If you hold a position of power in state or local government, your words and actions are scrutinized heavily. Sometimes actions that you may believe are permissible can lead to criminal charges.
This type of situation is what an Indiana mayor recently faced when he was federally charged with corruption after accepting a payment from a truck company that had received more than $1 million in contracts while he was in office.
Mayor faced corruption charges
James Snyder, former mayor of Portage, Indiana, was charged with corruption when federal prosecutors accused him of soliciting a payment from the truck company after he had awarded the company two contracts.
Portage allows local public officials to maintain employment outside of their public office. Snyder claimed the payment of $13,000 was a consulting fee for work he performed on the truck company’s behalf.
A jury did not agree with that argument and convicted Snyder. He was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison, although he faced up to 10 years in prison on the charge. Snyder appealed his conviction, but it was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.
Snyder then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, who overturned the conviction by a 6-3 majority. The court examined whether state and local officials who accepted gratuities violated federal law.
The definition of gratuities can vary widely. Gratuities can include money, dinners, gift cards or other items that are used to express appreciation for an act taken by the state or local official.
However, gratuities in the form of large sums of money can be viewed as a bribe in exchange for doing favors on behalf of an individual or business.
Examining both sides of the argument
Some Supreme Court justices concluded that federal law does not supersede state and local rules and argued that public officials should not need to worry about being federally charged and face up to 10 years in prison for accepting a gratuity from someone appreciative of their efforts.
Other justices worried that this ruling could make it harder to fight public corruption and argued that the federal statute in question covers this exact type of scenario. This ruling left some concerns that the federal government will now have a harder time prosecuting legitimate bribery cases.
Bribery and corruption are white-collar crimes, which can be charged at the state and/or federal levels. Being accused of a white-collar crime can ruin your career and professional reputations, as well as subject you to potentially serious penalties, including fines and prison time.
The rules and regulations you are subject to when you are serving in a government position can be complex. The legality of your actions or choices is not always clear.
When you find yourself unsure of what to do, or even worse, facing criminal charges over a decision you made in good faith, believing it was legal, you need guidance and a strong criminal defense.