Former Judge of Elections Convicted of Conspiring to Violate Civil Rights and Bribery
A former Judge of Elections in Philadelphia was convicted this week for accepting bribes in exchange for casting fraudulent ballots and certifying false voting resulting during 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary election in Philadelphia. Domenick Demuro pled guilty and will be sentenced on June 30, 2020.
According to a Department of Justice release, Demuro admitted to accepting bribes in the form of money and other things in exchange for adding ballots to increase the vote totals for certain candidates on the voting machines in his jurisdiction and for certifying tallies of all the ballots, including the fraudulent ballots.
Demuro also admitted that a local political consultant reimbursed him for adding votes for candidates supported by the consultant, including candidates for judicial office whose campaigns actually hired the consultant, and other candidates for various federal, state and local elective offices preferred by that consultant for a variety of reasons.
The DOJ release also explained that Demuro admitted that the votes he added in exchange for payments by the political consultant increased the number of votes fraudulently recorded and tallied for the consultant’s clients and preferred candidates, thereby diluting the ballots cast by actual voters.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police worked together to investigate the matter.
“Domenick Demuro put a thumb on the scale for certain candidates, in exchange for bribes,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Driscoll of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “As public trust in the electoral process is vital, the FBI’s message today is clear: election interference of any kind, by hostile foreign actors or dishonest local officials, won’t be tolerated. This is an active, ongoing investigation and we're asking anyone with information on election fraud to contact the FBI.”
“The citizenry of the City of Philadelphia, as well as this Commonwealth and these United States, needs to be confident in the integrity of our elections,” said Captain Leo Hannon, Director of the Pennsylvania State Police, Special Investigations Division. “As this investigation clearly illustrates, the Pennsylvania State Police will relentlessly pursue any breach of the sacred trust bestowed upon our public officials. Our agency is proud to partner with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the United States Department of Justice as a whole to root out corruption at any level of our government. Matters of public corruption and public integrity have been, and shall remain, a top priority of the Pennsylvania State Police.”