Paterson Metropolis Council President Alex Mendez faces new prices in a superseding indictment associated to the Might 2020 municipal election.
Alongside his spouse, Yohanny Mendez, and marketing campaign staff Omar Ledesma and Iris Rigo, Mendez is accused of orchestrating a scheme involving the theft and forgery of ballots and voter registrations to safe his council seat.
The indictment alleges that the group unlawfully collected and tampered with vote-by-mail ballots, together with destroying ballots not solid for Mendez and submitting fraudulent ones of their place.
In response to a press launch from the Lawyer Normal’s Workplace,
“The ten-count superseding indictment alleges that Mendez, who represents the Third Ward on the Paterson Metropolis Council, his spouse Yohanny Mendez and marketing campaign staff Omar Ledesma and Iris Rigo tried to deprive Paterson residents of a good election. Alex Mendez was first indicted in 2021 for election-related offenses. Additional investigation by OPIA resulted in further prices filed by grievance in October 2023 in opposition to the co-defendants, in addition to further prices for Alex Mendez, all stemming from the Might 2020 election.
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Based mostly on publicly filed paperwork and statements in court docket on this case, the OPIA investigation started after a whole bunch of mail-in ballots for the Might 2020 Paterson election have been present in a postal field within the neighboring municipality of Haledon, when all voting was being carried out by way of vote-by-mail due to COVID-19.
Members of the alleged conspiracy face a number of prices together with Tampering with Public Data or Data (third diploma), Falsifying or Tampering with Data (fourth diploma), Forgery (third diploma), and Election Fraud (second diploma). Among the many allegations, they’re accused of submitting fictitious or fraudulent vote-by-mail registrations and ballots.
The superseding indictment comprises a brand new cost of Theft (third diploma) in opposition to the 4 defendants for allegedly taking different peoples’ ballots with the intent to deprive them of their vote. It additionally features a new rely of Receiving Stolen Property (third diploma) for these 4 defendants, alleging they obtained ballots that they knew had been stolen.
It’s additional alleged that the defendants tried to trigger a number of witnesses beforehand contacted by investigators to make further, contradictory, and false statements – resulting in the superseding indictment’s new cost of Witness Tampering (third diploma).
The superseding indictment additionally prices a further defendant, Ninoska Adames, a Paterson resident, with Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution (third diploma) and Tampering with Public Data or Data (third diploma). She allegedly falsified a voter certificates on a vote-by-mail poll and gave false info to detectives with the intent to hinder the State’s investigation into the Might 2020 election.
The costs are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed harmless till confirmed responsible. Second-degree prices carry a sentence of 5 to 10 years in state jail and a fantastic of as much as $150,000. Third-degree prices carry a sentence of three to 5 years in jail and a fantastic of as much as $15,000. Fourth-degree offenses may result in as much as 18 months in state jail and a fantastic of as much as $10,000.”
“As alleged, this case will not be merely a couple of metropolis council seat. The folks’s proper to vote and to have their voices heard was subverted by what we allege to be an illegal conspiracy,” mentioned Lawyer Normal Platkin. “This was unfair to the voters of Paterson. It was, because the grand jury charged, fraud and theft.”
“The tenacious, laborious work of the investigators and prosecutors on this case uncovered new details about the lengths the defendants allegedly went to in an try to rig Paterson’s municipal election and canopy up their conduct,” mentioned Drew Skinner, Govt Director of OPIA.
Mendez was initially indicted on election fraud prices in 2021.
In 2023, new prices have been introduced in opposition to him, his spouse Yohanny Mendez, and two different Paterson residents, Omar Ledesma and Iris Rigo.
Learn the total press launch on the time:
Mendez, 48, of Paterson, New Jersey, who was first indicted on election fraud prices in 2021, is dealing with further prices together with a number of alleged co-conspirators: his spouse, Yohanny Mendez, 48, in addition to Omar Ledesma, 35, and Iris Rigo, 38, all Paterson residents. The costs are the results of an investigation by the Lawyer Normal’s Workplace of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA).
The preliminary OPIA investigation started when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service alerted the Lawyer Normal’s Workplace that a whole bunch of mail-in ballots for the Might 2020 Paterson municipal election have been present in a mailbox within the neighboring municipality of Haledon. Tons of of mail-in ballots have been additionally present in a mailbox in Paterson, at a time when all voting was being carried out by way of vote-by-mail due to COVID-19 security precautions.
It’s alleged that previous to the Might 2020 election, whereas he was a candidate looking for to signify the third Ward, Mendez personally collected various mail-in ballots from households in that part of Paterson, in violation of the Vote-By-Mail Regulation. Mendez and his associates allegedly collected many ballots within the third Ward over a number of days.
New Jersey permits a voter to present a accomplished poll to a “bearer,” who should full the bearer certification on the poll envelope earlier than returning the poll on behalf of the voter to the county board of elections. Beneath state regulation, a candidate in an election isn’t permitted to function a poll bearer on behalf of different voters within the district during which he’s a candidate.
It’s alleged that lots of the ballots that the marketing campaign collected weren’t sealed by voters once they have been turned over. It’s additional alleged that after the ballots have been dropped at Mendez’s marketing campaign headquarters, they have been examined to see if the ballots have been votes for Mendez. If the poll didn’t choose Mendez because the candidate of selection, his spouse, Yohanny Mendez, allegedly would destroy the poll and change it with one other mail-in poll that did choose Mendez for the council seat.
The investigation discovered that the clean ballots used as substitute ballots have been obtained by stealing ballots out of voters’ mailboxes. Mendez affiliate Omar Ledesma is accused of taking ballots out of mailboxes in particular neighborhoods and house buildings in Paterson that have been recognized to have numerous residents supporting Mendez’s fundamental opponent within the election, former Paterson Councilman William McKoy.
Additionally it is alleged that if a voter turned over an incomplete poll, marketing campaign staff would full it.
It’s alleged that on or about Might 5, 2020, Mendez personally noticed from his spouse’s car as a big, heavy bag, utterly crammed with ballots, was emptied into the Haledon postal field previous to the election.
About one week later, Mendez’s marketing campaign lawyer filed a letter with the Passaic County Board of Elections, urging the board to rely the Haledon ballots, regardless that Mendez knew they’d been unlawfully collected and submitted to the county. State regulation signifies that an individual serving as a poll bearer can solely accomplish that for a most of three ballots every, or 5 if the person is bearing ballots of quick members of the family in the identical family.
It’s additional alleged that after Mendez was indicted on February 24, 2021, on prices of election fraud and different offenses associated to the Might 12, 2020, Paterson election, Alex Mendez, Yohanny Mendez, and others, have been captured in an audio recording agreeing to aim to contact the witnesses in opposition to Alex Mendez and to suggest a brand new assertion that every witness may give that will be useful to the protection.
