Election Fraud Cases

George Edgar Rheam, Jr.

George Edgar Rheam, Jr. pleaded guilty to two violations of the state Election Code, perjury and false signatures and statements. He was fined and given probation.

Source: bit.ly/2v84TLr

Victor Bernard Pinho

Victor Pinho pleaded guilty to a third-degree misdemeanor charge of unlawful voting. He had illegally voted in both Philadelphia and Lehigh county.

Source: bit.ly/2sv4UYU

Mark Cosentino

Mark Cosentino pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful voting. Cosentino registered to vote, and voted, in his childhood hometown despite not living there. He was sentenced to six months' probation.

Source: bit.ly/2udWYQb, bit.ly/2u4jgUf

Linda Deren

Linda Deren pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful voting.

Source: bit.ly/2uefNTk, bit.ly/2uMnMEr

Austin Murphy

Former Congressman Austin Murphy was convicted on one charge of absentee ballot fraud. Murphy forged ballots for senior citizens living in a nursing home, claiming merely to be assisting them in exercising their voting rights. He was sentenced to six months of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.

Source: bit.ly/2t0ke47, bit.ly/2ueaBiA, bit.ly/2sL9Zwh

James Vadella

James Vadella, brother of former Carbondale Mayor Joseph Vadella, pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, as well as charges of forgery, conspiracy to tamper with public records, tampering with public records, and violations of the election code. Vadella conspired with his brother, Michael, to alter election results in a primary election in which he was a candidate by obtaining and falsely filling out absentee ballots. Vadella was sentenced to two months' imprisonment, followed by home confinement and probation.

Source: bit.ly/2udYp18, bit.ly/2sLU9l0

Joseph Vadella

Former Carbondale Mayor Joseph Vadella pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit voter fraud and election code violations related to a Pennsylvania district justice race. He was sentenced to serve between three and nine months in jail, to run concurrently with a four-month prison sentence for a related conviction in federal court of preventing a witness from testifying. Following his release, Vadella was subject to home confinement and probation.

Source: bit.ly/2udYp18, bit.ly/2sLU9l0

Michael Vadella

Michael Vadella, the brother of former Carbondale Mayor Joseph Vadella, pleaded guilty in county court to conspiracy, forgery, tampering with public records, and election law violations. He also pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Michael Vadella conspired with his brother, James, to alter election results in a primary election in which James was a candidate. The pair obtained and falsely filled out absentee ballots. He was sentenced to three months in jail, followed by home confinement and probation.

Source: bit.ly/2udYp18, bit.ly/2sLU9l0

1993 Philadelphia Special Election

A 1993 special Pennsylvania state senate election was overturned by a federal district court judge due to absentee ballot fraud. This election was important as the senate was evenly divided and the winner would determine which party controlled the senate. Campaign workers for Democratic candidate William Stimson engaged in a massive absentee ballot scheme involving nearly 600 tainted ballots. After a surprising and extraordinary surge in absentee ballots seemed to result in a victory for Stinson, an investigation was undertaken.  Stinson was indicted for his role in the scheme but was not convicted.  Two campaign workers, Ramon Pratt and Barbara Landers, were convicted of misdemeanor offenses.

In a related civil suit, however, a federal district court judge determined that Stinson and others engaged in a scheme to steal the election, and Stinson was removed from office.  The scheme primarily targeted Latino and black voters by using intimidation, and deception in order to fraudulently obtain and process absentee ballots in violation of state law. Two Democratic city commissioners, Margaret Tartaglione and Alexander Talmadge, Jr., and an elections supervisor, Dennis Kelly, were also found to have been complicit in allowing the fraud to occur.

Source: bit.ly/37EPGrm, nyti.ms/37Iz7L4 , bit.ly/2WDw949, bit.ly/3rkYw5o

Barbara Landers

Barbara Landers, a Democrat campaign worker, was involved in a massive absentee ballot scheme during the 1993 Pennsylvania special state senate election. She was convicted of 30 counts of misleading absentee voters, given a suspended sentence, and fined $1,000.

Source: on.wsj.com/3rn9s2s

Ramon Pratt

Ramon Pratt, a Democrat campaign worker, was involved in a massive absentee ballot scheme during the 1993 Pennsylvania special state senate election. He pleaded guilty to 22 counts of election law violations for his role in the scheme. Pratt was sentenced to two years of probation for his involvement.

Source: bit.ly/3rvWKyu