01032019 - News Article - Portage mayor's public corruption trial could last five weeks

Portage mayor's public corruption trial could last five weeks
NWI Times
January 03, 2019
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/portage-mayor-s-public-corruption-trial-could-last-five-weeks/article_5a12d35c-59a3-593e-8900-4ae3feccb532.html

HAMMOND — Portage Mayor James Snyder's public corruption trial could last up to five weeks once it begins Jan. 14, new court records indicate.

A status hearing was held Thursday morning in U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen's chambers, where, according to records, Snyder's attorneys and federal prosecutors discussed subpoenas, a pending motion, the number of witnesses expected to be called and the length of the trial. None of the details of those discussions were released.

Neither the media nor public were allowed in Van Bokkelen's chambers to monitor the hearing.

Snyder was indicted in November 2016 following a multiple year investigation on two counts of bribery and one count of tax evasion. His trial will run jointly with that of co-defendant John Cortina, owner of Kustom Auto Body. Cortina is accused of bribing Snyder to get on the city's tow list.

Thursday's hearing was initially to be held in open court. However, according to court officials, it was converted to a telephonic hearing at the request of Snyder's Indianapolis-based attorneys.

Records posted following the hearing confirms attorneys are to report at 10 a.m. Jan. 14, with jury selection to begin at 11:30 a.m.

The parties anticipate the trial will last three to five weeks, according to the docket posting.

The first week will be a short week with court recessing at 4 p.m., Jan. 16 and not reconvening until 9 a.m. Jan. 22. No reason was given for the hiatus during the trial's first week. Jan. 21 is a federal holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

In addition, Van Bokkelen this week issued an order for the court to provide meals each day for jurors through the period of deliberation, citing "security and publicity reasons the jury in this case be committed to the custody of the United States Marshals, duly sworn, and furnished meals for each day of trial, including deliberation."

A telephonic status conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 11.