Prosecutors announced that four Democratic campaign associates have been indicted in a voter fraud case connected to the 2019 Bridgeport, Connecticut mayoral primary.
City Clerk and Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee Vice Chair Wanda Gater Pataky and City Councilman Alfredo Castillo were indicted on the fraud charges Tuesday, along with Nilsa Heredia and Josephine Edmonds.
The three defendants supported Mayor Joe Ganim (Democrat), while Edmonds supported his primary opponent, State Senator Marilyn Moore (Democrat). according to To Connecticut Public Radio.
Here are mugshots of those arrested for voter fraud in Bridgeport: City Democratic Party Vice Chair and City Operations Specialist Wanda Gater Pataky, City Councilman Alfredo Castillo, and canvassers Nilsa Heredia and Josephine Edmunds. All are due in court on June 24. translation: pic.twitter.com/7HJF1gcCZF
— Matt Caron (@MattCaronTV) June 11, 2024
Gator Pataky allegedly failed to sign as an assistant on absentee ballot applications he filled out on behalf of voters and “misrepresented the eligibility requirements” for absentee voting, the Connecticut Department of Criminal Justice said. Announced in press release.
Democratic Party officials allegedly “miscommunicated” the requirements and instructed residents not to vote in person, telling them they would instead be sent to pick up absentee ballots.
“The citizen later told SEEC: [State Elections Enforcement Commission] “The defendant told investigators that he told them not to speak to anyone about the incident,” the prosecutor said.
While the investigation into the 2019 primary election was ongoing, Further doubts Cheating on Gator Pataky Happened The CT Examiner reported that a video surfaced showing Ganim stuffing papers into ballot boxes as he runs for reelection in 2023. A separate investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
“The footage led a state Superior Court judge to overturn the initial election results,” the outlet reported, but Ganim ultimately won the election.
Bridgeport police video shows city clerk Wanda Gator Pataky placing an absentee ballot into a ballot box outside the Margaret Morton Government Center (Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media via The Associated Press, Pool)
In 2019, Heredia was accused of instructing voters to select specific candidates on their absentee ballots and of misrepresenting qualification requirements.
Heredia also admitted to SEEC investigators that he “failed to submit an absentee ballot distribution list to the Bridgeport City Clerk’s Office,” according to the press release.
Meanwhile, investigators have accused Castillo of failing to maintain absentee ballot distribution lists, lying about absentee ballot eligibility requirements and failing to sign as an assistant on absentee ballot applications.
According to testimony given to SEEC in October 2021, Castillo denied helping voters fill out applications but later admitted to helping.
Edmonds is accused of being present at four voters’ home as they filled out their absentee ballots and then taking the ballots.
She also allegedly failed to “maintain an absentee ballot distribution list” and committed witness tampering by “telling her not to testify truthfully in court,” the press release states.
Ganim lost to Moore in the 2019 primary by a vote count of 4,721 to 4,337, but won by a landslide absentee vote margin of 967 to 313, CT Insider reported. report.
In a statement obtained by Connecticut Public Radio, Ganim maintained he had no knowledge of the investigation or the incident.
“I first learned through the media that individuals on both sides of the 2019 mayoral primary campaign had been charged with election fraud. No further details have been provided beyond what has been reported in the media,” the mayor said.
Ganim himself was convicted on federal corruption charges while serving as mayor in 2003. The New York Times report.
Bridgeport, Connecticut Mayor Joe Ganim testifies during a hearing in Bridgeport Superior Court on Oct. 17, 2023. (Associated Press, Pool, via File, Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media)
Moore told the outlet that fraud was not “the norm” in his campaign, but that it was apparently the norm in Ganim’s.
“This is not something I encouraged or promoted, it was the norm in my campaign,” she said, “but it was the norm in other campaigns.”
“The integrity of the voting process is critical to our democracy,” State Attorney General Patrick J. Griffin said in a Division of Criminal Justice press release. “I appreciate the care and time the State Attorney’s Office has devoted to these investigations, and I hope these prosecutions send a deterrent message to anyone attempting to tamper with future election results in Connecticut.”
All four defendants have been released and are scheduled to appear in court again on June 24.
