Five people charged in Bridgeport in connection of how absentee ballots were handled made their first appearances in court Thursday.
Five people charged in Bridgeport in connection with an investigation into how absentee ballots were handled made their first appearances in court Thursday.
It was a quick first hearing for those who are charged, and the start of what could be a long trial, according to one of the attorneys.
“The amount of evidence, the number of defendants. Typically, you’ll see a case like this starting today, go six, 12, 18 months before either someone accepts responsibility for their actions or a trial is had,” attorney Frank Riccio, who represents Alfredo Castillo, said.
“Hispanic just trying to get out the vote. Low turnout, what do you want us to do?” Castillo said outside of court. We get out the vote, I get out the vote, and then they criminalize us.”
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Castillo is a democratic city council member who said the charges against him in connection with the case are politically motivated.
“I voted for Trump, I’m Hispanic, and now they’re coming after me,” he said.
He and four others were in court Thursday: Jazmarie Melendez, Margaret Joyce, Maria Pereira and Wanda Geter-Pataky.
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Geter-Pataky, a former city employee, faces more than 90 counts, including 22 counts of misrepresenting eligibility requirements for absentee voting and 42 counts of possession of ballots and envelopes restricted. She didn’t speak after leaving court.
Videos shown in a separate case challenging the outcome of the 2023 mayoral election between Mayor Joe Ganim and challenger John Gomes appear to show Geter-Pataky making multiple trips to ballot drop boxes.
“I think they know what they’re doing is wrong. I think they honestly believed they’d never get caught,” Callie Heilmann, co-director of Bridgeport Generation Now, said.
All five charged will have their cases moved to Part A Court on March 21. But Alex Taubes, the attorney for Jazmarie Melendez, challenged the move for his client.
“My client is not being accused of touching any ballots. All she’s being accused of is what she said in conversation with six voters,” Taubes said during court.
The judge ruled her case would be transferred with the others, and Taubes could make another attempt at changing that on March 21. Taubes explained more after the hearing.
“They’re saying that she said something in a conversation that was not right about who could vote by mail, when they’ve changed the laws on who could vote by mail four times in the last four years,” Taubes said. “This was her first time running for office. She never misled anyone.”
Riccio said that this is a highly-charged case politically, locally and nationally and said they’re taking the charges very seriously.
“I understand the passion that everyone is showing but we have to let the courts handle it,” Riccio said. “We’re not going to try this in the press, we’re not going to try this online, we’re going to try this in the courts.”
