Four Democrat Campaign Workers Charged In Connecticut Ballot Fraud Case: Authorities

June 12, 2024

Four Democrat campaign workers have been criminally charged with absentee ballot fraud during the 2019 Bridgeport, Connecticut, Democratic mayoral primary.

Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin announced the charges on Tuesday against Alfredo Castillo, age 52, Wanda Geter-Pataky, age 67, Nilsa Heredia, age 61, and Josephine Edmonds, age 62, all of Bridgeport.

HERE ARE THE BRIDGEPORT BALLOT FRAUD ARREST MUGSHOTS: City Democratic Party Vice-Chair and city operations specialist Wanda Geter-Pataky, City Councilor Alfredo Castillo, and campaign operatives Nilsa Heredia and Josephine Edmunds. They will all be in court June 24th. @FOX61News pic.twitter.com/7HJF1gcCZF

— Matt Caron (@MattCaronTV) June 11, 2024

All four were charged with Unlawful Possession of Absentee Ballots and other election-related charges, prosecutors said in a statement.

The statement continued:

Specifically, Edmonds, Geter-Pataky, and Heredia were charged with Tampering With a Witness, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 53a-151; Geter-Pataky, Castillo and Heredia were charged with Misrepresenting Eligibility Requirements for Voting by Absentee Ballot in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 9-135(b); Castillo, Edmonds and Heredia were charged with Failure to Maintain an Absentee Ballot Distribution List, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 9-140(k)(2); Edmonds and Heredia were charged with being present When an Absentee Ballot Applicant Executes an Absentee Ballot, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 9-140(b)e; and Geter-Pataky and Castillo were charged with Failure to Sign as Assister on an Absentee Ballot, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 9-140(a).

The State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) opened up a civil investigation into allegations of ballots that were mishandled which later turned into a criminal investigation after evidence was uncovered.

“Integrity of our voting process is vital to our democracy,” Chief State’s Attorney Griffin said. “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.”

Geter-Pataky, who works for the city, “is the subject of recent absentee ballot fraud allegations, after she was seen in city surveillance footage seemingly placing stacks of absentee ballots into drop boxes ahead of [Democratic Mayor Joe] Ganim’s 2023 primary election against John Gomes,” the CT Examiner reported. “That footage prompted a state Superior Court judge to overturn the initial round of elections.”