Former Portage Mayor James Snyder to be sentenced Wednesday, ending a 5-year saga
POST-TRIBUNE
OCT 11, 2021
Former Portage Mayor James Snyder will be sentenced Wednesday after being found guilty of soliciting bribes, ending a nearly 5-year saga.
Prosecutors stated that Snyder should be sentenced “within the applicable guideline range,” which is 46 to 57 months. Andrea Gambino, Snyder’s new attorney, is requesting probation.
Gambino has recommended either probation, restrictions on Snyder’s “liberty through home or community confinement,” a “substantial community service requirement,” or allowing Snyder “to work and repay his financial obligations while continuing to support his family,” according to court records.
Snyder was indicted in November 2016, on the same day former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich was indicted on a charge of accepting bribes in a towing scheme. Since then, Snyder’s case docket has 559 filings.
Buncich, 75, remains in prison in Springfield, Missouri. He has an Oct. 4, 2028 release date.
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. Snyder was never sentenced on the initial conviction and has remained free.
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.
In a sentencing memorandum, Gambino writes about Snyder’s “history of commitment to public service,” particularly spending weekends as a teenager and young adult “working with underprivileged children and families in Gary and Michigan through Fairhaven Baptist Church.”
Snyder ran for mayor in 2007, but lost by 301 votes, according to the memorandum. But, in 2011, Snyder ran again and won by 260 votes.
During the 2011 campaign, Snyder’s “platform included ensuring safe streets, paved streets, buying local when available, more good jobs and automating trash pickup,” according to the memorandum, which led to his reelection.
“While the government would have one believe that buying garbage trucks and soliciting a reward for doing so was the focus of Snyder’s seven years in office, his many accomplishments speak for themselves,” Gambino wrote.
During the investigation, Snyder cooperated with law enforcement officials, according to the memorandum, allowing City Hall employees “to comply and meet with the FBI,” even offering attorneys if employees needed counsel.
At trial, Snyder “maintained that he did not solicit a reward” and stated “that payment was in return for the advice and consulting work that he performed,” according to the memorandum. He tithed and paid taxes on the payment, which are “more consistent with Snyder’s belief about what he was doing.”
By “accepting the jury’s verdict,” Gambino wrote, “it is important to consider” that the case is “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),” Gambino wrote.
Multiple people filed letters on behalf of Snyder for the judge to consider.
Snyder’s oldest daughter, Reagan, wrote that to understand Snyder “you have to understand his heart.” Snyder cares about others, “which makes him different from every other guy on the street.”
“He’s one of the few people I know who can love, talk, and help anybody no matter their political party, race, gender, wealth, mental awareness or religion,” Reagan wrote. “My dad has made it his life goal to teach me and my siblings the exact same principle.”
Snyder’s wife, Deborah, said the family has received support from the Portage community since the indictment. She wrote about their children, who were home-schooled most of their lives and how they were able to attend meetings and travel with Snyder.
“It’s easier to imagine the financial effects of James being imprisoned than the emotional effects on my children. I can envision living with less, but I’m very concerned about the lasting scars separation from their father could cause during the most formative years of their upbringing,” Deborah Snyder wrote.
Snyder’s mother, Sandi, wrote that Snyder is the “kind and forgiving spirit of our family,” and shared how the case has impacted her family, particularly the strained relationship between Snyder and his brother, Jon.
“He has the ability to put things behind him. We are depending on his help to begin the healing process,” Sandi wrote.
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