Former Portage mayor seeking third shot at beating federal bribery charge
NWI Times
Apr 20, 2021
HAMMOND — One month after being found guilty a second time on the same federal bribery charge, former Portage Mayor James Snyder has asked the judge to reverse the jury's latest finding or at least grant him a third trial.
"The prosecution presented one theory of culpability at trial: that Mr. Snyder rigged the public bidding process for the award of five automated garbage trucks, and did so in exchange for a bribe of $13,000. The prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence from which a jury could find that theory proven beyond a reasonable doubt," Snyder's legal defense team argues in its request for acquittal.
The defense is seeking the opportunity to argue its requests before the judge in person or remotely.
Snyder, 43, a Republican, is scheduled to be sentenced July 1 by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois, who was brought in to oversee the local case.
Former Portage Mayor James Snyder on Friday was again found guilty on a federal bribery charge, stemming from accusations he accepted a $13,000 check from a local trucking firm seven years ago to corruptly influence the purchase of $1.125 million in garbage trucks.
The defense cites Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29, which it argues says the court "must enter a judgment of acquittal of any offense for which the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction."
The defense claims that the prosecutor's case failed as a legal theory and failed on the facts.
"There is no general 'corruption' crime, under which if a prosecutor (or jury) generally feels that an official did something wrong, the official gets convicted," according to the motion submitted by defense attorney Jackie M. Bennett Jr.
He goes on to say that prosecutors failed to show the check Snyder received was a bribe or a reward.
"The prosecution did not present any evidence that came anywhere close to touching upon the central question in this case," Bennett argues. "Instead, the prosecution did what the Seventh Circuit says should not happen, leaving an 'evidentiary void' at the heart of a case, thereby encouraging 'guesswork' and 'speculation' to fill the void."
Snyder was found guilty of accepting a $13,000 check from Great Lakes Peterbilt in Portage seven years ago to corruptly influence the purchase of $1.125 million in garbage trucks.
Bennett said in his motion for acquittal that no evidence was presented at trial showing Snyder used his office to benefit the trucking firm.
"Under our system of justice, no one can be convicted of a crime based on a 'maybe,' ” the motion argues. "Since the prosecution failed to present evidence from which a jury could find all the elements proven beyond a reasonable doubt, we respectfully request that the Court grant Mr. Snyder’s Rule 29 motion."
New trial sought
The defense also filed a motion seeking a new trial.
"A jury verdict has been overturned once in this matter, relating to 'irregularities' in the prosecution's conduct. One might expect that a prosecution insisting on a second trial would be beyond reproach in its conduct and tactics at that trial; but that was not the case," Snyder's legal team said at the start of the multicount motion.
"Mr. Snyder acknowledges that no one is guaranteed a perfect trial, just a fair one," Bennett said. "But the retrial in this matter did not meet the fundamental requirement of fairness."
The motion goes on to challenge prosecutor's decision to call witness Randall Evans, a former deputy commissioner for the state’s Department of Insurance, claiming it knew Evans would present false testimony and yet action by the judge failed to defuse the prejudice.
"The Court issued a mid-trial instruction on Evans's testimony," the defense said. "The Court declined, however, to grant the defense's motion to strike his testimony entirely. Instead, the Court instructed the jury to disregard Evans’s statements insofar as they specifically stated that one needed to register before providing advice regarding the ACA (Affordable Care Act)."
Snyder had pitched the idea of providing Great Lakes Peterbilt with insurance advice on the then-newly implemented Affordable Care Act and help the firm with its computer needs in return for the $13,000 check, the former owner of the trucking firm testified at trial.
The defense further accuses prosecutors of inviting jury speculation about bid-tampering and providing a continuous flow of evidence during trial.
"That is, from one week before trial through the end of trial, the prosecution produced another (by our count) 1,114 pages of material," Bennett argued. "This does not even count the thousands of pages produced within two weeks of the trial."
Snyder was indicted in late 2016 and was first found guilty in early 2019 of the bribery charge and federal tax violations. He is awaiting sentencing on the tax violations.
The bribery verdict was overturned later that year and a former judge in the case ordered a retrial that went on nearly two weeks last month.
Snyder opted not to testify on his own behalf during the trial and declined to answer questions as he left the federal court building.
