MUNCIE, Ind. — In just about a month, one former Indiana mayor will learn his fate.
Dennis Tyler, the former mayor of Muncie, plans to plead guilty to a felony charge of theft of government funds.
Tyler was originally indicted by a grand jury back in 2019, during the last few weeks of his final term as mayor. The 78-year-old former mayor is accused of accepting a $5,000 bribe to favor a local contractor for some excavation work.
Six former members of Tyler’s administration and Muncie Sanitary District are also facing fraud charges and have accepted plea agreements, although it’s unclear if those are all guilty pleas.
The bribe that Tyler accepted was delivered to Tracy Barton, the former Muncie Sanitary District superintendent of sewer maintenance and engineering. Barton has signed an agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
His sentencing hearing is set for February 4th of 2022.
The only case still set for trial is for Phil Nichols, a former local Democratic Party chairman. Nichols is facing a charge of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and witness tampering. His day in court is set for January 3rd of 2022.
Former Mayor Tyler’s hearing is set for November 10th in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis. If convicted, he could spend up to ten years in federal prison and face a $250,000 fine.
