Former Portage Mayor James Snyder wants to drop bribery case; federal authorities want renegotiation

Former Portage Mayor James Snyder's case in federal court is ongoing as his lawyers and federal prosecutors seek to have the bribery charge, which was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, either permanently dismissed or set a new trial.

Both sides presented their arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago on Monday and requested that the case be remanded to the U.S. District Court in Hammond.

After numerous twists and delays since Snyder was indicted in District Court on November 17, 2016, on two counts of bribery and one count of obstructing the IRS, a jury found Snyder not guilty on one count of bribery related to a towing contract, but guilty on the other two counts.

The second bribery conviction involved allegations related to a $13,000 payment related to garbage truck contracts valued at about $1 million. It survived two trials but was overturned when a Supreme Court majority ruled that the payment was a tip, not a bribe. Criminalizing the payment would expose even routine campaign contributions to the wrath of the federal government.

The overturning of Snyder's conviction had an impact on countless other cases, particularly high-profile cases in the state of Illinois, including the trial of former House Speaker Michael Madigan and the case of the “ComEd Four,” who were convicted of a bribery plot against him.

The Supreme Court's June 26 decision said, among other things, that the payment to Snyder by the Buha brothers, owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt, was a gratuity because Snyder received the money – allegedly for consulting work – after the company won the garbage truck contracts, not before.

Now Snyder wants the bribery conviction returned to the district court and dismissed with reservations so that it cannot be retried. The U.S. Attorney disagrees, pointing to evidence that he accepted bribes and tips, so the case must be retried.

The 6-3 Supreme Court majority that overturned Snyder's conviction, according to the brief by Snyder's Chicago attorney Andréa Gambino, “makes clear that the district court erred when it refused to strike the tipping charge from the indictment, when it refused to follow Snyder's proposed jury instructions, and when it rejected the acquittal at the conclusion of both trials.”

Furthermore, Gambino states that “this court and the district court erred in finding that there was sufficient legal or factual evidence to sustain a conviction,” and then goes on to cite the Supreme Court ruling, pointing out that Snyder “has never been charged by prosecutors with bribery; and he has never been charged or disciplined by Portage for violating the city's gift regulations.”

In their complaint, federal prosecutors ask the district court to overturn the verdict in the bribery case and remand the case for a new trial and further sentencing determination after the retrial is complete.

The evidence presented at Snyder's trial led to his conviction, prosecutors said, and the Supreme Court's decision did not change that.

“As this Court has previously found, the evidence presented by the Government at trial was sufficient to convict the defendant of accepting both a bribe and a gratuity… and that finding was not shaken by the Supreme Court's decision.

“Accordingly, there is no basis for acquitting the defendant; the present error in instruction entitles Snyder, at best, to a new trial.”

Prosecutors also point out that the Supreme Court did not allow review of Snyder's conviction for obstructing the IRS and did not mention the conviction; it “remained untouched.”

Snyder, a Republican, was first elected mayor in 2011 and re-elected in 2015. However, his term was ended early in February 2019 by his conviction in federal court.

Snyder was sentenced to 21 months in prison and one year of probation by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly for the bribery and IRS convictions.

Snyder successfully argued that the start of his prison sentence should be delayed until his request to have his case heard by the Supreme Court was completed.

Regardless of the outcome of Snyder's appeals court motion, his sentence will remain uncertain until the case is resolved.

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Originally published: August 20, 2024 at 16:04