Officials said Rochester, NY, Mayor Lovely and Campaign Run were charged on Friday with allegations of campaign finance raised from the re-election campaign three years ago.
Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Durley announced that Wren Ren is facing two felony counts, including first-degree fraud and violating election law. Albert Jones Jr., the treasurer of the Vern Run campaign, and Rosalind Brooks-Harris, the treasurer of his Political Action Committee, were also charged.
Warren has not been arrested but will be prosecuted, Durley said. She will be removed from office if convicted.
“This can be a lengthy process and we expect challenges along the way so I don’t think anything like this will be resolved quickly,” Durley said during a news briefing.
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Rochester, NY Mayor Lovely Warren was accused on Friday of breaking campaign finance rules and committing fraud during her re-election campaign three years ago. (AP Photo / Adrian Cross, file)
Warren called the investigation a “search for a political witch.” Her lawyer did not return a request for comment from Fox News.
A report by Rochesterfirst.com states that the characteristics of the ongoing investigation have not been disclosed, but that it has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for re-election in allegations focused on spending on the first term of Werner’s run from November 301 to November 301, Rochesterfirst said. Dot com has stated.
Durley said the city’s first female mayor and others have taken steps to avoid contribution limits.
The New York State Board of Elections is investigating the financial interaction between the mayor’s political action committee that backed the re-election and its campaign committee. At one point, Warren Run for Stronger Rochester PAC transferred 30,000,000 from the group to Warren’s committee, Friends Love Lovely War, according to 2017 spending reports obtained by the news site.
Under state regulations, coordination of PACs and committees is prohibited. Warren claims the funds were mistakenly placed in the PAC account.
The indictment alleges War Run, a Democrat, faced political unrest over the city’s proceedings over the death of Daniel Prude, who suffocated while in police custody in the city.
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She suspended seven police officers with pay during the ongoing investigation and the top leadership of the Rochester Police Department resigned last month. He eventually fired the city’s police chief.
Critics accused the city and police officials of covering up the circumstances surrounding Prudeh’s death, which was not fully understood until videos of the police encounter were released in September, prompting protests and calls for reform. A medical examiner has ordered Prude’s death.
Warren will be handed over on Monday.
The Associated Press contributes to this report.
