TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
that three more people were indicted today
for election fraud in connection with absentee
ballots they collected and submitted as workers
for the 2007 campaign of Teresa Ruiz for the
New Jersey Senate in the 29th District. Another
campaign worker for Ruiz, Antonio Santana,
was previously indicted on March 23 on charges
he fraudulently changed votes on absentee
ballots during the election.
According
to Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni,
a state grand jury returned two indictments
today charging three individuals in the ongoing
investigation by the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Bureau and the Essex County
Prosecutor’s Office.
One
indictment charges Gianine Narvaez, 36, of
Belleville, a data processing technician for
the Essex County Commissioner of Registration
and Superintendent of Elections, with official
misconduct (2nd degree), election fraud (2nd
degree), absentee ballot fraud (3rd degree),
tampering with public records or information
(3rd degree), and forgery (4th degree).
The
second indictment charges Angel Colon, 46,
of Newark, an employee of the City of Newark
Office of Affirmative Action, and Colon’s
fiancée, Sorinette Rosario, 31, of
Belleville, an employee of the Newark Welfare
Department, with election fraud (2nd degree),
conspiracy to commit election fraud (2nd degree),
absentee ballot fraud (3rd degree), conspiracy
to commit absentee ballot fraud (3rd degree),
tampering with public records or information
(3rd degree), and forgery (4th degree).
According
to Director Gramiccioni, Narvaez, Colon and
Rosario are charged with tampering with documentation
for messenger ballots, which are absentee
ballots intended for use by homebound voters.
They are charged with fraudulently submitting
such ballots as votes in the Nov. 6, 2007
general election.
“We
charge that these campaign workers fraudulently
submitted absentee ballots on behalf of residents
who never received the ballots or had an opportunity
to cast their votes,” said Attorney
General Milgram. “Election fraud is
a serious crime, particularly when voters
are disenfranchised.”
Messenger
ballots are for use only by those who are
homebound due to illness, infirmity or disability.
Such persons can complete an application designating
a messenger who is a family member or a registered
voter in the county. The messenger is thereby
authorized to obtain an absentee ballot from
the county board of elections, take it to
the voter, and return a completed ballot to
the county board.
Narvaez,
Colon and Rosario allegedly solicited applications
for messenger ballots from individuals not
qualified to receive them and fraudulently
designated themselves as the authorized messengers.
They allegedly obtained messenger ballots
from the county board of elections, and submitted
them to the board of elections as votes on
behalf of voters who, in fact, never received
or voted the ballots.
“This
alleged voter exploitation was brought to
our office’s attention by the Essex
County Superintendent of Elections,”
said Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow. “Voting
is a fundamental privilege that all American
citizens have a right to exercise without
any form of meddling. The Essex County Prosecutor’s
Office will not tolerate any attempt to manipulate
elections of any kind.”
“We
are continuing our investigation into allegations
of fraud in the November 2007 general election
in the 29th District,” said Director
Gramiccioni. “The Division of Criminal
Justice and Essex County Prosecutor’s
Office are pursuing all leads concerning tampering
with absentee ballots.”
The
investigation was conducted and coordinated
for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau by Deputy Attorney General Vincent
Militello, Sgt. James Scott, and Sgt. Lisa
Shea. It was conducted for the Essex County
Prosecutor’s Office by Assistant Prosecutor
Brandon Minde, Detective David Sanabria and
Detective Elizabeth Bazan. Deputy Attorney
General Militello and Assistant Prosecutor
Minde presented the case to the state grand
jury. Attorney General Milgram also thanked
Deputy Attorney General Perry Primavera, Analyst
Kathleen Ratliff and all of the detectives
in the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau North for their work on the case.
Senator
Ruiz and her campaign staff, and Essex County
Superintendent of Elections Carmine Casciano
and his staff cooperated fully in the investigation.
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in prison and a $150,000 fine, while third-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years
in prison and a $15,000 fine. Fourth-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 18 months
in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The
official misconduct charge against Narvaez
carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five
years in prison without parole. The mandatory
minimum was established under a law signed
by Governor Jon S. Corzine in March 2007 that
significantly enhances the punishment of government
officials who are convicted of abusing their
office and violating the public trust.
The
indictments were handed up to Superior Court
Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County,
who assigned the cases to Essex County, where
the defendants will be ordered to appear in
court at a later date to answer the charges.
The
indictments are merely accusations and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
The
charges remain pending against, Antonio Santana,
58, of Newark. That indictment alleges that
Santana changed the votes on three absentee
ballots that he collected from members of
one family in October 2007. The family members
filled in the circles on the ballots in pencil
to vote for the three independent candidates.
They gave the sealed ballots to Santana, who
allegedly changed the votes on each of the
ballots to the three Democratic candidates.
Attorney
General Milgram and Director Gramiccioni noted
that the Division of Criminal Justice - Corruption
Bureau has established a toll-free Corruption
Tipline for the public to report corruption,
financial crime and other illegal activities.
The statewide Corruption Tipline is 1-866-TIPS-4CJ.
Additionally, the public can log on to the
Division of Criminal Justice Web page at www.njdcj.org
to report suspected wrongdoing. All information
received through the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Tipline or Web page will
remain confidential.
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