Two individuals central to the 2023 Bridgeport ballot-stuffing scandal rejected plea deals in the case on Tuesday.
City councilman Alfredo Castillo and former Democratic Party vice chair Wanda Geter-Pataky both opted to push forward with trials and allow juries to decide their fate.
The two Democrats were central to the case that made national headlines in 2022 and 2023, resulting in a do-over mayoral primary election.
They also face charges related to the city’s 2019 election.
Castillo faces more than 30 counts of illegally possessing absentee ballots. He was offered less than three years in prison by state prosecutors, but declined. Now, he could end up with a 165-year sentence.
Geter-Pataky, the woman who was caught on camera allegedly bringing handfuls of ballots to the absentee box, faces more than 100 counts of ballot and voting fraud. She was offered three years in prison — instead, she’ll go to trial, where she could theoretically be sentenced to 500 years behind bars.
It’s unlikely that either defendant will end up with a sentence anywhere near the maximum.
