03062020 - News Article - Ex-Portage mayor's law team pursues double jeopardy argument

Ex-Portage mayor's law team pursues double jeopardy argument
NWI Times
March 06, 2020
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/ex-portage-mayor-s-law-team-pursues-double-jeopardy-argument/article_48875950-f930-5bff-8887-640facbdcfcf.html

HAMMOND — Lawyers for former Portage Mayor James E. Snyder are asking a judge to cancel his upcoming bribery charge.

Snyder’s defense team is making new arguments that this second jury trial, now scheduled to begin April 27, is barred by the constitution ‘s prohibition against double jeopardy — trying someone twice for the same crime.

The defense also argues Snyder can never get a fair trial now because of prosecutorial misconduct that took place in his first trial last year.

Federal prosecutors have yet to respond to this new defense motion.

Federal prosecutors first charged Snyder in November 2016 with two bribery counts and one tax evasion count.

A jury, overseen by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen, heard evidence in the case against Snyder early last year.

Jurors acquitted Snyder of one bribery count alleging he corruptly arranged for the city of Portage to award public vendor contracts for towing services.

But the same jury found Snyder guilty of the other bribery count, that he corruptly arranged for Portage to award a truck sales firm $1.125 million in government contracts before he solicited their paying him a $13,000 bribe in return.

Snyder contends the $13,000 was for legitimate work as a consultant for the trucking firm.

The jury also convicted Snyder of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service’s collection of income taxes by falsifying documents to conceal from the IRS the true financial status of his private business ventures.

Those two guilty verdicts removed Snyder from public office.

Snyder’s defense team pressed Van Bokkelen to overturn the two guilty verdicts, misconduct by federal prosecutors denied Snyder a fair trial.

Van Bokkelen ruled Nov. 27 Snyder deserves a new trial on the garbage truck bribery count. Van Bokkelen dropped out of the case afterward and Springmann was assigned to oversee the new trial.

Van Bokkelen stopped short of condemning prosecutors of misconduct, but did conclude “gamesmanship” by the prosecution prevented the jury from hearing testimony from the former owners of the truck dealership, who paid Snyder $13,000.

Snyder’s defense team has argued to Van Bokkelen and now Springmann that Steve and Bob Buha, owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt, would have convinced a jury, had they testified, they didn’t pay Snyder a bribe, but rather paid him for legitimate consulting services he had earned in working for Great Lakes.

The defense contended the prosecutorial irregularities cannot be cured by a new trial, so the bribery count must be dismissed, making a new trial unnecessary.