Former Portage Mayor James Snyder convicted for 2nd time on bribery charges

James Snyder, 43, solicited and took $13,000 from a local business while he served as mayor and gave them over $1.125 million in city contracts in return, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois.

By Sun-Times Wire

A former mayor of Portage, Indiana, was convicted on a bribery charge for the second time Friday for pocketing money from a local business in exchange for lucrative city contracts.

James Snyder, 43, solicited and took $13,000 from a local business while he served as mayor between 2012 and 2014, and handed them over $1.125 million in city contracts in return, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Snyder was already convicted on the bribery charge, along with multiple felony tax charges, in 2019. It was not immediately clear why a retrial was ordered.

The conviction is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison and up to three years for charges that he obstructed and impeded the IRS, prosecutors said.

His sentencing for both charges is set for July 1.

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