A former Lake County deputy chief of police pleaded guilty Monday to lying to the FBI.

Dan Murchek, 57, of Schererville, was indicted in April for allegedly making false statements to the FBI, according to court documents, and reportedly lied to investigators during an interview about towing operations under convicted former Sheriff John Buncich when the former deputy chief was asked about campaign contributions he received from a tow operator.

Magistrate Judge John Martin asked how Murchek pleaded to the charges during a hearing Monday morning.

“Guilty,” Murchek said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson said Murchek accepted a campaign donation purportedly from an individual but knew it had come from a business owner who already reached the legal limit for contributions.

Benson said it was “sort of a straw donation.”

During fall 2016, Murchek had announced he planned to run for sheriff during the 2018 election, as Buncich had served two consecutive terms and was prohibited by term limits from running again.

On Sept. 23, 2016, Murchek met with “Person A,” who was recording the meeting in cooperation with the FBI, and discussed how to structure a campaign donation to avoid Indiana’s limitation on business contributions, according to court documents.

The indictment said “Person A” allegedly gave Murchek a $1,000 donation from his business, which was a towing firm that did work for the Sheriff’s Department, and a personal check for $500 from one of the business’ employees.

“Person A” had given an employee $500, according to the U.S. attorney’s office, and the employee then wrote a check to Murchek’s campaign.

During a November 2016 interview with the FBI, agents asked Murchek about contributions from “Person A,” according to the indictment, but he denied structuring the donation to skirt Indiana campaign donation limits.

Martin asked if Murchek agreed to the government’s description of the crime.

“I agree,” Murchek said.

Murchek had been with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department for 24 years and previously worked for police departments in Dyer and Hebron.

After Buncich’s conviction, Murchek ran in the Democratic caucus to replace the convicted sheriff but lost after the second ballot. Oscar Martinez Jr. ultimately won during the caucus and assumed the sheriff’s office in September.

When Martinez took office, the new sheriff removed Murchek as deputy chief and made him deputy commander of the department’s uniform division.

The Sheriff’s Department said Murchek resigned in April.

clyons@post-trib.com