Five Bridgeport Democratic officials made their first appearance in court on Thursday after being accused of abusing Connecticut's absentee ballot system and other election-related crimes during city's 2023 mayoral primary.
One by one, campaign worker Margaret Joyce, city council members Alfredo Castillo, Maria Pereira and Jazmarie Melendez, and Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee Vice Chairwoman Wanda Geter-Pataky appeared inside a packed courtroom.
Superior Court Judge Scott Jones quickly advised the five defendants of the terms of their release, including a ban on them talking to potential witnesses, and transferred the felony cases to Bridgeport Superior Court.
The more than 150 charges filed against the five defendants are the result of one of the largest criminal investigations into ballot fraud and other election-related crimes in Connecticut history.
State prosecutors with the Chief State's Attorney's office alleged in arrest warrants that Joyce, Castillo, Pereira and Geter-Pataky committed a raft of election-related crimes, including illegally taking possession of voters' absentee ballots ahead of the September 2023 primary between Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim and his Democratic challenger John Gomes.
Jazmarie Melendez, meanwhile, was accused of misrepresenting the eligibility requirements for absentee voting to several voters during the same election as she campaigned for a seat on the city council.
The 2023 contest between Ganim and Gomes grabbed national news headlines after Geter-Pataky, one of city's top Democratic officials, was captured on city surveillance footage apparently depositing stacks of absentee ballots into drop boxes outside the city government center where she worked.
That footage also prompted a Connecticut Superior Court judge to overturn Ganim's 251-vote victory in that election, which he won on the strength of absentee ballots.
The uproar surrounding the election has not subsided since that time, despite Ganim later winning two court-ordered re-do elections in 2024.
Susan Hanken, who represented Geter-Pataky during her appearance in court on Thursday, argued the ongoing publicity surrounding the case has subjected her client to harassment online and in Bridgeport, where she continues to serve as the vice chairwoman of the city's Democratic Town Committee.
According to Hanken, that harassment recently included Geter-Pataky's car being damaged outside her home, and she said it has required Geter-Pataky, who has also been charged with election-related crimes tied to Bridgeport's 2019 Democratic primary, to take extra precautions while in public.
Hanken asked the judge not to allow Thursday's court proceedings to be photographed or videotaped by members of the news media. She argued that any images taken of Geter-Pataky in court would only further the "feeding frenzy" that has surrounded the case.
Judge Jones quickly denied that request, noting that limiting media coverage of the arraignment hearing was unlikely to lessen the public attention that Geter-Pataky's case has drawn throughout Connecticut and the country.
Alex Taubes, the defense attorney for Melendez, also argued in court Thursday that his client's reputation and image had been damaged by the charges filed against her last month.
Taubes noted that Melendez was the only defendant who had not be accused by prosecutors of filling out another voter's ballot or of taking possession of a ballot so it could be delivered to drop boxes ahead of the election.
As such, Taubes asked the judge to separate Melendez's case from the other four defendants. He said lumping the five cases together had subjected his client to inaccurate and damaging media coverage.
"Her name has been dragged through the mud," Taubes said.
Taubes also asked that the judge to alter the terms of Melendez's release so she can speak with and question some of the voters who are named in her arrest warrant. Taubes said those interactions would only take place while he is present, and he said it was necessary in order for him to investigate the charges against his client and build a defense.
Jones denied both of Taubes' requests and said those issues could be taken up later, once the cases are transferred to Superior Court.
Castillo, Pereira and Joyce said far less while they were being arraigned in court, but outside the courthouse, both Castillo and Pereira forcefully denied the charges against them.
Castillo, who has also been charged with mishandling absentee ballots in Bridgeport's 2019 primary, has told multiple media outlets in recent weeks that he feels like he and the other defendants are being criminalized for following orders from the state and local Democratic Party. He repeated some of those statements outside the courthouse on Thursday.
Castillo denied that he ever touched any voter's absentee ballot, but he said he was being targeted for encouraging more people to vote and driving voter turnout.
"We get out the vote, and we get criminalized," he said.
It's legal in Connecticut for campaign workers, political candidates and party members to help voters request an absentee ballot, but in Castillo's case, he is accused of going much farther by registering a non-citizen to vote, filling out people's absentee ballots and taking possession of ballots once they are completed.
Frank Riccio, Castillo's defense attorney, also spoke with the media following Castillo's appearance in court. He acknowledged Castillo's previous statements and said he often advises his clients not to speak about the charges against them.
But Riccio said the charges against Castillo and the other Bridgeport defendants was a "highly charged" case that was eliciting a lot of passion and frustration from Castillo.
Riccio said he is waiting to see the mountain of evidence compiled against his client during the months-long investigation. And he said he did not expect the election-related cases to be resolved any time soon, based on how long it takes most felony cases to make their way through the state court system.
"Justice is not swift in Connecticut," Riccio said. "And that's not pointing the finger. It just is what it is."
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
