TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
that a worker for the unsuccessful 2009 mayoral
campaign of Atlantic City Councilman Marty
Small pleaded guilty today to engaging in
fraud involving messenger absentee ballots
during the June Democratic primary.
Ronald Harris, 23, of Atlantic City, pleaded
guilty to a charge of third-degree conspiracy
to commit absentee ballot fraud before Superior
Court Judge Robert Neustadter in Atlantic
County, according to Criminal Justice Director
Deborah L. Gramiccioni. Under the plea agreement,
the state will recommend that Harris be sentenced
to a term of probation, conditioned upon him
serving up to 364 days in the Atlantic County
Jail. He may face a fine of up to $15,000.
Harris
was charged in a 10-count state grand jury
indictment returned on Sept. 3, which also
charged Councilman Small and 12 other campaign
workers and operatives. The indictment resulted
from an investigation led by the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau and
the State Police Official Corruption Bureau
South Unit.
In
pleading guilty, Harris admitted that he conspired
with others involved in Small’s mayoral
campaign to submit false documents related
to the procurement, casting, or tabulation
of messenger absentee ballots in the Democratic
primary in Atlantic City.
Deputy
Attorney General Anthony Picione, who is deputy
chief of the Division of Criminal Justice
Corruption Bureau, and Deputy Attorney General
Robert Czepiel Jr. took the guilty plea for
the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4.
The charges are pending against the remaining
defendants. Small and the other defendants
are each charged in the indictment with conspiracy
(2nd degree), four counts of election fraud
(2nd degree), absentee ballot fraud (3rd degree),
tampering with public records (3rd degree),
falsifying records (4th degree) and forgery
(4th degree). Four defendants are also charged
with hindering apprehension or prosecution
(3rd degree). A full list of defendants and
a copy of the indictment are included with
the Sept. 3 press release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
The
indictment alleges that Small and the other
defendants conspired to commit election fraud
through the following schemes, among others:
-
They allegedly solicited applications for
messenger absentee ballots from individuals
not qualified to receive them and had the
voters not fill in the name of the messenger,
so they could fraudulently designate themselves
as the authorized messengers or bearers.
-
They allegedly obtained messenger ballots
from the county clerk and submitted them
to the board of elections as votes on behalf
of voters who, in fact, never received or
voted the ballots or, in some cases, were
given only the security envelope for the
ballot and were told to sign it. Those voters
were not given the opportunity to vote in
most instances.
-
They allegedly picked up sealed absentee
ballots from voters, unsealed them and,
if they were votes for mayoral candidates
other than Small, destroyed them, thereby
disenfranchising those voters. If they were
votes for Small, they allegedly resealed
them and submitted them as votes.
-
They allegedly illegally instructed voters
to fill in messenger ballots as votes for
Small.
-
They allegedly submitted voter registration
applications and messenger ballot applications
on behalf of individuals who were not residents
of Atlantic City, falsely representing they
were.
-
They allegedly forged the signatures of
voters on messenger ballots.
-
They allegedly fraudulently delivered messenger
ballot applications and messenger ballots
to voters simultaneously and instructed
the voters to fill out both during the same
visit.
Small
and the indicted members of his campaign staff
allegedly sought to maximize the number of
absentee ballots messengered by the campaign
by enlisting operatives and campaign workers
to engage in fraud and by paying campaign
workers based on how many messenger ballots
they collected. The workers allegedly were
told to direct voters to vote for the Small
ticket, or simply have the voters sign the
ballots so the workers could fill them out
as votes for the Small ticket.
The
investigation was led for the State Police
Official Corruption Bureau by Lt. John Redkoles,
Detective Sgt. 1st Class Karl E. Ulbrich,
Detective Sgt. David A. Smith, Detective Sgt.
John Pizzuro, Detective Scott Orman, Detective
Anthony Carugno, Detective James Sansone,
Detective David Caracciolo and Detective John
Scalabrini. Deputy Attorney General Peter
Lee assisted for the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Bureau.
Assistance
was provided in the investigation by the State
Police Official Corruption Bureau North Unit,
State Police Intelligence Management Bureau,
State Police Casino Gaming Bureau, State Police
Organized Crime Control Bureau, and the Atlantic
County Sheriff’s Department.
Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence
of 10 years in state 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 indictment is merely an accusation
and the defendants are presumed innocent until
proven guilty.
Director
Gramiccioni noted that the Division of Criminal
Justice has established a toll-free Corruption
Tipline 1-866-TIPS-4CJ. Additionally,
the public can log on to the Division of Criminal
Justice Web page at www.njdcj.org
to confidentially report suspected wrongdoing.
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