-union laborers Jan. 7, 2016, to extort a favorable labor contract from the owners of a construction company and a steel-working company, the indictment states.
The men appeared with their attorneys, Paul Stracci and Kevin Milner, at initial hearings Thursday morning, court records state.
The men entered not guilty pleas and were released on $20,000 unsecured appearance bonds, records state. The men are prohibited from traveling outside the continental United States under the terms of their bond agreements.
The allegations stem from a brawl that broke out Jan. 7, 2016, at the work site for Plumb Creek Christian Academy, located in the southwest corner of 213th Street and Calumet Avenue in Dyer.
D5 Iron Works claims in a lawsuit filed that year in U.S. District Court Williamson approached its workers Jan. 6, 2016, at the construction site to solicit a labor agreement that would call for Iron Workers Local 395 to work the job.
He was told to leave.
Williamson returned the next day and began arguing with workers about the labor agreement. He and other men allegedly returned later that day and attacked the laborers. Some of the men from Iron Workers Local 395 wore steel-toed boots during the attack and yelled, “This is 395 territory," the lawsuit states.
At least one worker at the site suffered a broken jaw, according to the lawsuit.
Dyer Police Chief David Hein told The Times in June 2016 he referred his investigation of the brawl to the U.S. Attorney's Office. He said police worked with the U.S. Department of Labor on the investigation.
Veach and Williamson are named defendants in the lawsuit. The parties failed to reach a settlement at a March 22 conference meeting, court records state. A trial is scheduled for Nov. 26.
Robert T. Hanlon is representing D5 Iron Works and its employees in the lawsuit.
“These guys acted like a bunch of animals," he said about the union members allegedly involved in the attack. "They get what they deserve.”
He said the union members were "cowards," who exercised their Fifth Amendment rights during depositions in the civil case.
“They should have manned up and owned up to what they did, but they were cowards and couldn't even do that.”
He said the settlement conference in March was a "big waste of time," but a second court-ordered conference is scheduled for October. He said he expected the case would head to trial.
Jeffrey Veach was listed Thursday on the Iron Workers Local 395 as a business agent and president for the union.
A person who answered the phone Thursday at Iron Workers Local 395 said the union did not comment on "active investigations."
