Ex-Democratic congressman sentenced to prison in yearslong Pennsylvania election fraud scheme
By Sonia Moghe and Paul LeBlanc, CNN
Expelled former Democratic congressman Michael “Ozzie” Myers has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for federal election fraud dating back to 2014, the Justice Department said Tuesday, and was immediately taken into custody.
Myers, 79, pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to deprive voters of civil rights, bribery, obstruction of justice, falsification of voting records, and conspiring to illegally vote in a federal election as part of scams to stuff ballot boxes for certain Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania elections between 2014 and 2018, the DOJ said in a news release.
Prosecutors said some of the candidates were running to be judges and had hired Myers, who would use portions of “consulting fees” from his clients to pay others to interfere with election results.
Myers, who had been expelled from Congress in 1980 and served time in prison after taking bribes from an undercover FBI agent as part of the ABSCAM investigation, was also sentenced Tuesday to three years of supervision upon release and ordered to pay $100,000 in fines, the press release said.
CNN has reached out to an attorney for Myers for comment.
“Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. If even one vote has been illegally cast or if the integrity of just one election official is compromised, it diminishes faith in process,” US Attorney Jacqueline Romero said in a statement.
“This defendant used his position, knowledge of the process, and connections to fix elections for his preferred candidates, which demonstrates a truly flagrant disregard for the laws which govern our elections. He will now spend 30 months in prison as penalty for his crimes.”
That message was echoed by Jacqueline Maguire, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia division. “Protecting the legitimacy of elections is critical to ensuring the public’s trust in the process,” she said.
“Through his actions, Ozzie Myers pointedly disdained both the will of Philadelphia voters and the rule of law. He’s now a federal felon twice over, heading back behind bars, with time to consider the great consequence of free and fair elections,” Maguire added.
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