Prosecutors concede 3 Buncich convictions should be vacated

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 made the concession Friday in a response to Buncich’s appeal to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The four-term sheriff was convicted in August 2017 on five counts of wire fraud and one count of bribery alleging he was paid bribes in exchange for awarding lucrative towing work. The 72-year-old Buncich is serving a 15-year sentence.

Prosecutors wrote that 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.”