HAMMOND, Ind. — A former northwestern Indiana mayor who was found guilty of taking a $13,000 bribe from a trucking company and illegal tax evasion has been sentenced to 21 months in prison.

A federal judge ordered the sentence Wednesday against former Portage Mayor James Snyder after a jury convicted him in March of seeking the bribe in return for steering about $1.1 million in city contracts to the company.

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Snyder, a Republican, has maintained his innocence, testifying during his trial that the money was payment for consulting work that he declared on his income tax returns.

Snyder first won election as mayor in 2011 and was removed from office in 2019.