09162019 - News Article - Sentencing for former Portage mayor convicted of bribery, obstructing IRS moved to December

Sentencing for former Portage mayor convicted of bribery, obstructing IRS moved to December
Chicago Tribune
September 16, 2019
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-snyder-sentencing-moved-st-0917-20190916-z3prynfi3refbca2rwtzk7lw7i-story.html

Sentencing for former Portage Mayor James Snyder, who was found guilty of bribery and obstructing the IRS, has been rescheduled to two days in December.

In February, Snyder, 41, was convicted of taking a $13,000 bribe in exchange for contracts to sell five garbage trucks to the city, and using a shell company to hide income and assets from the IRS while owing back personal and business taxes. The jury acquitted Snyder of a third count that alleged he took a $12,000 bribe to get a company on Portage’s tow list.

Snyder has agreed to forfeit $13,000 to the federal government.

“It’s been a really long road,” Snyder said, after the verdict was announced.

“Today, we were able to knock one of the charges out. Thankfully the jury can see through that one,” Snyder said previously. “The journey is still ongoing. We have two more counts to deal with.”

Snyder declined to comment Monday on his sentencing being pushed to December. His attorney, Jackie Bennett Jr., did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The sentencing date had been pushed back from the original May 24 date to Sept. 24 “to allow time to rule on the pending post-trial motions,” according to court records.

“Mr. Snyder and his counsel need to decide whether to present evidence --- additional documentation, live witness testimony, etc. -- in support of Mr. Snyder’s sentencing position. Counsel cannot prepare such a presentation, or determine whether such a presentation would be necessary (or the scope of such a presentation) while motions remain pending," according to court records.

Snyder’s sentencing will take place over two days, according to a Sept. 13 court order signed by Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen.

On Dec. 6, the court will give the parties an opportunity to present evidence and any additional arguments regarding their objections to the pre-sentence report and sentencing factors, according to the court order.

On Dec. 17, the court will issue a ruling regarding the objections to the pre-sentence report and will announce Snyder’s sentence, according to the court order.

Both parties have submitted “voluminous briefs” regarding a motion by Snyder’s attorney for acquittal or a new trial, and “just recently” the probation department filed the pre-sentence report that “contains numerous objections that need to be sorted out by the court,” according to the court order.

“For the benefit of everyone involved and to be able to give adequate attention to the issues before it, the court grants defendant’s unopposed motion to continue the sentencing hearing,” according to the court order.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, which oversaw the prosecution, said that Snyder could face up to 10 years in prison on the bribery charge, and up to three years in prison on the obstruction charge.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana was recused from the case, absent two prosecutors, as U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II previously represented Snyder.

Snyder, a Republican, was indicted in November 2016 and charged with allegedly violating a federal bribery statute and obstructing or impeding the IRS.

Prosecutors said that when Snyder ran for mayor in 2011, he told residents he planned to automate Portage’s trash pickup, but wound up steering contracts for $712,882.50 and another for $425,355 to Great Lakes Peterbilt, which was then owned by Robert and Steve Buha.

Defense attorneys say that Snyder used his experience in offering health insurance to city employees through the Affordable Care Act, and making technology upgrades to advice Great Lakes Peterbilt about making similar changes.

A second count said that Snyder, while owing tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS, funneled income through a shell company, and failed to disclose any of those assets to the IRS.

Snyder was cleared of taking a bribe in an alleged pay-to-play towing scheme.

Federal prosecutors said the mayor allegedly solicited money from John Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, and “Individual A” and gave them a towing contract for Portage.

Former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich, a Democrat, was indicted the same day as Snyder in a similar towing scheme. Buncich was found guilty and began serving a 15-year 8-month sentence in January 2018.

Cortina, 80, who was indicted alongside the mayor, in January pleaded guilty to a charge that he paid bribes to Snyder to get a spot on the tow list. Cortina did not testify during the trial, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself, according to court documents.

Snyder’s defense said during the trail that prosecutors presented no evidence that Snyder knowingly accepted any money that was purported to be a bribe. The defense said that Snyder considered the money a loan from Cortina, a friend and political supporter, to help cover his legal fees.

Snyder has maintained his innocence during the more than two years since he was indicted.