TRENTON — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) announced today that Paterson City Council President Alex Mendez along with three alleged co-conspirators and another Paterson resident are facing new charges in a superseding indictment that alleges they stole ballots, forged ballots and voter registrations, and submitted them to help Mendez win Paterson’s May 2020 municipal election.

The 10-count superseding indictment alleges that Mendez, who represents the Third Ward on the Paterson City Council, his wife Yohanny Mendez and campaign workers Omar Ledesma and Iris Rigo tried to deprive Paterson residents of a fair election. Alex Mendez was first indicted in 2021 for election-related offenses. Further investigation by OPIA resulted in additional charges filed by complaint in October 2023 against the co-defendants, as well as additional charges for Alex Mendez, all stemming from the May 2020 election.

“As alleged, this case is not simply about a city council seat. The people’s right to vote and to have their voices heard was subverted by what we allege to be an unlawful conspiracy,” said Attorney General Platkin. “This was unfair to the voters of Paterson. It was, as the grand jury charged, fraud and theft.”

“The tenacious, hard work of the investigators and prosecutors on this case uncovered new information about the lengths the defendants allegedly went to in an attempt to rig Paterson’s municipal election and cover up their conduct,” said Drew Skinner, Executive Director of OPIA.

Based on publicly filed documents and statements in court in this case, the OPIA investigation began after hundreds of mail-in ballots for the May 2020 Paterson election were found in a postal box in the neighboring municipality of Haledon, when all voting was being conducted via vote-by-mail because of COVID-19.

Members of the alleged conspiracy face several charges including Tampering with Public Records or Information (third degree), Falsifying or Tampering with Records (fourth degree), Forgery (third degree), and Election Fraud (second degree). Among the allegations, they are accused of submitting fictitious or fraudulent vote-by-mail registrations and ballots. The superseding indictment contains a new charge of Theft (third degree) against the four defendants for allegedly taking other peoples’ ballots with the intent to deprive them of their vote. It also includes a new count of Receiving Stolen Property (third degree) for those four defendants, alleging they received ballots that they knew had been stolen.

It is further alleged that the defendants tried to cause one or more witnesses previously contacted by investigators to make additional, contradictory, and false statements – leading to the superseding indictment’s new charge of Witness Tampering (third degree).

The superseding indictment also charges an additional defendant, Ninoska Adames, a Paterson resident, with Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution (third degree) and Tampering with Public Records or Information (third degree). She allegedly falsified a voter certificate on a vote-by-mail ballot and gave false information to detectives with the intent to hinder the State’s investigation into the May 2020 election.

The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Fourth-degree offenses could lead to up to 18 months in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Deputy Attorneys General Diana Bibb and Lisa Cialino are prosecuting the case for OPIA under the supervision of Deputy Corruption Bureau Chief Laura Croce, Bureau Co-Directors Jeff Manis and Eric Gibson, and OPIA Director Skinner.

Defense Counsel:
for Alex Mendez: Paul Brickfield, Ridgewood, N.J.
for Yohanny Munoz-Mendez: Genesis Peduto, Esq., North Bergen, N.J.
for Omar Ledesma: Deyanira Roque, Esq., North Bergen, N.J.
for Iris Rigo: Severiano E. Lisboa, Esq., Hackensack, N.J.
for Ninoska Adames: Unknown

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