Four Connecticut campaign workers on competing sides of Bridgeport’s 2019 mayoral primary have been arrested on allegations of election fraud.
Bridgeport city councilman Alfredo Castillo and Wanda Geter-Pataky — who’s the vice chairwoman of the city’s Democratic Party — were charged on Tuesday alongside campaign workers Nilsa Heredia and Josephine Edmonds with unlawful possession of absentee ballots, the Hartford Courant reported.
Geter-Pataky, Edmonds and Heredia are also facing counts of witness tampering.
The charges come more than four years after the scandal-plagued election between Mayor Joe Ganim and challenger, state Sen. Marilyn Moore. Doubt was cast on Ganim’s initial victory amid allegations that absentee ballots were mishandled, and the State Elections Enforcement Commission subsequently opened a civil investigation.
Moore had won the votes cast on election day, but Ganim topped her tally once absentee ballots were counted
Edmonds worked on Moore’s failed campaign, while the other three defendants worked for Ganim. They face a range of allegations, including that they misrepresented eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot and that they failed to maintain an absentee ballot distribution list.
In a statement to News 12 Connecticut, Ganim said his team was only just made aware of the charges against his supporters.
“We only learned through the media that individuals from both 2019 mayoral primary campaigns have been charged with election violations,” he said. “We have not been provided with any details other than what is contained in media reports.”
Moore meanwhile told the Hartford Courant she was “stunned” by Edmonds’ arrest.
“If she broke the law, she deserves the same treatment as anyone else who broke the law,” Moore said.
