Snyder found guilty in retrial

Former Portage mayor convicted on charge of soliciting bribes

A federal court jury found former Portage mayor James Snyder guilty of soliciting bribes as his two-week retrial on the charge concluded Friday morning.

Between Thursday afternoon and Friday, the jury deliberated for less than two hours. When the jury entered the courtroom around 10:45 a.m., Judge Matthew F. Kennelly, with the Northern District of Illinois, asked for the verdict sheet.

Kennelly got out of his seat to receive the sheet from a clerk, read it to himself, then asked the clerk to read the verdict aloud. After the verdict was read, Snyder’s father, watching the trial from the jury assembly room, hung his head.

After the jury was excused, Snyder stood up and did not look at the jurors as they walked out. He left the court house shortly after 11 a.m., holding hands with his wife.

The conviction is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison.

Snyder had no comment on the verdict. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 1.

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 Kennelly, who is the third judge to review the case.

Thursday afternoon, attorneys presented their closing arguments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster said that Snyder violated the public’s trust, and “looked out for himself,” by steering the bids for the garbage truck contracts worth $1.25 million to Great Lakes Peterbilt and then asking for money from the company owners.

Koster pointed to ways that Snyder “injected himself” into the bidding process, from talking to the owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt to hiring a trusted friend with little experience to lead the bidding process. That friend, Randy Reeder, former assistant superintendent of Portage’s Streets and Sanitation Department, told a grand jury that he “felt like a pawn” during the bidding process.

After the second bid, Snyder — who was having financial trouble — went to the owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt, Stephen and Robert Buha, and asked them for money, Koster said. Snyder claims to have done health insurance consulting, Koster said, but no contracts were written and there was no documented proof work was done.

“He just went to a company he knew got $1.25 million in contracts for a reward,” she said.

Snyder’s attorney, Jackie

Bennett, said the prosecutors didn’t present direct evidence that the $13,000 signed by the Buha brothers was a bribe. Snyder didn’t conceal the bribe, like prosecutors stated, because it was deposited into an account with Snyder’s name associated with it.

Bennett said the only thing the prosecutors proved in the case was that Snyder was poor, and stated that Snyder went to Great Lakes Peterbilt to get a second job as a consultant to support his family. Koster asked the jury to consider how many people get a second job stating “I need money” and are handed a check for the work upfront.

Koster also reiterated there was no proof work was done, and that Snyder gave different explanations to people on what work he did to earn the $13,000.

“The problem with lies is you have to keep them straight,” Koster said. “All of these explanations were after the fact to explain a payment that has no justification.

After receiving immunity Monday with his brother, Robert Buha testified Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning as a witness called by Snyder’s attorneys.

Buha testified that around Christmas 2013 Snyder came to the business, unannounced, and asked to meet with the owners. During that meeting, Snyder asked the owners for $15,000 stating he was behind on tax payments and for Christmas expenses.

Snyder originally asked for a loan, Buha said, but the brothers didn’t like that idea.

“That’s when (Snyder) said, ‘I can work for it,’ ” Buha said.

The brothers thought about it, Buha said, and knew that Snyder couldn’t sell or engineer trucks. But, Buha said, he was struggling with figuring out health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act, so they agreed Snyder could assist with that.

Buha said he calculated work done at $250 a week for a year, based on what he believed to be minimum wage at the time, and came up with $13,000.

When asked by Snyder’s attorneys what work was done, Buha said a lot of discussions were held.

“He and I did have discussions about it, and he had ideas and advice,” Buha said.

Snyder also helped with IT consulting, Buha said, but “not as much as insurance” help.

Buha testified that a contract for the work wasn’t written up, and Snyder never gave them documents or presentations of work he did.

When the FBI reached out to Snyder in July 2014, Buha testified Snyder immediately called him and asked to be picked up from home. Buha, who said it took a few minutes for him to find Snyder’s address, drove over to Snyder’s house.

Snyder was outside when Buha pulled up, he testified, and Snyder’s children were outside, too. Snyder got in the car and told Buha to drive.

While driving around, Buha said Snyder told him that the FBI came to talk to him and that the agents were asking about a $13,000 check the Buha’s wrote to SRC Consulting, an alleged consulting company Sndyer owns.

The company, Koster said, did not exist other than being written on the check. The check was deposited into an account on Jan. 10, 2014, and before the check was deposited the account had $177.10, Gerard Hatagan, an IRS agent who investigated Snyder, testified.

The same day the check was deposited, $5,000 was transferred to Snyder’s family account, Hatagan said. Six days later, $2,000 was transferred to the family account, he said.

On Jan. 24, 2014, there was another transfer of $1,750 to the family account, Hatagan said. A week later, a utility payment was made for $850 from the account, he said.

On Feb. 6, 2014, there were two transfers of $500 each, one transfer to the family account and the other to Snyder’s campaign account, Hatagan said.

Buha described Snyder as “a pest” but, given Snyder’s status as mayor, Buha said he felt pressured to give him money when asked, because Snyder was “a man of influence.”

“He’s the mayor and has influence,” Robert Buha said.