Column: A crooked tale of two brothers. One heading to prison, the other heading to the next stage of their estranged relationship
POST-TRIBUNE
OCT 14, 2021
James Snyder knocked on my front door with a police officer at his side. At first I was alarmed. Then I realized they wanted only my vote.
Snyder was campaigning for mayor of Portage, where I had lived for more than 30 years. He was confident, enthusiastic, outgoing and smiling. This was my first memory of meeting Snyder, who ended up becoming mayor of the third largest city in Northwest Indiana.
Every time I met him afterward, he exuded those same personality traits. At public events, municipal meetings, casual run-ins, and on his campaign trails. Always smiling. In November 2011, the Republican mayoral candidate stood under a tent outside a school to thank voters for coming out on a rainy, gloomy Election Day.
“We feel positive,” Snyder told me with another self-assured handshake.
Snyder has always felt positive. About himself. About his mayoral achievements. And about his five-year court battle with federal prosecutors for public corruption charges.
In 2017, I wrote a column about his situation as critics clamored for his resignation from public office: “I believe Snyder is convinced he’s innocent of all charges against him by federal authorities. Convinced. Nothing less.”
At that point, Snyder not only faced public corruption charges. He also faced public perception charges.
“My reputation is shot until I win and I understand that,” Snyder told me for that column.
He felt confident, again, that he would ultimately win his dragged-out court case, which included more than 500 court filings. He ended up losing not once, but twice. Still, the verdict didn’t incarcerate his positive outlook toward his upcoming sentencing. His new attorney pleaded for probation instead of jail time. Snyder told me he remained positive about its promise.
On Wednesday — a date I had noted in my planner — Snyder, 43, was sentenced in federal court to 21 months in prison and a one-year supervised release for his crimes, soliciting bribes and obstruction. My initial reaction: 21 months isn’t so bad. He could have served more than four years if prosecutors had their way.
My next thought was about Snyder’s family, specifically his brother, Jon Snyder, who I’ve gotten to know through his public office role as Porter County Assessor. The two brothers seem polar opposites in many ways, like I was with my brother. The Snyder brothers haven’t spoken to each other in more than three years.
In 2019, Jon Snyder was given a sentence of probation for a federal tax violation, prompted by his cooperation to aid the prosecutors’ investigation against his brother. Part of that cooperation included wearing a wire to produce recordings of conversations that were integral to the feds’ case. He also testified against James in court. Jon, a father of 10, didn’t have much of a choice in his decision.
On Wednesday, Jon felt relieved that this stage of the seven-year saga finally came to a close. James told a judge he wanted to make amends with his brother. Jon hopes this can happen, someday. Throughout this court case, I’ve viewed it through the prism of brotherly love, betrayal, disappointment and possible reconciliation.
My older brother, Joe, died in 2009 of sudden heart failure. As I struggled to sort out our rocky relationship, I wrote in a column, “I stared at my brother’s face for several seconds, somehow expecting his eyes to open. They never did, of course. A single sheet covered his still body inside the emergency room at Portage Community Hospital.” (Read the entire column on my Facebook page.)
Joe and I weren’t as close as we could have been as brothers. I’ve regretted this, and I’ve mentioned it to the Snyder brothers as they navigated their estranged relationship. Prison isn’t death, though it may feel this way at the moment to James’ family.
“No matter what happens, you’ll always be brothers,” I’ve told the Snyder brothers on separate occasions.
After James was convicted and forced from public office, I kept in touch with him. Or, I should say, he kept in touch with me. We spoke a handful of times. He pleaded his case. I listened. I also read through dozens of pages of post-trial case briefs, loaded with legalese. I put off writing another column until his sentencing. Here we are.
The piles of garbage from this public corruption case are finally being hauled away. James is heading to prison, having until Jan. 5 to surrender into custody. Jon is heading to the next stage of their strained relationship, having to choose whether they make amends before Jan. 5 or after his brother goes to prison. Or never.
“You really find out who your friends and family are when you go through something like this,” James told me earlier this year.
His attitude was, again, remarkably upbeat. He’ll need his inherent positivity more than ever when he begins his prison sentence. I find no personal satisfaction in this outcome of justice, though I believe it is deserved and a longtime coming. He committed crimes. He will be paying for them. It’s time for the rest of us to show grace, not glee. James’ wife will lose her husband, his kids will lose their father and his parents will lose one of their sons.
“The Snyders will always hold their heads up high,” James said in court Wednesday.
As I wrote in that 2009 column about my brother’s sudden death, “We exited the hospital room to begin sorting through our grief, regrets and memories. As you could probably guess, I’m still sorting.”
The Snyder brothers also are still sorting their feelings. The key difference is that they’re both still alive to do so. I hope they take advantage of it.
Former Portage Mayor Snyder gets 21 months in prison for seeking bribe, tax evasion
ABC News - Chicago
October 14, 2021
HAMMOND, Ind. -- A former northwestern Indiana mayor who was found guilty of taking a $13,000 bribe from a trucking company and illegal tax evasion has been sentenced to 21 months in prison.
A federal judge ordered the sentence Wednesday against former Portage Mayor James Snyder after a jury convicted him in March of seeking the bribe in return for steering about $1.1 million in city contracts to the company.
Snyder, a Republican, has maintained his innocence, testifying during his trial that the money was payment for consulting work that he declared on his income tax returns.
Snyder first won election as mayor in 2011 and was removed from office in 2019.
Ex-Indiana mayor gets 21 months in prison for seeking bribe
WGN News
October 13, 2021
HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) — A former northwestern Indiana mayor who was found guilty of taking a $13,000 bribe from a trucking company and illegal tax evasion was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in prison.
A federal judge ordered the sentence against former Portage Mayor James Snyder after a jury convicted him in March of seeking the bribe in 2013 in return for steering about $1.1 million in city contracts to the company.
Snyder, a Republican, has maintained his innocence, testifying during his trial that the money was payment for consulting work that he declared on his income tax returns.
Snyder’s defense attorney sought probation or home confinement for him, calling the company’s payment a “gratuity” and arguing that even if Snyder was guilty the offense was “nonviolent and an example of aberrant behavior in an otherwise positive and law-abiding life.”
A single transaction that involved a modest amount of money that is at worst a gratuity does not rise to the level of seriousness reflected in the scope and nature of (other corruption cases),” defense attorney Andrea Gambino wrote to the judge.
The prison time that Judge Matthew Kennelly ordered, along with one year of supervised release, was less than what is called for under federal sentencing guidelines. Kennelly said Snyder’s offense did appear to be an “aberration” but agreed with prosecutors that prison time was proper to help deter corruption by public officials.
Snyder, 43, won elections as mayor in 2011 and 2015. He was indicted on the bribery charges in 2016 and was removed from office in 2019 when he was first convicted in the case. A judge later threw out that verdict, ruling that aggressive tactics by prosecutors denied Snyder a fair trial.
A former owner of the Great Lakes Peterbilt trucking company testified during Snyder’s retrial that he felt pressured when Snyder showed up at the trucking company’s office asking for money.
Jurors also convicted Snyder of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service from collecting unpaid taxes owed by a private mortgage company he ran.
Federal prosecutors had recommended about four years in prison for Snyder. The judge gave Snyder until Jan. 5 to surrender for the start of his prison term.
Former Portage mayor James Snyder sentenced to 21 months in prison for soliciting bribes, obstruction
Chicago Tribune
Oct 13, 2021
After nearly five years, two convictions and changes in his legal team, James Snyder, former mayor of Portage, was sentenced to nearly 2 years in prison and one year supervised release for his crimes Wednesday in Hammond’s federal court.
Former Portage mayor was sentenced to 21 months in prison for soliciting bribes and obstruction. He will have to surrender into custody Jan. 5. He was convicted in February 2019 of using a shell company to hide income assets from the IRS while owing back personal and business taxes, but never sentenced.
Snyder, 43, was indicted in November 2016, on the same day former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich was indicted for accepting bribes in a towing scheme. Since then, Snyder’s case docket has 559 filings. Buncich, 75, has been in prison in Springfield, Missouri, since early 2018, serving a 15-year sentence.
In February 2019, a jury convicted Snyder, 43, 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 on a third count that alleged he took a $12,000 bribe to get a company on Portage’s tow list.
On Nov. 27, 2019, Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen granted a new trial on the soliciting bribes charge. The retrial was heard by Judge Matthew F. Kennelly, from the Northern District of Illinois, who is the third judge to review the case.
In March, after a two-week retrial, a federal court jury found Snyder guilty of soliciting bribes. Snyder’s sentencing was moved to Wednesday in August after Snyder hired Gambino — who represented ex-Calumet Township employee Ethel Shelton — to replace Jackie M. Bennett Jr., Vivek R. Hadley and Jayna M. Cacioppo, of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.
Snyder faced the judge, and occasionally turning to the audience in the courtroom, thanked his family, friends, church members, staff and lawyers for their support. Wednesday was garbage day in his neighborhood, Snyder said, and he realized that every time he sees a garbage truck he “won’t be able to forget about this.”
“Your honor, I should’ve been better. I had not only an obligation to be better to my family but to my constituents,” Snyder said. “Everyone knows the deep remorse I feel.”
Prosecutors stated that Snyder should be sentenced “within the applicable guideline range,” which is 46 to 57 months. Andrea Gambino, Snyder’s new attorney, requested probation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu said bribery undermines the public’s trust in government, and “normalizes the idea that leaders can circumvent the law.” A prison sentence provides a “counter message” to those who “break the law and think they can get away with it.”
Throughout the investigation, Bhachu said, Snyder lied to law enforcement, coordinated statements with other witnesses and “effectively tried to limit the truth finding process.”
“This is a defendant who had many opportunities in life,” Bhachu said. “But he was a defendant who had those opportunities, had that job, and he knew better.”
Bhachu said that Snyder “keeps behaving, unfortunately, as if he did nothing wrong.”
Gambino said prison has negative impacts on a person and that prison shouldn’t be considered the first option for punishment. Snyder has gone through 7 years of punishment, Gambino said, including the investigation time, which is “a long time to be under the cloud of stress and pressure.”
“There’s the shame to this,” Gambino said. “A felony conviction is permanent, and barring court action, follows someone for the rest of their life.”
Gambino said that Snyder has remorse, but has been “maintaining his innocence.”
Kennelly said he wanted the case to be “treated seriously,” because ultimately a case like this erodes public trust in government, which is why it is “inappropriate” for probation.
“If you get caught on this, you’re going to be deprived of liberty,” Kennelly said. “There is a very significant harm that comes from any type of situation like this when a public official corrupts the office, which is what Mr. Snyder did.”
Kennelly also drew on the testimony of Randy Reeder, then Portage’s assistant superintendent of streets and sanitation, saying Reeder’s testimony “is all over the place.”
Reeder testified Wednesday on behalf of the defense stating that no one asked him to lie when he recanted his grand jury testimony, in which he said he felt like a pawn and that Snyder knew knew about portions of the bid specifications. Bennett also testified that he never told Reeder what to say.
But, Reeder said that his grand jury testimony “is what it is.”
“If I could go back ... I wouldn’t agree to revising those statements,” Reeder said.
Kennelly said that “as bribes go, this was small.” While neither of the trials were “slam dunk cases,” two juries heard it: one jury convicted on obstruction and another on bribes.
The evidence also showed, Kennelly said that Snyder lied to law enforcement and worked hard to “square away” stories with other witnesses.
“That says something about Mr. Snyder,” Kennelly said. “That’s not the way to do that.”
Portage Mayor Sue Lynch released a statement following the sentencing: “This verdict is no vindication for the citizens of Portage and it is unfortunate that this ruling has made a mockery out of the Justice system. To say I am disappointed in Judge Kennelly’s ruling is an understatement. The City of Portage has endured five long years of of being drug through the mud, and our image, and the office of Mayor, has been tarnished for years to come. This ruling is nothing more than a slap on the wrist to someone who recklessly spent taxpayer dollars and left our city with embarrassing state board of accounts reviews, a lowered credit rating and a nearly empty bank account when we came into office.”
Three character witnesses testified, including Snyder’s 70-year-old father Bruce, who said that his son “thinks outside the box” and “got a lot done” for Portage, like renovating City Hall.
“James is not the person they have made him out to be. He is a good man,” Snyder’s dad said.
Amanda Lakie, Snyder’s administrative assistant, said Snyder was “not a boss who just told you what to do” but had vision and leadership skills.
Kennelly said his sentencing considers Snyder’s accomplishments as mayor and the many letters sent on his behalf, which left him with a decision on how to sentence “someone who is a good person and does something bad and gets caught.”
After sentencing Snyder, Kennelly said he wished Snyder luck.
“You’re a good, strong man. You’ll get through this,” Kennelly said.
Former Portage mayor given reduced 21-month prison sentence
NWI Times
Oct 13, 2021
HAMMOND — Nearly five years after he was indicted and following two trials, former Portage Mayor James Snyder was sentenced after a day-long hearing Wednesday to 21 months in prison and one year supervised release on federal bribery and tax violation convictions.
In imposing the term, which was well below the recommended sentencing guideline of 46 to 57 months, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said that Snyder's offense appeared to be an "aberration" in his life.
Yet Kennelly, a judge from the Northern District of Illinois called in to handle the local case, rejected the defense's call for no prison time, saying the sentence was necessary as a deterrent to public corruption.
"It sends an important message," Kennelly said.
The judge further said probation alone would not be appropriate because Snyder, a 43-year-old Republican, had lied to investigators and sought to influence others to "defeat the truth-seeking process" in his case.
"That says something about Mr. Snyder," Kennelly said.
The judge told Snyder of his right to appeal and gave him until Jan. 5 to surrender himself to begin his prison term.
Current Portage Mayor Sue Lynch, a Democrat, was not happy with the outcome of the case.
"This verdict is no vindication for the citizens of Portage and it is unfortunate that this ruling has made a mockery out of the justice system," she said when asked by The Times for comment. "To say I am disappointed in Judge Kennelly's ruling is an understatement."
"The city of Portage has endured five long years of of being drug through the mud, and our image and the office of mayor has been tarnished for years to come," she said. "This ruling is nothing more than a slap on the wrist to someone who recklessly spent taxpayer dollars and left our city with embarrassing state board of accounts reviews, a lowered credit rating and a nearly empty bank account when we came into office."
Snyder was twice found guilty of soliciting and accepting a $13,000 bribe in 2014 in return for steering a $1.125 million garbage collection contract for the city of Portage to the local Great Lakes Peterbilt company.
Federal prosecutors say he also obstructed the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to collect unpaid taxes on a private mortgage company he ran.
Snyder told the judge Wednesday afternoon that he saw a garbage truck when leaving his Portage home that morning and expects to be reminded of his case each time he sees such a vehicle. He then defended his record as mayor.
"We left Portage a better place," he said.
Snyder, who thanked the residents of Portage, his legal team and family, said he would not be facing prison time if only he had kept better campaign, tax and business records. Those failures have place a great burden on his family members, who have been humiliated, but made stronger, he said.
"The Snyders will always hold their heads up high," he said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu, who sought a steeper sentence within the recommended guideline range, said the bribery count in particular undermines the public trust in government.
He then cited Snyder's background of opportunity to say, "He knew better."
Yet he said Snyder continues to behave as though he did nothing wrong, despite being convicted twice on the bribery charge and once on the tax offense.
"Instead of taking care of the city, at the end of the day, he betrayed the city," Bhachu said.
Defense attorney Andréa Gambino argued against prison time, saying there is a debate over its value as a deterrent and that Snyder has already paid a big price living under the investigation and criminal case for seven years.
"Everybody in life makes mistakes," she said.
Gambino said the felony conviction will keep Snyder from returning to his chosen professions of elected life and mortgage work.
Snyder's father, Bruce Snyder, said his family was once very political, but no more.
"I think what the government does is absolutely atrocious," he said. "James is not the person they have made him out to be. He's a good man."
Kennelly attempted to dispel any impression that the federal case against Snyder was political in nature, pointing out how it was filed and continued on under both Republican and Democratic administrations in Washington.
Snyder was also convicted by two different juries and there were two judges along the way, he said.
Porter County Republican Party Chairman Mike Simpson said following sentencing that he and other friends of the former mayor were saddened, "as we had hoped for a more lenient and reasonable approach."
"We especially feel sadness for his wife and children as they will shoulder an incredible burden in the coming years," he said. "Despite this unwelcome outcome, and the difficult road ahead for the Snyder family, we are relieved this chapter is closed and pray for healing for all involved."
Former Portage mayor sentenced to 21 months in prison
NWI Times
October 13, 2021
HAMMOND — Nearly five years after he was indicted and following two trials, former Portage Mayor James Snyder was sentenced after a day-long hearing Wednesday to 21 months in prison on federal bribery and tax violation charges.
In imposing the sentence, which is below that recommended in sentencing guidelines, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said that Snyder's offense appeared to be an "aberration" in an otherwise law-abiding life.
Yet Kennelly, a judge from the Northern District of Illinois, rejected the defense's call for no prison time, saying the sentence was necessary as a deterrent to public corruption.
"It sends a message," Kennelly said of the sentence.
The judge gave Snyder until Jan. 5 to surrender himself to begin his prison term.
The 43-year-old Republican was twice found guilty of soliciting and accepting a $13,000 bribe in 2014 in return for steering a $1.125 million garbage collection contract for the city of Portage to the local Great Lakes Peterbilt company.
Federal prosecutors say he also obstructed the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to collect unpaid taxes on a private mortgage company he ran.
Snyder had repeatedly asked the judge to spare him from prison. He, instead sought an alternative approach, including a potential term of probation, house arrest, community service and the ability "to work and repay his financial obligations while continuing to support his family," a supplemental sentencing memorandum says.
Federal prosecutors had sought imprisonment for Snyder, arguing that justice demands it to deter other elected officials from public corruption.
In a presentence filing, Snyder urged the court to: "... take into consideration the punishment he already has suffered, the collateral consequences of conviction which negatively impact his life in both the short and long term, the financial consequences for him and his family as a result of this prosecution, as well as the emotional and psychological punishment he has endured when considering the appropriate sentence in this case."
The defense also highlighted what it says are Snyder's contributions to the community and downplayed his offense as, "... at the lowest end of the public corruption scale when compared to others that have taken place within the past ten years in the Northern Districts of Indiana and neighboring Illinois."
Day of reckoning for former Portage mayor in federal bribery, tax violation case
NWI Times
October 13, 2021
HAMMOND — The day of reckoning has arrived for former Portage Mayor James Snyder, who is scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday morning to face sentencing on bribery and tax violation charges.
The 43-year-old Republican was twice found guilty of soliciting and accepting a $13,000 bribe in 2014 in return for steering a $1.125 million garbage collection contract for the city of Portage to the local Great Lakes Peterbilt company.
Federal prosecutors say he also obstructed the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to collect unpaid taxes on a private mortgage company he ran.
The sentencing comes nearly five years after Snyder was indicted.
Portage Superintendent of Streets and Sanitation Randy Reeder, who testified on behalf of federal prosecutors during the March bribery trial, is again expected to take the stand, but for the defense during the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois, who was brought in to oversee the local case.
Snyder's former attorney Jackie Bennett is also expected to be called on by the defense to testify.
Kennelly had rejected a request by the defense to also call two IRS agents during Wednesday's sentencing, saying the testimony is not needed.
Government prosecutors said they do not intend to call any witnesses.
Snyder has repeatedly asked the judge to spare him from prison. He is seeking an alternative approach, including a potential term of probation, house arrest, community service and the ability "to work and repay his financial obligations while continuing to support his family," the supplemental sentencing memorandum says.
Federal prosecutors are seeking imprisonment for Snyder, arguing that justice demands it to deter other elected officials from public corruption.
In a presentence filing, Snyder urged the court to: "... take into consideration the punishment he already has suffered, the collateral consequences of conviction which negatively impact his life in both the short and long term, the financial consequences for him and his family as a result of this prosecution, as well as the emotional and psychological punishment he has endured when considering the appropriate sentence in this case."
The defense also highlighted what it says are Snyder's contributions to the community and downplayed his offense as, "... at the lowest end of the public corruption scale when compared to others that have taken place within the past ten years in the Northern Districts of Indiana and neighboring Illinois."
