Bribery retrial for former Portage Mayor James Snyder pushed to January
Chicago Tribune
November 13, 2020
The retrial date for former Portage Mayor James Snyder, facing a soliciting bribes charge, has been pushed back to late January because the presiding judge has a family emergency.
During a brief Friday afternoon status conference, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Theresa Springmann, in Hammond, informed the prosecutors and defense attorneys that the case will be pushed to “sometime on or after” Jan. 29. A court order will be issued Monday with further details.
A jury trial was initially set for Dec. 7 by Springmann after she denied a motion to dismiss the bribery charge. On Nov. 6, Springmann recused herself from the case, but was reinstated to the case Tuesday.
During a pretrial conference Friday morning, Magistrate Judge John Martin heard from Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster and Snyder’s attorney, Jackie Bennett Jr., about what motions they plan to file ahead of trial.
The prosecution will file motions to exclude evidence, motion to admit evidence and a motion to remove language from the indictment, Koster said. Martin set deadlines of Nov. 18 for the prosecution motions and Nov. 23 for the defense to respond.
The defense attorneys will file a motion for immunity hearing regarding Robert and Steve Buha, former owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt. Martin set a deadline of Nov. 17 for the defense to file the motion and Nov. 19 for prosecutors to respond.
It is unclear how the deadlines will be impacted by the new trial date.
Snyder’s attorneys have argued that the soliciting bribe charge should be dismissed on the double jeopardy standard because the Buha brothers were granted immunity with “no-notice, mid-trial” following a grand jury testimony that took “the Court completely by surprise,” according to court records. With their testimony, “there is a strong likelihood that Mr. Snyder would have been acquitted,” according to court records filed by the defense.
Additionally, Snyder’s attorneys have argued in the filing that the court should use its supervisory power to acquit him because the prosecutors “deprived Mr. Snyder of eyewitnesses as to what happened between him and the Buhas ... much of the evidence he had expected to place before the jury.”
Springmann denied both grounds for dismissing the case in October.
Snyder, who was indicted in November 2016, 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 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, 42, has agreed to forfeit $13,000 to the federal government, documents show.
Federal prosecutors said Snyder allegedly solicited money from co-defendant John Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, and “Individual A” and gave them a towing contract for Portage.
Cortina, 81, in January 2019 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.
Cortina was sentenced Jan. 22 to time served and a $12,000 fine.
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