.A New York Common Council Member has been charged with filing false documents after allegedly submitting fake signatures on an election petition ballot.
Rob Scott, who serves on the Peekskill Common Council, allegedly used dead people’s signatures and forged signatures to meet the 500 thresholds needed to get him on the ballot.
County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah reported that Scott used the signatures to land him a spot on the Democratic primaries ballot.
Scott has since been charged and arrested “for filing designating petitions containing forged signatures for a seat on the Westchester County Board of Legislators.”
NY Dem busted after election petition was signed by ‘dead’ people: report https://t.co/TyxufRRsNq pic.twitter.com/5ktLzQJESL
— New York Post (@nypost) April 18, 2024
JUST IN: NY Democrat Councilman Rob Scott faces felony charges for filing petitions with forged signatures, including those of "dead" people.
This disturbing act was flagged when a bid for the county board included names from beyond the grave.
The revelation came after two… pic.twitter.com/JT4zAmFpKR
— Hank (@HANKonX) April 18, 2024
Peekskill Herald had more to report:
Peekskill Common Council member Rob Scott sought to advance his political career by challenging incumbent County Legislator Colin Smith for the seat in last year’s Democratic primary.
That effort ended in late April 2023 when the County Board of Elections threw out 217 of the 531 signatures Scott submitted on his ballot petitions, leaving him far short of the required number of 500.
Now, Scott is facing criminal charges for filing false documents.
In a statement, County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah said Scott was arrested and charged with filing designating petitions containing forged signatures for a seat on the Westchester County Board of Legislators in the June 2023 Democratic primary election.
“Free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy. Undermining the petition process in an attempt to get on the ballot in an election violates the public’s trust,” Rocah said.
Scott was charged with offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, a felony and was issued a desk appearance ticket for an April 30 arraignment in White Plains City Court. It is a class E felony. According the District Attorney’s office, there is a wide range of potential sentences associated with this charge ranging from a minimum of probation up to a maximum of one and a third to four years in state prison.
“An suburban New York councilman was charged after he submitted election petitions with fraudulent signatures — including three dead people, according to prosecutors and a report”
https://t.co/zAVT88J6Y8— The Daily Sneed™ (@Tr00peRR) April 19, 2024
The New York Post got the scoop, too:
An suburban New York councilman was charged after he submitted election petitions with fraudulent signatures — including three dead people, according to prosecutors and a report.
Rob Scott, 44, a Democrat serving on Peekskill Common Council, allegedly submitted a 2023 petition to run for a county lawmaker seat that was signed by individuals who died in 2012, 2017, and 2022, the Rockland/Westchester Journal News reported.
Eight other individuals whose names were included in the 37-page petition told prosecutors they’d never signed it.
Those and the dead men’s signatures were among the 537 on the petition Scott allegedly certified that he had witnessed himself.
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