Cicilline Accusers Tied to Mail Ballot Misdeeds in 2008
Friday, August 24, 2012
Two city residents accusing Congressman David Cicilline and his allies of being involved in an elaborate voter fraud scheme over the last decade were accused of misusing mail ballots themselves several years ago.
According to a 2008 Providence Journal article, State Senate candidate Maryelyn Alba-Acevedo and State Rep. candidate Wilbur Jennings, both Democrats, were accused of turning in an extraordinarily high number of mail ballots during their campaigns that year.
(Editor’s Note: A link to the Providence Journal story was not available)
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe article states that Alba-Acevedo turned in over 100 applications for mail ballots, with 36 applicants filing for a religious exemption. At the time, state police Major Steven O'Donnell (now the Superintendent of the State Police) investigated the matter and said that some voters may have not known what the mail ballots were for.
"The people who signed it were unsure what they were signing," O’Donnell told to the Journal.
Jennings, who would go on to become a Providence Councilman in 2010, was accused of turning in more than 30 mail ballot applications from voters who said they could not vote because of a disability. Six of his family members were included in that group.
Alba-Acevedo and Jennings are among several residents who came forward after Cicilline’s opponent in this September’s Democratic primary, Anthony Gemma, hired a private investigation firm to look into voter fraud. Following a Wednesday press conference, Gemma released sworn statements from individuals making claims about Cicilline and his allies.
One was from Alba-Acevedo, who claimed that in 2006, she was told by Cicilline’s Deputy Chief of Staff Chris Bizzacco that she had to resign from her position in the Providence Tax Assessor’s office because of her husband was running for City Council.
Jennings was not among those who provided sworn statements, but he did claim Cicilline had a hand in his 2006 loss in a City Council race.
“My election was torn apart by the Cicilline people,” Jennings told GoLocalProv. “I was a victim of the Cicilline administration.”
Congressman Cicilline has denied the accusations leveled against him.
Dan McGowan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @danmcgowan.
