Newark Man Gets 3 Years for Election Fraud

A Newark man was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for submitting fraudulent absentee ballots when he worked on the 2007 New Jersey Senate campaign for Teresa Ruiz.

Angel Colon, 51, pleaded guilty in July 2011 to second-degree election fraud. Colon admitted he fraudulently submitted absentee “messenger” ballots on behalf of voters who never received the ballots or had an opportunity to cast their votes, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Colon was initially sentenced in January 2012 to five years probation, despite the state's objection. Deputy Attorney General Vincent J. Militello had requested a three-year sentence that was consistent with the plea agreement.

The Division of Criminal Justice appealed the sentence and won with the Appellate Division ruling against the judge's finding that imprisoning the defendant would be a "serious injustice," according to the Attorney General's Office.

"Justice demanded that Colon serve a state prison sentence, in accordance with his guilty plea,” Acting Attorney General Hoffman said. "To safeguard fair and honest elections, we need to deliver a clear deterrent message that election tampering is a serious crime. This sentence accomplishes that."