Myers, 77, conspired and bribed former Philadelphia District 39, 36th Division Election Judge Domenick J. Demuro to illegally add votes for certain candidates in the Democratic Party during the 2014-2016 primary, according to the Justice Department. Myers and Demuro are Democrats.
Myers’ lawyer Arnold Silverstein declined to comment on the matter when CNN contacted him.
Demuro, 73, pleaded guilty in federal court in Philadelphia during a sealed trial in March, according to a Justice Department news release.
Myers, working as a political consultant, bribed Demuro to add votes for certain candidates in separate primary elections in 2014, 2015 and 2016, according to the indictment. Some of the candidates Myers bribed for Demuro to add votes to were his clients, others were “candidates for various federal, state and local elective offices that Myers favored for a variety of reasons,” the Department of State’s press release states. Justice.
After Demuro received payments of “between $ 300 and $ 5,000 per election” from Myers, Demuro would add “fraudulent votes” on the voting machines for Myers’ clients and selected candidates, the Justice Department alleged. Demuro would then add these false votes to the totals on election day, and then falsely certify that the results of the voting machine are accurate, according to the statement.
“Transparent and fair elections are an integral part of the proper functioning of our democracy,” Special Agent-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division said in a press release. “Those seeking to corrupt the vote threaten the public’s confidence in the process and must be brought to justice. The FBI is determined to protect the integrity of our electoral system.”
Myers is charged with conspiring to violate voting rights by fraudulently filling out the ballot box, bribing an election official, falsifying records, voting more than once in federal elections, and obstructing justice, according to the statement. He is also accused of ordering Demuro to lie “about the circumstances of the bribes and the ballot-filling scheme to investigators,” the statement said.
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