Former Portage official enters plea, agrees to repay $56,000
Former Portage ClerkTreasurer Christopher Stidham agreed during an online court hearing Friday to plead guilty to a felony charge of conflict of interest and pay almost $57,000 in restitution, much of that going back to the city.
Stidham, 37, of the 3900 block of Wingstem Drive, was charged in late February with official misconduct, also a felony, for allegedly hiring his then-girlfriend, whom he later married, as a contractor for bookkeeping and other services for the city that were never provided.
Afelony pleawould force Stidham, an attorney, to give up his lawlicense but under the terms of the proposed plea, his attorney, Paul Stracci, could argue for the judgment to be entered as a class A misdemeanor at the time of sentencing.
Regardless, according to the proposed plea agreement, any sentence would be suspended and served as formal probation. The agreement also calls for Stidham to pay $56,564.55 in restitution, which includes the cost of a special audit performed by the State BoardofAccounts and funds to be returned to the city of Portage. Restitution is due at or before the sentencing.
City officials are looking forward to Portage receiving restitution and putting the matter behind them.
“It’s an unfortunate situation all around. Mr. Stidham needs to answer for his misconduct and the residents of Portage need to be made whole,” city attorney Dan Whitten said. “We are happy for the taxpayers of our city that this is coming to an end.”
Stidham is taking responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty to a felony charge and agreeing to pay restitution to the citizens of Portage, said City Councilman Collin Czilli, D-5th.
“While this case is not yet concluded, it is encouraging to see that the special prosecutor will not simply drop these charges. I am confident that the judge will issue a sentence that is fair and just for this circumstance,” he said. “Portage has work to do to rebuild trust with the citizens. Clerk-Treasurer (Nina) Rivas, Mayor (Sue) Lynch, and the Board of Works are working hard to be as transparent as possible with the City’s financial activity. Iam confident that their work will result in a more trusted city government.”
The special audit revealed a slew of problems, including paying Rachel Glass, now Stidham’s wife, for bookkeeping services that were never done and not submitting invoices for her businesses to the Board ofWorks.
According to court documents filed Friday, between Jan. 1, 2015, and Dec. 31, 2016, Stidham’s contracts with Glass “exceeded $250,000 and Stidham did not make a written disclosure” as required by state statute.
Stidham, during that time period, provided more than half of the support for Glass, and Stidham “knowingly or intentionally had a pecuniary interest” in a contract with Glass, documents said.
Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer took the matter under advisement and scheduled sentencing for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 22. That hearing, at the request of Stanley Levco, the special prosecutor in the case, will be held in person, though Clymer said it could move online depending on the status of theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Friday’shearingwas held via the online platform Zoom. Stidham appeared with Stracci and co-counsel James Woods from their lawoffice.
Levco said he preferred sentencing to be held in person but Stracci said he didn’t want the case “going on indefinitely,” though
Stidham was willing to waive his right to be sentenced within 30 days.
“He’s anxious to get his life figured out. He’s also going to have disciplinary repercussions and what is that all going to mean,” Stracci said.
Clymer said he had to balance Stidham’s rights with concerns about COVID-19.
“I will balance COVID and court safety for court personal and everyone involved in the case,” he said. “At this pointwe don’tknow howlongCOVID is going to last and Mr. Stidham has a right to be sentenced.”
Stidham, a Democrat, finished his second term as clerk-treasurer at the end of 2019. He ran unsuccessfully against Lynch in the spring primary that year for a spot on the general election ballot as amayoral candidate.