New Jersey's Attorney General, Matthew J.
Platkin, has announced the addition of new charges in an ongoing election-fraud case involving Democrat Alex Mendez, the Paterson City Council President, and several alleged co-conspirators.
The defendants are accused of attempting to rig the election, tampering with ballots, and obstructing the course of justice through witness tampering.
Mendez, who was initially indicted on election fraud charges in 2021, now faces fresh charges along with his wife, Yohanny Mendez, and two other Paterson residents, Omar Ledesma and Iris Rigo. The revelations came after an extensive investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), which was prompted by the discovery of suspiciously stashed mail-in ballots for the May 2020 Paterson municipal election.
The crimes took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, where mail-in ballots played a crucial role. New Jersey allows a voter to give a completed ballot to a "bearer," who can then submit the ballot on behalf of the voter. However, the law explicitly prohibits a candidate from acting as a bearer for other voters in the district where they are a candidate. Mendez is accused of exploiting the mail-in system and disregarding these rules entirely.
Attorney General Platkin emphasized the significance of the charges, stating, "The defendants are accused of attempting to rig an election in their favor and to deprive the voters of Paterson of having their voices heard." He further highlighted the importance of voter trust in the functioning of democracy and the determination of election outcomes.
Thomas Eicher, the Executive Director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, provided additional details about the alleged activities of Mendez and his associates. He stated, "We allege that Mendez and his associates unlawfully collected ballots and tampered with ballots to give him an unfair edge in the race for the 3rd Ward seat on the Paterson City Council." Eicher also expressed gratitude for the investigative team's efforts in uncovering evidence of potential witness tampering, which led to the new charges.
The initial investigation by the OPIA began when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service alerted the Attorney General's Office about the discovery of hundreds of mail-in ballots for the May 2020 Paterson municipal election in a mailbox in the neighboring municipality of Haledon. This discovery raised suspicions, especially considering that all voting was being conducted via vote-by-mail due to COVID-19 safety precautions.
According to the allegations, Mendez personally collected mail-in ballots from households in the 3rd Ward of Paterson, in violation of the Vote-By-Mail Law, while he was a candidate seeking to represent that ward. Mendez and his associates allegedly collected numerous ballots over several days.
The investigation revealed that many of the collected ballots were not sealed by voters when they were turned over. Furthermore, it is alleged that after the ballots were brought to Mendez's campaign headquarters, they were examined to determine if they were votes for Mendez. If a ballot did not select Mendez as the candidate of choice, his wife, Yohanny Mendez, allegedly destroyed the ballot and replaced it with another mail-in ballot that did select Mendez for the council seat.
The investigation also uncovered that the blank replacement ballots were obtained by stealing ballots from voters' mailboxes. Omar Ledesma, an associate of Mendez, is accused of taking ballots from mailboxes in specific neighborhoods and apartment buildings in Paterson that were known to have a large number of residents supporting Mendez's main opponent in the election, former Paterson Councilman William McKoy.
Additionally, it is alleged that campaign workers would complete incomplete ballots if a voter turned one over.
On or about May 5, 2020, Mendez personally observed a large bag filled with ballots being emptied into the Haledon postal box from his wife's vehicle, just prior to the election.
Approximately one week later, Mendez's campaign attorney filed a letter with the Passaic County Board of Elections, urging the board to count the Haledon ballots, despite knowing that they had been unlawfully collected and submitted. State law stipulates that a person serving as a ballot bearer can only do so for a maximum of three ballots each, or five if the individual is bearing ballots of immediate family members in the same household.
Furthermore, after Mendez was indicted on February 24, 2021, on charges of election fraud and other related offenses, he, his wife, and others were captured in an audio recording discussing attempts to contact witnesses against Mendez and proposing a new statement that each witness could give to benefit the defense.
The suspects, Alex Mendez, Yohanny Mendez, Omar Ledesma, and Iris Rigo, are now facing charges related to their alleged involvement in the election-fraud case.
Deputy Attorney General Eric Cohen of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability is prosecuting the case, under the supervision of Deputy Chief of the OPIA Corruption Bureau Jeffrey Manis, Chief Peter Lee, OPIA Deputy Director Anthony Picione, and Director Eicher.
The investigation received critical assistance from Mary Catherine Ryan, the former Chief Assistant Prosecutor of the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office and current Assistant Attorney General.
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