A northwestern Indiana towing operator has pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge alleging he paid a mayor $12,000 for a towing contract. John Cortina, 79, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage entered the plea Friday, three days before the public corruption trial of Republican Portage Mayor James Snyder is set to begin.
Federal prosecutors concede there wasn’t enough evidence to convict former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich on three of the five wire fraud counts he was found guilty of and he should be resentenced. Prosecutors say they failed to introduce sufficient evidence of “Federal reserve payroll fund” transfers alleged in three counts of the indictment against Buncich and “the Court should vacate Buncich’s convictions on those counts.”
A federal judge has push backed the trial of a northwestern Indiana mayor facing bribery charges of accepting money in exchange for towing contracts. The trial against Republican Portage Mayor James Snyder had been scheduled to begin Tuesday, but will now begin in January.
A former western Indiana school chief faces three felony counts of bribery for allegedly accepting gifts from a vendor.
A former Merrillville town councilman was sentenced to 15 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge, with the court acknowledging he had already forfeited $7,500 to the United States.
A federal prosecutor says an indicted northwest Indiana mayor hasn’t proven his corruption charges should be dismissed because of how case-related emails were handled.
A former northwest Indiana town councilman has pleaded guilty to bribery for his role in an influence-buying scheme for towing contracts. The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported Thomas Goralczyk, 51, entered the plea Wednesday in federal court.
A defense attorney for the former sheriff of Indiana’s second most-populous county says federal prosecutors are seeking an “outrageous” prison sentence for his conviction on bribery and wire fraud charges.
A correctional officer at the federal prison in Terre Haute has been charged with taking bribes to look the other way as inmates left the grounds for sex, and to allow drugs, cellphones and other contraband into the facility.
The sentencing of former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich on his federal bribery and wire fraud conviction has been moved to mid-January.
With Lake County seemingly awash in political corruption, a local newspaper is trying to uproot the culture of kickbacks and payouts by putting the spotlight on those who speak in favor of the latest elected official to be convicted. The Lake County Bar Association formally opposes the action.
The federal bribery trial of Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez ended Thursday with the jury hopelessly deadlocked on all charges, a partial victory for him that could nevertheless leave the case hanging over his head as he gears up for re-election to a sharply divided Senate.
Jurors in the bribery trial of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez will resume deliberations Tuesday, a day after they told the judge they are at an impasse.
The bribery case against Sen. Bob Menendez and a wealthy friend is built on assumptions and speculation and is devoid of evidence of an actual criminal agreement, the Democrat’s attorney told jurors in closing arguments Monday in Newark, New Jersey.
Two men convicted in an elaborate fraud scheme involving the Indianapolis Land Bank have lost their federal appeal, with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Friday there was sufficient evidence to support their multiple fraud convictions.
It’s a tale of international jet-setting, $1,500-a-night hotel rooms and, for good measure, allegations of affairs with models and actresses. Beyond the tabloid angles, this week’s corruption trial of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and a wealthy friend promises to put the very business of governing under a microscope — and could eventually lead to a Republican taking over his seat in the deeply divided Senate.
The chief of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department says he’s working toward a smooth transition of power after the corruption conviction and removal from office of former Sheriff John Buncich.
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has asked the federal judge in his upcoming corruption trial to alter the trial schedule so he can be present for important Senate votes in Washington.
A northwestern Indiana sheriff has been found guilty in a fraud and bribery trial involving an illegal towing scheme.
Jurors in northwest Indiana have started deliberations in the trial of a county sheriff accused of soliciting bribes in an illegal towing scheme.