Reply #75: Republican Consultant facing voter fraud investigation in New Jersey

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Thursday, January 20, 2005

Republican Consultant facing voter fraud investigation

By CAROLYN FEIBEL
STAFF WRITER


Bergen County officials are investigating veteran Republican political consultant Rick Shaftan for possible voter fraud.

The case hinges on whether Shaftan actually lived in North Arlington when he voted by absentee ballot in that borough in the November election.

"You can't vote where you don't live," said Patricia DiConstanzo, the superintendent of elections who opened the probe.

Shaftan is a consultant for the gubernatorial campaign of Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan.

For the past 10 years, Shaftan had been registered to vote in Sparta, where he owns a home, according to public records. He registered to vote in North Arlington on June 29, giving the address of Carey Ann Rosenblatt, a Democratic councilwoman whom he helped elect. The couple married in September. She has submitted her resignation from the council.

"Some nights we stayed in North Arlington, some nights we stayed in Sparta," Shaftan said. The couple, along with their children from previous marriages, recently decided on Sparta, he added.

Brian Fitzhenry, a GOP school board member who lost his council bid, filed the complaint with the superintendent of elections.

"I don't mind going into the election and losing, as long as it's a level playing field," he said. "But the bottom line is they solicited votes from out of town."

Fitzhenry said the Shaftans really lived in Sparta after their marriage. "I happen to know for a fact she was not living here the whole time," he said. "I ride by her house every day to get a bagel, and her car is not there. I came home every day from work, and her car was never there."

"Did they have a private investigator checking?" Shaftan countered. "They can say anything they want."

Shaftan said he has worked "off and on" for campaigns in North Arlington since 1990. He has racked up victories for conservative Democrats for the past three years. Shaftan said the investigation was just vengeance from losing candidates.

"These guys just hate my guts because I keep kicking their ass over and over again," he said.


link:
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY2NDIxNjYmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky