Four arrested in Bridgeport Democratic primary fraud probe–from 2019.

Four Bridgeport Democrats were arrested Tuesday in a long running but slow moving absentee ballot fraud investigation arising out the close run 2019 Democratic primary for mayor between incumbent Joseph Ganim and state Senator Marilyn Moore.

Moore won the most votes on the machines in the September primary. Ganim eked out a win when the absentee ballots were counted. A Hearst Connecticut investigation of absentee ballots cast in the primary revealed widespread abuses that prompted the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) to intervene. It referred the matter to state law enforcement officials a year ago.

Bridgeport Democrats Wanda Geter-Pataky, Alfredo Castillo, Nilsa Heredia, and Josephine Edmonds were arrested. Geter-Pataky, Castillo, and Heredia were Ganim supporters. Edmonds was a Moore booster. Castillo is a member of Bridgeport’s city council. In addition to election law violations, Geter-Pataky, Castillo and Heredia were also charged with witness tampering.

Geter-Pataky figured prominently in video recordings that played a prominent role in a Superior Court ruling overturning the September 2023 mayoral primary.

The story continues but the conclusion that Marilyn Moore likely won the 2019 mayoral primary seems inescapable.

Published June 11, 2024.