Derek Jeter, Kate Moss ‘Sign’ for Troubled Pol
Campaign Workers Indicted for False Petition Signatures
BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 27- District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced that a nine-month long investigation into fraudulent petitions filed with the New York City Board of Elections has resulted in the arrests of three former campaign workers for New York City Council Member Maria Del Carmen Arroyo.
The investigation uncovered no evidence of any criminal conduct by any other persons.
Elbin Lopez, 49, of Alexander Avenue, Betty Julien, 47, of Bruckner Boulevard of Richman Plaza, and Luis Vargas, 45, of Bruckner Boulevard, have been charged with multiple felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, forgery in the second degree, and offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree. The defendants are facing maximum terms of up to seven years imprisonment if convicted.
The charges stem from the defendants’ alleged conduct as employees of Council Member Arroyo’s campaign for re-election in 2013. The defendants were hired by the Council Member’s campaign to gather signatures on petitions to have her name placed on the ballot in the Democratic Primary Election which was held in September 2013.
The defendants were arraigned before Criminal Court Judge Carol Sharpe and were released on their own recognizance.
It is alleged that Lopez, Julien, and Vargas forged nearly 100 signatures on the candidate’s petitions which were then filed with the New York City Board of Elections. The alleged forgeries included the signatures of New York Yankees team captain Derek Jeter, sports announcer Joe Buck, New York Giants defensive tackle Rocky Bernard, and actress Kate Moss. The petitions also contained phony addresses accompanying some signatures including a Citibank branch location and a location for the drug rehabilitation program Odyssey House.
The charges announced today are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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