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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
that five more people, including a freeholder
who is the husband of State Senator Teresa
Ruiz, were indicted today for election fraud
in connection with absentee ballots they collected
and submitted as workers for Ruiz’s
2007 campaign for the New Jersey Senate in
the 29th District. Five other campaign workers
for Ruiz were charged in four prior indictments.
According
to Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni,
a state grand jury returned two indictments
today. One indictment charged Ruiz’
husband, Samuel Gonzalez, 39, and Joaquin
Caceres, 50, both of Newark. Gonzalez is an
Essex County freeholder and an aide to Newark
City Councilman Anibal Ramos. Caceres is a
senior program development specialist on the
Newark mayor’s staff.
The
second indictment charged Jonathon Kowalski,
32, of Newark, John Fernandez, 58, of Belleville,
and Edwin Cruz, 48, of Newark. Kowalski works
in fund-raising at the North Ward Center,
and Cruz and Fernandez both work for the Essex
County Department of Economic Development.
Each
of the five defendants is charged with conspiracy
(2nd degree), election fraud (2nd degree),
absentee ballot fraud (3rd degree), tampering
with public records or information (3rd degree),
and forgery (4th degree).
According
to Director Gramiccioni, Gonzalez, Caceres,
Kowalski, Fernandez and Cruz 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.
The charges stem from an ongoing investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption
Bureau and the Essex County Prosecutor’s
Office Corruption Unit.
“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.”
At
the time of the election, messenger ballots
were for use only by those who were homebound
due to illness, infirmity or disability. Such
persons could complete an application designating
a messenger or bearer who is a family member
or a registered voter in the county. The bearer
was 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. New rules regarding
such ballots have since been adopted.
Gonzalez,
Caceres, Kowalski, Fernandez and Cruz allegedly
solicited applications for messenger ballots
from individuals not qualified to receive
them and fraudulently designated 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.
“This
alleged voter exploitation was brought to
our office’s attention by the Essex
County Superintendent of Elections,”
said Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow. “We
will aggressively pursue any evidence of criminal
interference in the voting process.”
“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 led 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
Corruption Unit 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 Analyst Kathleen Ratliff
and all of the detectives in the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau North
for their work on the case.
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
indictments were handed up to Superior Court
Judge Gerald J. Council 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.
Five
other campaign workers for Ruiz were charged
in four prior state grand jury indictments
obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice
Corruption Bureau.
Four
campaign workers were charged with tampering
with documentation for messenger ballots and
fraudulently submitting such ballots as votes
in the Nov. 6, 2007 general election.
One
of them, Rocio Rivera, 50, of Lebanon Township,
was indicted on Aug. 18. The other three were
charged in two separate indictments on Aug.
4. One indictment charged Gianine Narvaez,
36, of Belleville, a data processing technician
for the Essex County Commissioner of Registration
and Superintendent of Elections, with official
misconduct and other charges. The second indictment
charged Angel Colon, 47, 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.
In
addition, Ruiz campaign worker Antonio Santana,
58, of Newark, was indicted on March 23 on
charges he fraudulently changed votes on absentee
ballots during the election. That indictment
alleges that Santana changed the votes on
three absentee ballots that he collected from
members of one family in October 2007.
The
charges against Rivera, Narvaez, Colon, Rosario
and Santana are pending.
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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