Snyder’s campaign fund still open

Former Portage mayor seeking new trial after federal convictions

Years after he last ran for office and ultimately had to resign because of federal convictions on charges of public corruption and defrauding the IRS, former Portage Mayor James Snyder still has his mayoral campaign fund open.

The most recent form, filed Jan. 3 ahead of a Jan. 18 deadline for annual campaign finance reports for any open campaign committees, reflects a $6,000 loan from John Cortina, as do a handful from previous years.

Snyder was initially charged with two federal corruption charges, one involving contracts for garbage trucks and another for reportedly accepting a $12,000 bribe from Cortina for a towing contract. A jury found Snyder not guilty on the bribery charge involving Cortina; Cortina pleaded guilty in the case.

Snyder is asking for a new trial on the convictions for the charges involving the garbage truck purchases and the IRS, with the hope that he will be exonerated. Meanwhile, the fund remains open, said his campaign treasurer, Kenard Taylor, because if Snyder’s public corruption doesn’t stand, he can, under state statute, seek reimbursement for legal funds from the city of Portage.

“You cannot close a campaign account owing money to anybody or having any money in the bank,” said Taylor, who has served as a campaign treasurer for elected officials from both parties, including former Porter County Sheriff David Reynolds and former Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, both Democrats. He also reviews campaign finance reports for Porter County’s Elections and Voter Registration Office.

“That’s why I have to keep filing those reports. I’d rather not,” Taylor said, adding he has not billed Snyder a fee for his services since his conviction. If Snyder’s charges are overturned and his campaign fund is replenished, “we will discuss the fees appropriate to the action I’ve taken. It’s not much.”

Snyder’s most recent campaign

finance report reflects $195.41 in cash on hand; the $6,000 loan to Cortina; and a $2,949.29 loan Snyder made to his campaign.

Snyder, who was indicted on the federal charges in November 2016 and received the funds from Cortina in January 2016, according to his previous campaign finance reports, did not return a request for comment about the open campaign fund or how much his legal defense has cost over the past several years.

“That loan has not been paid off yet,” Taylor said of Cortina’s loan to Snyder. “It’s not been resolved because the case has not been resolved as far as James’ overall case.”

Once Snyder’s federal charges are resolved and if he’s found not guilty, the city of Portage “would have some degree of responsibility for his legal fees.”

If Snyder is successful on both quests, exoneration and the request for reimbursement for the fees related to the public corruption charge, Taylor said, “that money comes back to the campaign fund.”

At that point, Snyder can pay Cortina for the loan. If Snyder is not successful, Taylor said, he can come up with the funds to return the money or Cortina can absolve him of the loan.

In January 2019, Cortina, then 80, pleaded guilty to a charge that he paid bribes to Snyder to get a spot on the tow list. Cortina did not testify during the trial, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself, according to court documents. He was sentenced on Jan. 22, 2020 to time served and a $12,000 fine.

Snyder, who was elected mayor in 2011 and 2015, had relied heavily on his campaign fund from his run for mayor to offset his legal fees. The once-robust fund, which a 2017 campaign finance fund annual report showed had about $102,000 in contributions and expenditures, including $41,000 in legal fees, had dwindled to a balance of $233.41 at the start of 2020.

Much of the activity in and out of the fund ceased around mid-February of 2019, when Snyder was convicted and forced out of office. Expenditures included $5,000 for legal fees for one of his attorneys at the time, Jackie Bennett Jr., paid out March 5, 2019.

They also include more than $4,400 in hotel expenses for legal meetings; $2,300 for additional legal work; and hundreds of dollars for restaurant bills for legal meetings, including a tab of almost $500 at Gino’s Steakhouse in Merrillville, paid in January 2019.

How much Snyder is reimbursed by the city of Portage for his legal fees, if one or both of his convictions are dismissed, is up to the city council.

“The statute allows the fiscal body to determine what reasonable attorneys fees would be,” said Dan Whitten, Portage’s city attorney. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

State statute, Whitten said, requires a “complete acquittal” before the fiscal body can consider reimbursement. The council also would determine what a reasonable amount for reimbursement might be.

If Snyder’s conviction on the IRS charge were to stand, that could impede his ability to seek reimbursement for legal expenses related to the public corruption fund.

“I don’t believe that’s the intent of the statute, to have a convicted felon feeding at the public trough,” Whitten said.