Former Portage mayor keeps up fight to overcome federal convictions, looming prison time
NWI Times
Nov 3, 2021
HAMMOND — After nearly five years of fighting and losing at two trials, former Portage Mayor James Snyder is not giving up in his attempts to overcome federal bribery and tax violations convictions.
The 43-year-old Republican, by way of his defense attorney Andréa E. Gambino, has filed a notice of appeal and says the jurisdiction is with the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, records show.
The appeal comes on the heels of Snyder's Oct. 13 day-long sentencing hearing that resulted in him receiving 21 months behind bars and one year supervised release, which was well below the recommended sentencing guideline of 46 to 57 months.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly gave Snyder until Jan. 5 to surrender himself to begin his prison term. It is not clear whether Snyder will be allowed to remain free while his appeal is pending.
In imposing the lighter sentence, Kennelly said that Snyder's offense appeared to be an "aberration" in his life.
Yet the judge, who was brought in from the Northern District of Illinois 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.
He further said probation alone would not be appropriate because Snyder 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.
Current Portage Mayor Sue Lynch, a Democrat, was not happy with the sentence.
"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."
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.
"We left Portage a better place," Snyder told the judge during his sentencing hearing. "The Snyders will always hold their heads up high."
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