Election Fraud Cases

Michael Singh

Michael Singh, of Stratford, CT, registered to vote, voted, and eventually was elected to the town council despite the fact that he is not a U.S. citizen. An immigrant from Jamaica, he registered to vote in 1999, ran unsuccessfully for state senate in 2000, and won a seat on the Stratford town council in 2001, where he became majority leader. The Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission later found that he was not a U.S. citizen and required that he pay $4,000 in fines and resign from his position.

Source: https://herit.ag/372VR7l, https://herit.ag/3kpx1Gj

Sybil Allen

Sybil Allen, while serving as a Democrat on the Bridgeport Town Committee, engaged in a range of absentee ballot-related fraud. Allen completed ballot applications in the name of residents, forged signatures, and on at least one occasion got a voter to forge a ballot registration form for a family member who no longer lived in the community. Allen also told one voter that a candidate was not on the ballot and watched voters fill out their ballots before taking possession of them. Allen eventually agreed to pay a civil fine of $5,000 and was barred from running for re-election for two years.

Source: https://herit.ag/3ECg1Vx

Warren Blunt

Warren Blunt, a city councilman in Bridgeport, pleaded guilty to being present while people cast their absentee ballots and subsequently taking those ballots while running for re-election in the town's Democratic primary. The State of Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission fined Blunt $2,500 and required him to resign from the town committee. He was also barred from running for elected office again for two years.

Source: https://herit.ag/3x8iulm

Ronald Caveness

As part of a "get out the vote" campaign leading up to the 2000 election, Ronald Caveness admitted to distributing absentee ballots, being present while people filled them out, and then collecting them. After an investigation by the Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission, he agreed to resign from the Democratic Town Committee, not seeking re-election for two years, and pay a fine of $4,000, which was eventually reduced to $1,000.

Source: https://herit.ag/2XI0bYH

Paulette Park

Paulette Park, while working for a candidate for Bridgeport's 2000 Democratic Town Committee primary election, illegally persuaded voters to list false reasons for requesting absentee ballots, assisted them in applying for absentee ballots, and took possession of the absentee ballots after watching voters fill them out. The State of Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission fined her $5,000 and banned her from working on future campaigns.

Source: https://herit.ag/3hPuh3q

George Cabrera, Jr.

George Cabrera, Jr., entered into a settlement with State of Connecticut Election Enforcement Commission. Cabrera admitted to observing a resident fill out an absentee ballot before taking possession of that ballot during the Democratic primary for town council. Cabrera agreed to pay a $750 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/3Ey5qe1

Carlos Reinoso

Carlos Reiniso admitted to voting in the 2000 election, when he was ineligible to do so. After an investigation by the Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission, he agreed to pay $250 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/3AuKhzc

Virgen Figueroa

Virgen Figueroa, a former town committee member from Hartford, pleaded guilty to absentee ballot fraud and forgery. In a plot with several other individuals to elect Democrat candidates for town committee in the 1996 election, Figueroa registered ineligible voters to receive absentee ballots and helped them to mark their ballots. She was sentenced to two months in jail.

Source: https://herit.ag/3AxQYR6, https://herit.ag/2UMDX6A

Liz Diaz

Liz Diaz, a former 4th District town committee member in Hartford, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit election fraud and to witness tampering after she registered ineligible voters to receive absentee ballots and intimidated a witness to lie about her reason for requesting an absentee ballot in a court hearing regarding the 1996 Democratic town committee election. She was sentenced to two months in jail.

Source: https://herit.ag/2VheVvT, https://herit.ag/2Zf8agl, https://herit.ag/3hQnAhw

Edwin E. Garcia

Edwin E. Garcia, a former lawmaker and Hartford Police Sergeant, pleaded no contest to three felony counts of absentee ballot fraud, tampering with a witness, and accepting an illegal campaign contribution. Garcia and his campaign workers systematically registered hundreds of young voters and furnished many with absentee ballots that they neither qualified for nor understood. He received a sentence of one year of house arrest.

Source: https://herit.ag/3iMzg4w

Jacqueline Rogers

Jacqueline Rogers was a campaign worker for James Holloway, a candidate for City Council. In the 1993 primary, she was paid $150 to dress up in a nurse's uniform with a certified nurse nametag and solicit "emergency" absentee ballots from patients. She instructed at least one voter to cast her ballot for Holloway. The primary was ultimately decided in Holloway's favor by just nine votes. The Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission barred her from participating in political campaigns for five years.

Source: https://herit.ag/3u2U6Sn

Curtis Mouning

Curtis Mouning, a campaign volunteer for State Representative Mario Testa during the 1990 election, admitted to signing the names of five of his friends and family members to request absentee ballots to vote in the primary. He was ordered to pay a civil penalty to the Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission in the amount of $500.

Source: https://herit.ag/3nUl6lZ

Ernest Newton

Ernest Newton, a former state senator, agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1,000 for assisting in filling out someone else's absentee ballot. Newton illegally filled out and mailed an absentee ballot for Ada Crosby. The fraud occurred in the 1988 primary while Newton was a state senate candidate in the 124th District. Following his election, he was imprisoned after accepting a bribe, using campaign contributions for personal expenses, and failing to report improper income on his federal tax return. In 2015, Newton was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for campaign finance violations stemming from having three campaign workers fraudulently sign donation cards in order for the campaign to reach the threshold to qualify for state matching funds.

Source: https://herit.ag/3i9o8iQ, https://herit.ag/3Aqhsni