Ex-Hoboken Candidate, 'Pupie' Raia, Indicted For Voter Bribery

HOBOKEN, NJ — A Hoboken real estate developer and former city council candidate has been indicted for allegedly running a voter bribery scheme, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Hoboken native Francis “Pupie” Raia, 67, who ran for the Hoboken City Council in 2013, has been charged by a federal grand jury with conspiracy to promote a voter bribery scheme by use of the mail during that year’s election.

Dio Braxton, 43, of Hoboken, who worked for Raia’s campaign in 2013, has also been charged with violating the federal Travel Act, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of New Jersey stated.

Lizaida Camis, an alleged conspirator to the scheme, was charged by indictment on Oct. 17, 2018. Her case is pending, prosecutors said. (Read more here)

Here’s how the alleged scheme worked, prosecutors said:

“Under New Jersey law, registered voters are permitted to cast a ballot by mail rather than in-person. To receive a mail-in ballot, voters must complete and submit to their County Clerk’s Office an Application for Vote By Mail Ballot (VBM Application). After the VBM Application is processed by the County Clerk’s Office, voters receive a mail-in ballot. From October 2013 through November 2013, Raia instructed Braxton and other conspirators to pay certain Hoboken voters $50 if those voters applied for and cast mail-in ballots in the November 2013 Hoboken municipal election. Conspirators provided these voters with VBM applications and then delivered the completed VBM Applications to the Hudson County Clerk’s office. After the mail-in ballots were delivered to the voters, the conspirators went to the voters’ residences and, in some cases, instructed the voters to vote for Raia and in favor of a ballot referendum that Raia supported relating to rent control. Conspirators promised the voters that they would be paid $50 for casting their mail-in ballots and told them that they could pick up their checks after the election at Raia’s office in Hoboken. Bank records show that voters living in Hoboken received $50 checks from an entity hired by Raia’s political action committee.”

Raia and Braxton each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge if convicted, prosecutors said.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory Ehrie in Newark, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, with the investigation leading to Wednesday’s indictment.

In addition to his unsuccessful 2013 city council run, Raia, a former chair of the North Hudson Sewerage Authority, previously ran for the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders and Hoboken mayor. He also served on the Hoboken City Council in the 1980s and on the local Board of Education from 2003 to 2009.

Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla issued the following statement after learning of Raia’s indictment:

“This latest indictment is extremely concerning because it yet again proves what Hoboken voters have known for years - Vote By Mail fraud extends all the way to public figures and those who run political campaigns. If true, Mr. Raia and any other public officials participating in voter bribery must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Paying people for votes is a serious breach of our electoral integrity, and sadly remains a part of Hoboken's elections. The indictment is equally troubling because of potential for runoff elections to return, increasing the value of the illegal ‘paid for’ votes in a lower turnout runoff election, favoring candidates who employ similar vote by mail schemes. I urge the United States Attorney's office to continue investigating Vote By Mail fraud to all current public officials who have been supported by Mr. Raia and employed similar campaign tactics.”

• See related article: Hoboken Mayor On Voter Bribery Allegations: So What's New?
• See related article: Vote On 'Runoff Elections' Looms For Hoboken Residents

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Patch file photo: Francis “Pupie” Raia