4 Bridgeport Campaign Workers Accused Of Election Fraud: CT Attorney

BRIDGEPORT, CT — Four Democratic campaign workers, who were involved in the 2019 mayoral primary in Bridgeport, were arrested Tuesday and charged with misuse of absentee ballots, Connecticut Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin announced.

Charged in the alleged election fraud case were:

• Bridgeport City Councilman Alfredo Castillo, 52
• Wanda Geter-Pataky, 67, vice chair of the Bridgeport Democratic Party
• Nilsa Heredia, 61
• Josephine Edmonds, 62

The Connecticut Post identified Heredia and Edmonds as former campaign workers for Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim and state Sen. Marilyn Moore, respectively.

All four were charged with unlawful possession of absentee ballots, according to Griffin, and the additional charges break down as follows:

• Edmonds, Geter-Pataky, and Heredia were charged with tampering with a witness
• Geter-Pataky, Castillo and Heredia were charged with misrepresenting eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot
• Castillo, Edmonds and Heredia were charged with failure to maintain an absentee ballot distribution list
• Edmonds and Heredia were charged with being present when an absentee ballot applicant executes an absentee Ballot
• Geter-Pataky and Castillo were charged with failure to sign as assister on an absentee ballot

The case stems from allegations of the mishandling of absentee ballots in the September 2019 Democratic primary election for mayor of Bridgeport, which were received by the office of the Secretary of State. The State Elections Enforcement Commission subsequently opened a civil investigation, which resulted in a vote to refer evidence of criminal conduct to the Division of Criminal Justice on June 7, 2023. The referral was accepted by the Statewide Prosecution Bureau within the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.

"Integrity of our voting process is vital to our democracy," Griffin said in a statement. "I appreciate the attention and time the Statewide Prosecution Bureau put into these investigations. I hope these prosecutions will send a message that deters tampering with election results in the future in Connecticut."

From Griffin's announcement:

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Geter-Pataky is accused of failing to sign as an assister on an absentee ballot application that she had filled out on behalf of a prospective voter and misrepresenting eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot when she reportedly told a citizen not to vote in person and that she would pick up the citizen’s absentee ballot. The citizen later told SEEC investigators that the defendant told her not to speak to anyone about the matter.
Court records show Heredia instructed prospective voters on which candidate to select on their absentee ballots and misrepresented eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot. The defendant admitted to SEEC investigators that she did not submit an absentee ballot distribution list to the City of Bridgeport Clerk’s Office.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Castillo is accused of failing to maintain an absentee ballot distribution list, misrepresenting eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot and failing to sign as an assister on an absentee ballot application in August 2019. According to a deposition with the SEEC on October 21, 2021, Castillo denied helping the prospective voter fill out the application but later admitted he had filled out portions of the application.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Edmonds is accused of being present when four prospective voters filled out their absentee ballots and took possession of them when she left their home. She is also accused of failing to maintain an absentee ballot distribution list and tampering with a witness for having told her not to testify truthfully in court.

The four suspects have been released on promises to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on June 24.

In a statement to Patch, Ganim said he was unaware of the investigation until news broke on Tuesday.

"We only learned through the media that individuals from both 2019 mayoral primary campaigns have been charged with election violations," Ganim said. "We have not been provided with any details other than what is contained in media reports."

Griffin added, "These charges are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law."