Suffolk DA charges board of elections employees and party officials in petition fraud schemes during 2018 election

Two Suffolk Board of Elections employees and two political party officials are facing felony charges in connection with petition fraud during the 2018 election.

The board of elections employees, William Mann, 60, of Cutchogue and Gregory Dickerson, 55, of Mattituck, are accused of filing nominating petitions for Green Party judicial candidates containing forged signatures.

Additionally, Mann is accused of falsely representing to voters that he was working in his official capacity as an employee of the Board of Elections to collect signatures on behalf of the Green Party.

Both men circulated and filed petitions designating Republican judicial candidates for slots on the Green Party line in the 2018 general election.

Mann is alleged to have submitted nominating petitions for Green Party judicial candidates containing three forged signatures, including one signature of a resident who is deceased, according to Suffolk District Attorney Tim Sini, who announced the charges last night.

Dickerson is alleged to have submitted two nominating petition forms for Green Party judicial candidates containing two forged signatures, Sini said.

Suffolk Green Party members and party leaders alike complained this fall about deceptive signature-gathering practices. After receiving the complaints, he District Attorney’s Office’s Public Integrity Bureau launched a comprehensive investigation into the allegations, Sini said.

The investigation revealed evidence of alleged schemes in which the defendants knowingly possessed and submitted nominating petitions containing forged signatures, according to the district attorney.

Mann was charged with Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a D felony; Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, an E felony; and two counts of Official Misconduct, an A misdemeanor.

Dickerson was charged with two counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a D felony, and two counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, an E felony.

The former East Hampton Town Republican Party chairperson and the East Hampton Town Independence Party vice chairperson — who is also a former East Hampton Town councilwoman — were charged with possessing and offering for filing petitions containing forged signatures.

Amos Goodman, 35, of East Hampton, the former East Hampton Town Republican Party chairperson, is alleged to have submitted nominating petitions that contained at least 43 forgeries, Sini said.

The petitions were for Green Party judicial candidates, an Independence Party candidate for East Hampton Town Council and a Republican Party candidate for East Hampton Town Council. In one instance, Goodman submitted a nominating petition containing the signature of a person who is deceased. He is facing 10 counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a D felony, and 10 counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, an E felony.

Former East Hampton Town councilwoman Patricia Mansir, 72, of East Hampton, vice chairperson of the East Hampton Town Independence Party, is charged with four counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a D felony, and four counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, an E felony.

Mansir is alleged to have submitted nominating petitions for an Independence Party candidate for East Hampton Town Council containing eight forged signatures, including one signature of a resident who is deceased, Sini said.

“Through their alleged actions, the defendants corrupted the democratic process and violated the public’s trust,” Sini said in a statement.

“This brazen scheme to get preferred candidates on the November 2018 ballot by any means necessary included the alleged filing of petitions with forged signatures, some of which included forged signatures of deceased individuals,” Sini said.

“In addition, one of the defendants is alleged to have used his position as a member of the Suffolk County Board of Elections to deceive voters into signing petitions they might otherwise have declined to sign. This kind of conduct is unacceptable; if you abuse your position of public trust and attempt to disrupt the integrity of the election process, you will be brought to justice,” the district attorney said.

The investigation did not reveal evidence that any of the candidates were aware of or involved in the alleged schemes, Sini said.

Mann, Dickerson and Mansir were arraigned Tuesday and were released on their own recognizance. Goodman is expected to be arraigned on Dec. 5, according to the DA’s office.

If convicted of the top count, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of two and one-third to seven years in prison.