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TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that a suspended data processor for the
Essex County Superintendent of Elections
pleaded guilty today to submitting fraudulent
absentee ballots while working for the 2007
campaign of Teresa Ruiz for the New Jersey
Senate in the 29th District.
According
to Director Taylor, Gianine Narvaez, 36,
of Belleville, a suspended data processing
technician for the Essex County Commissioner
of Registration and Superintendent of Elections,
pleaded guilty to absentee ballot fraud
and tampering with public records or information,
both third-degree charges, before Superior
Court Judge Gerald J. Council in Mercer
County. The charges were contained in an
Aug. 4, 2009 state grand jury indictment.
Under
the plea agreement, the state will recommend
that Narvaez be sentenced to three years
in state prison, including a mandatory two-year
term of parole ineligibility. She must forfeit
her job and her public pension, and she
will be permanently barred from public employment
in New Jersey. Narvaez was suspended from
her county job without pay after she was
indicted.
The
charges stem from an investigation by the
Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau and the Essex County Prosecutor’s
Office Corruption Unit. Deputy Attorney
General Vincent J. Militello and Assistant
Prosecutor Brandon Minde took the guilty
plea for the state. Judge Council scheduled
sentencing for Narvaez for June 2.
“This
public employee used her access to county
computers and records in an attempt to corrupt
the election process,” said Attorney
General Dow. “We will aggressively
investigate and prosecute anyone who fraudulently
interferes with free and fair elections
in New Jersey.”
In
pleading guilty, Narvaez admitted that she
tampered with absentee ballots and voted
absentee ballots on behalf of voters who
did not receive the ballots or authorize
her to vote them.
The
investigation revealed that Narvaez engaged
in two schemes involving fraudulent absentee
ballots in the 2007 races in the 29th Legislative
District. In the first scheme, Narvaez fraudulently
completed applications for absentee ballots
in the names of nine real voters. Narvaez
subsequently completed absentee ballots
and submitted them to the board of elections
as votes on behalf of the voters who, in
fact, never received or voted the ballots.
The
investigation revealed that, in the second
scheme, Narvaez used her access to absentee
ballots and the computer system in the county
elections office to add 10 fictitious voters
to the county voting rolls, generate absentee
ballots for them, and vote the ballots.
After the November election, she removed
the fictitious names from the voting rolls.
“Voter
fraud is a serious crime that undermines
public confidence in the election process,”
said Director Taylor. “We will continue
to investigate any allegations of election
tampering in New Jersey and will follow
the evidence wherever it leads us, as we
are doing in this ongoing investigation.”
A
total of nine other people, including Samuel
Gonzalez, a freeholder who is the husband
of Senator Ruiz, have been charged in five
separate indictments for alleged election
fraud in connection with absentee ballots
they collected and submitted as workers
for Ruiz’s 2007 campaign for the New
Jersey Senate. They are charged with various
offenses for allegedly tampering with documentation
for messenger ballots and fraudulently submitting
such ballots as votes in the Nov. 6, 2007
general election. Those charges are pending.
A full list of defendants is contained in
the Dec. 1, 2009 news release issued when
Gonzalez was indicted at www.njpublicsafety.com.
At
the time of the election, messenger ballots
were only for voters homebound due to illness,
infirmity or disability. Such persons can
complete an application designating a messenger
or bearer who is a family member or a registered
voter in the county. The bearer is 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. New rules regarding such ballots
have since been adopted.
The
investigation was led for the Division of
Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau by Deputy
Attorney General Militello, Deputy Attorney
General Christopher Romanyshyn, Sgt. James
Scott and Sgt. Lisa Shea. It was conducted
for the Essex County Prosecutor’s
Office Corruption Unit by Assistant Prosecutor
Minde, Detective David Sanabria and Detective
Elizabeth Bazan. Valuable assistance was
provided by Analyst Kathleen Ratliff and
all of the detectives in the Division of
Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau North.
In
a separate case investigated by the Division
of Criminal Justice and Essex County Prosecutor’s
Office, Essex County Superintendent of Elections
Carmine Casciano was charged on Jan. 8 with
official misconduct for allegedly giving
unauthorized paid days off to county employees
who worked on political campaigns. That
charge also is pending.
The
charges against the other defendants are
merely accusations and the defendants are
presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Director
Taylor noted that the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Bureau has established
a toll-free 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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