Election Fraud

Five more Philadelphia political workers in the 1993 2nd District Senate race have been charged with election fraud - and in some cases forgery - and have been asked to surrender for arraignment. State Attorney General Ernie Preate Jr. filed a total of 225 fraud and 20 forgery counts against the five yesterday with Philadelphia Municipal Court Bail Commmissioner Rufus S. Watson Sr. Three of those charged were trying to help Democrat William Stinson; two were trying to help Republican Bruce Marks.

I don't want to hear any more about Ohio. My apologies to the Buckeye State, but I've had it up to here with overheated Internet postings purporting to prove that massive fraud swung the vote in the state that decided the election of 2004. If you haven't seen them, well . . . I'm sorry your hard drive crashed, and I hope it's fixed real soon. The rest of us have been unable to escape the nonstop conspiracy theorizing that began about 30 seconds after John Kerry conceded the election.

Something extraordinary is happening in the Philippines, and President Ferdinand Marcos doesn't seem to know what it is. That something is not simply massive fraud in the presidential election. Mr. Marcos, like the worldwide audiences watching and reading the extensive media coverage, knows well about the vote buying, disappearing ballot boxes and intimidation that have destroyed virtually any chance that the election will reflect the wishes of the Filipino people. American and international observer teams have cited chapter and verse not only on fraud but on the inexplicable delay in counting of the ballots.

Three unsuccessful candidates in the June primary election were charged this week with illegally helping disabled voters complete their absentee ballots. Lawrence James, 76, Carmella Burrell, 41, and Elaris Robinson, 74, all of Chesilhurst, were accused of assisting residents of the R & M Guest Home. James also is accused of illegally mailing absentee ballot applications and absentee ballots for the residents, the majority of whom suffer mental and medical disabilities. All three candidates are Democrats.

As President Corazon Aquino's slate of congressional candidates headed for a sweeping victory, opposition leader Juan Ponce Enrile accused Aquino supporters yesterday of vote fraud that he said could result in "instability of unimaginable magnitude. " Enrile, a former defense minister, said that a big win by Aquino in the battle for 24 seats in the Senate and 200 in the House of Representatives could plunge the nation into deeper turmoil. The government's election officials and some foreign observers disputed the opposition's charges of widespread vote fraud.

State Attorney General Ernie Preate Jr. has charged three more Philadelphia Democrats with election fraud in the 1993 2nd state Senatorial District race. Named yesterday were Craig Cummons, 41, of Hunting Park Avenue near Torresdale; Rocco Diguielmo, 34, of Iseminger Street near Mifflin; and Barry Rankin, 46, of Frankford Avenue near Montgomery. The three were campaign workers for Democrat Bill Stinson in 1993. All three are charged with absentee ballot abuse, bringing the total in the case to 18 - 17 Democrats and one Republican.

A Republican committeeman and a former Democratic committeeman pleaded guilty yesterday to election fraud in the 1993 Second District state Senate race, and an arrest warrant was issued for another former Democratic committeeman who failed to appear in court. Anthony G. Rotondo, 42, who held the position of Democratic committeeman in the 43d Ward's 18th Division until it was reported that he lived outside the ward, pleaded guilty to three counts of forging election documents and of voting on a machine for a registered voter who did not come to the polls on Election Day. Republican Joseph V. Giedemann, 55, a committeeman in lower Northeast Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to six counts of election fraud.

You can't throw someone out of the U.S. Senate just because some voters think he lied during his election campaign, the Senate Rules Committee decided yesterday. The committee voted unanimously to reject a bid to overturn Sen. Bob Packwood's election in Oregon last fall on the grounds that he lied about alleged sexual misconduct. Packwood said he was pleased with the vote "both for myself and for the Senate. " "The last thing the Senate wants to do is get into the practice of conducting autopsies . . . every two years if the loser claims the winner told a lie," he told the Associated Press.

Former defense secretary Fidel V. Ramos yesterday took the lead for the first time in the Philippine presidential vote count and dismissed charges from his chief rival that his campaign was engaged in "wholesale electoral fraud. " Miriam Defensor Santiago, a former judge and immigration commissioner with corruption-fighting image, accused Ramos of "an attempted rape of the democratic process," even before he passed her late yesterday in partial returns with more than 12 percent of precincts reporting nationwide.

The judge stared down at the woman investigators caught running a virtual assembly line of phony votes in her polling place. Where to begin? Why not a civics lecture? "If it's lacking the element of fairness, the whole system falls apart, is that true?" asked Judge Jay W. Myers, staring down at Fani Papanikolau. "Yes, that's true," replied Papanikolau, once a Democratic committeewoman in Feltonville. Myers placed Fani Papanikolau, 37, on a year of probation and fined her $2,200 after she pleaded guilty to 22 misdemeanor counts of election fraud stemming from abuses at her 42d Ward polling place in the Philadelphia general election and primary of 1993.

Ivory Coast probe increased THE HAGUE, Netherlands - International Criminal Court judges have expanded an investigation in Ivory Coast to cover atrocities dating to 2002 and committed during political turmoil in the West African nation, the court said Thursday. The decision enlarges the probe originally launched into violence that erupted after presidential elections late in 2010 and that left at least 3,000 people dead. Former President Laurent Gbagbo was sent to the court last year to face charges of murder, rape, and other crimes allegedly committed by his supporters as he clung to power after last year's elections.

KINSHASA, Congo - The chorus of voices calling into question the results from Congo's recent election is growing louder, and on Monday the country's influential clergy as well as the United Nations joined those who are now casting doubt on the victory of President Joseph Kabila. Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo, head of the influential Catholic Church in Congo, broke his silence to voice his concern. The church, which had deployed the largest observation mission, had earlier refused to disclose results, saying its role was not political.

MOSCOW - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, facing the possibility of nationwide protests against his rule, on Thursday accused U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of instigating demonstrators in the wake of the disputed parliamentary election. The comments came as opposition supporters largely stayed off the streets after three nights of sizeable protests. No protests were seen in Moscow and only a small one where 10 people were arrested was reported in St. Petersburg.

MOSCOW - Police clashed with demonstrators protesting alleged election fraud in Moscow and at least two other major Russian cities Tuesday as anger boiled over against strongman Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin and his United Russia party. At least 250 people were detained by police at a protest in Moscow that included flare-type fireworks thrown at a group of pro-Kremlin youth, said city police spokesman Maxim Kolosvetov. Russian news agencies reported about 200 were arrested at a similar attempt to hold an unsanctioned rally in St. Petersburg and 25 in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.

Millions of Iranians take to the streets to defy a theocratic dictatorship that, among its other finer qualities, is a self-declared enemy of America and the tolerance and liberties it represents. The demonstrators are fighting on their own, but they await just a word that America is on their side. And what do they hear from the president of the United States? Silence. Then, worse. Three days in, the president makes clear his policy: continued "dialogue" with their clerical masters.

DON'T KNOW about you, but after two years of attack ads, robo-calls and dirty tricks, I sure could use a beer. Good thing the bars are open on Election Day. This Tuesday, many joints will offer drink specials and follow the returns on big screens, encouraging one last night of earnest political debate among the patrons. We've come a long way from the days when city bars were regarded as the root of all evil on Election Day. Throughout the 19th century, and especially after the Civil War, elections were won and lost in taprooms.

Amid continued allegations that a community group engaged in widespread voter-registration fraud, Pennsylvania Republican Party leaders asked a state court yesterday to take steps to ensure that only eligible voters cast ballots on Nov. 4. At issue are an undetermined number of the 140,000 new voter registrations - including 85,000 in Philadelphia - gathered in the state by the activist organization ACORN over the last 18 months. The suit, filed in Commonwealth Court, calls into question voter applications submitted by ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now)

Unsuccessful City Council candidate David Oh yesterday asked District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham to investigate instances of voter fraud in the Nov. 6 election based on allegations that absentee ballots were cast for elderly veterans who did not vote. Oh based his allegations partly on interviews conducted with residents of the Delaware Valley Veterans Home in Northeast Philadelphia. Six of 35 people interviewed said they didn't vote, according to affidavits supplied by Oh. Abraham's spokeswoman, Cathie Abookire, said the office had not received Oh's request as of 5 p.m. "When we get it, we'll read it," she said.

Three unsuccessful candidates in the June primary election were charged this week with illegally helping disabled voters complete their absentee ballots. Lawrence James, 76, Carmella Burrell, 41, and Elaris Robinson, 74, all of Chesilhurst, were accused of assisting residents of the R & M Guest Home. James also is accused of illegally mailing absentee ballot applications and absentee ballots for the residents, the majority of whom suffer mental and medical disabilities. All three candidates are Democrats.

Archdiocese responds to a shifting population The Feb. 28 letter "Church leaders should boost parish populations" came at an interesting time. Just a few days later, almost 1,000 people of all backgrounds began an intensive period of prayer as they prepare to enter the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Mass. Yes, the announcement had been made recently that St. Boniface Parish would close. But that is largely because of damage to the physical structure that has occurred over the years that would cost $7 million to repair.