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Stamford Democratic Chief Found Guilty of 28 Felonies in Ballot Fraud Case
https://ctexaminer.com/2022/09/12/stamford-democratic-chief-found-guilty-of-28-felonies-in-ballot-fraud-case/
STAMFORD – A state Superior Court judge Monday found the city’s former Democratic Party chief guilty of all 28 Class D felonies he faced in a ballot fraud case.
But the long-delayed case, in which John Mallozzi is charged with forging absentee ballots in the 2015 municipal election, is far from over.
Mallozzi will appeal after he is sentenced Nov. 14, said Stephan Seeger, his attorney.
Seeger said he has significant questions about the fairness of the trial after witnesses he wished to challenge did not have to testify, and the handwriting expert at the heart of the prosecutor’s case reached conflicting conclusions.
“The twists and turns in this case are shocking,” Seeger said.
In a move prompted by news of a reported FBI investigation into the town clerk’s office, Judge Kevin Randolph informed the defendant's criminal accomplices that they could incriminate themselves by testifying. As a result, only one of Seeger’s witnesses appeared on the stand.
Mallozzi chose a court trial rather than a jury trial, so it was Randolph’s job to render a verdict.
One line in the judge’s decision seems to summarize his thinking on the case.
“By the defendant’s hand alone, 26 people could have had their civil right to vote extinguished,” Randolph said, reading his verdict into the record.
According to the trial record, 26 fraudulent absentee ballots were submitted to the town clerk’s office in a “scheme” involving Mallozzi and former Republican Town Clerk Donna Loglisci. The state, however, raised instances involving 14 voters, charging Mallozzi with 14 counts each of 2nd-degree forgery and false statement in absentee balloting.
Mallozzi, 72, could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison, or a fine that could total $140,000, or both.
https://ctexaminer.com/2022/09/12/stamford-democratic-chief-found-guilty-of-28-felonies-in-ballot-fraud-case/
STAMFORD – A state Superior Court judge Monday found the city’s former Democratic Party chief guilty of all 28 Class D felonies he faced in a ballot fraud case.
But the long-delayed case, in which John Mallozzi is charged with forging absentee ballots in the 2015 municipal election, is far from over.
Mallozzi will appeal after he is sentenced Nov. 14, said Stephan Seeger, his attorney.
Seeger said he has significant questions about the fairness of the trial after witnesses he wished to challenge did not have to testify, and the handwriting expert at the heart of the prosecutor’s case reached conflicting conclusions.
“The twists and turns in this case are shocking,” Seeger said.
In a move prompted by news of a reported FBI investigation into the town clerk’s office, Judge Kevin Randolph informed the defendant's criminal accomplices that they could incriminate themselves by testifying. As a result, only one of Seeger’s witnesses appeared on the stand.
Mallozzi chose a court trial rather than a jury trial, so it was Randolph’s job to render a verdict.
One line in the judge’s decision seems to summarize his thinking on the case.
“By the defendant’s hand alone, 26 people could have had their civil right to vote extinguished,” Randolph said, reading his verdict into the record.
According to the trial record, 26 fraudulent absentee ballots were submitted to the town clerk’s office in a “scheme” involving Mallozzi and former Republican Town Clerk Donna Loglisci. The state, however, raised instances involving 14 voters, charging Mallozzi with 14 counts each of 2nd-degree forgery and false statement in absentee balloting.
Mallozzi, 72, could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison, or a fine that could total $140,000, or both.
