Five people associated with Bridgeport’s Democratic Party surrendered to police on Feb. 21 following a sweeping criminal investigation into the city’s 2023 Democratic primary, which ended in allegations of absentee ballot fraud and a new court-ordered election.
The more than 150 charges, which were issued against a campaign staffer, three members of Bridgeport’s city council and the vice chair of the city’s Democratic Town Committee, represent one of the most significant criminal prosecutions of election-related crime in Connecticut history.
State prosecutors with the Chief State’s Attorney’s office alleged in the arrest warrants that the five defendants misled people about the eligibility requirements for absentee voting, forged signatures, registered non-citizens to vote, told people how to vote, changed votes after they were cast and harvested dozens of absentee ballots so they could be delivered to drop boxes in the city.
So who are the five defendants? And what are each of them accused of?
Wanda Geter-Pataky
The vast majority of the criminal charges unveiled this month were targeted at Wanda Geter-Pataky, the vice chairwoman of Bridgeport’s local Democratic Party. Many people who have been following Bridgeport politics are familiar with Geter-Pataky.
The 68-year-old Bridgeport Democrat was already facing election-related charges — including unlawfully possessing another person’s absentee ballot and witness tampering — tied to Bridgeport’s 2019 Democratic primary.
She also became the face of the 2023 election scandal after she was captured on video surveillance footage allegedly depositing stacks of absentee ballots into a drop box outside the Bridgeport city government center where she worked.
The video surveillance footage from 2023, as well as dozens of witness statements collected from Bridgeport voters, led prosecutors to charge Geter-Pataky with 92 felony counts this month. The charges against her include misleading people about absentee voting requirements, illegally possessing voters’ absentee ballots, being present while voters filled out their ballots and conspiring with others to take possession of absentee ballots.
The arrest warrant for Geter-Pataky, who was reelected last year as one of the highest-ranking officials in Bridgeport’s Democratic Party, accuses her of orchestrating a scheme to sweep up absentee ballots from voters in order to boost Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim.
According to prosecutors, Geter-Pataky personally collected voters’ absentee ballots, dispatched other people to pick up ballots and conspired with city employees and others to deposit those ballots into drop boxes. The arrest warrant states she also promised at least two voters housing assistance if they voted the way she told them to vote.
The arrest warrant also alleges that Geter-Pataky continued to collect voters’ ballots in 2024, when Ganim and his Democratic challenger John Gomes faced off in two re-do elections.
Maria Pereira
Maria Pereira holds a seat on Bridgeport’s council where she represents residents in the city’s 138th District.
State prosecutors charged Pereira, who has served on the city council since 2019, with 31 criminal counts, including forgery, misleading people about absentee voting requirements, illegally possessing voters’ absentee ballots and being present while voters filled out their ballots.
Unlike Geter-Pataky, Pereira, 57, is not an ally of Ganim. In the 2023 Democratic primary, she campaigned for another term on the city council and she publicly backed Gomes in his bid to unseat Ganim as mayor.
The arrest warrant for Pereira, who before joining the council served on the city’s school board, stated that she took possession of some voters’ ballots before they selected who to vote for. The warrant also focuses heavily on her efforts to convince several voters who submitted an absentee ballot in the lead up to the September 2023 primary to sign paperwork so she could invalidate those votes.
The Connecticut Mirror reported in December 2023 how Pereira and others used a rarely-used procedure to cancel ballots that had already been cast so that those voters could obtain replacement ballots.
Prosecutors now allege that some of those maneuvers were illegal.
Investigators with the Chief State’s Attorney’s office spoke to several voters at public housing units in Pereira’s district who acknowledged signing the forms for the replacement ballots. One of them was adamant that he didn’t submit an absentee ballot during the 2023 primary, even though the records reviewed by investigators show that he did. Another said Pereira was present when he filled out the replacement ballot.
Alfredo Castillo
Alfredo Castillo has served as a Bridgeport council member since 2013, and represents the city’s 136th District.
Castillo was also facing election-related charges tied to the 2019 Bridgeport mayoral primary, just like Geter-Pataky. But state prosecutors hit him with an additional 18 criminal counts for his alleged actions in the 2023 primary.
Many of the crimes Castillo is accused of committing are linked to Geter-Pataky, who he worked closely with during the 2023 election. During that primary, he was running to maintain his seat on the council. He was also a close ally of Ganim.
The arrest warrant for the 53-year-old city councilman accuses him of misrepresenting the eligibility requirements for absentee voting and notes multiple instances in which he instructed people how to vote or allegedly stole their uncompleted ballots.
According to the charging documents, Castillo also made promises to voters that they would receive housing assistance if they voted the way he wanted them to. He also allegedly signed up a U.S. green card holder to vote, applied for an absentee ballot for that woman and then cast a ballot on her behalf — all of which is illegal under Connecticut law.
Margaret Joyce
Margaret Joyce, a Stratford resident, was a lower-level campaign worker during the 2023 Democratic primary, and prior to this month was not a prominent figure in Bridgeport politics.
State prosecutors charged Joyce with nine criminal counts, including fraudulent voting, misrepresenting absentee voting requirements and taking possession of voters’ absentee ballots.
Investigators with the Chief State’s Attorneys office honed in on Joyce after several voters told them that a woman matching Joyce’s appearance collected their absentee ballots. One of those voters later saw Joyce in the community and reported the license plate number for the car she was driving to state investigators.
Investigators eventually tracked Joyce down at her apartment in Stratford and interviewed her. In that interview, she allegedly told investigators that she collected absentee ballots from several homes and elderly housing units. She also told investigators that she was working for Ganim and city councilwoman Eneida Martinez during the election.
Jazmarie Melendez
Jazmarie Melendez is serving in her first term on the Bridgeport city council, where she represents the 138th District. Melendez, who is 26 years old, ran on the same ticket as Pereira during the 2023 primary.
She became civically engaged after the death of her 15-year-old brother, Jayson Negron, who was riding in a stolen car when he was killed by a Bridgeport police officer in 2017.
The six charges leveled against Melendez are all for misrepresenting the eligibility requirements for absentee voting. Unlike the other four defendants, Melendez is not accused of telling people how to vote or of taking possession of their ballots.
The arrest warrant for Melendez alleges she did not fully explain the absentee voting requirements to voters, while she campaigned door-to-door signing up people to receive an absentee ballot. And like Pereira, prosecutors also allege Melendez signed paperwork to invalidate ballots that were previously submitted to local election officials.
One voter allegedly told investigators that Melendez helped her fill out one of the forms requesting a second absentee ballot. But she said the stated reason for why that replacement ballot was needed was not true.
The form, which is signed by Melendez, said the replacement ballot was necessary because a “Joe Ganim operative” entered the voter’s home and directed them who to vote for on their initial ballot. The voter said they never told Melendez that.