Longtime Hoboken politico Frank “Pupie” Raia, 67, has been found guilty of “conspiracy to violate the federal Travel Act for causing the mails to be used in aid of voter bribery” in connection with the 2013 municipal election.
The sentence was delivered on June 25 after the jury deliberated for less than two full days following a five-day trial held in Newark federal court before Judge William Martini.
The felony charge could result in a prison term of up to five years and a $250,000 fine.
Raia has been involved in Hoboken politics for decades. He has served on the school board, city council in the 1980s, and has also served on the North Hudson Sewerage Authority.
Those who don’t know his political history may have noticed his name above the door of Hopes, Inc. annex. He’s a major donor to this nonprofit and was a former chair of the board. Others may know him as the guy who holds a birthday party for himself every year on the waterfront, open to all.
The election and conspiracy
In 2013, Raia was a candidate for Hoboken City Council. During that election, there was a race for mayor and for three at-large council seats.
Raia was running on the “One Hoboken” slate with former Board of Education Trustees Peter Biancamano and Britney Montgomery, and they were backed by former Councilman Tim Occhipinti, who was running for mayor. No one else from the “One Hoboken” slate has been charged.
The winners of the election were Mayor Dawn Zimmer and council members James Doyle, Ravi Bhalla, and David Mello. A third group also ran, with Councilman Ruben Ramos for mayor at the head of that slate.
During that time Raia chaired the Let the People Decide PAC, which worked to loosen rent-control laws. A referendum was held to weaken those laws, but residents voted to maintain the restrictions.
According to court documents and the evidence at trial, from October 2013 through November 2013, Raia instructed Dio Braxton, Matt Calicchio, Lizaida Camis, and others who worked for his campaign, to pay certain Hoboken voters $50 if they applied for and cast mail-in ballots in the 2013 municipal election.
These workers provided these voters with vote-by-mail applications and then delivered or mailed the completed VBM applications to the Hudson County Clerk’s office.
After the mail-in ballots were delivered to the voters, Raia directed workers to go to the voters’ residences and instruct them to vote for Raia and in favor of the referendum loosening rent-control laws.
These workers promised the voters that they would be paid $50 for casting their mail-in ballots and told them that they could pick up their checks after the election at Raia’s office.
During the trial, jurors heard testimony from witnesses and voters who were paid for their votes, as well as those who worked for Raia during the election and helped him with the scheme, including Calicchio.
Calicchio testified that Raia targeted low-income residents. As part of the scheme, the vote-by-mail ballots had to be unsealed when they were dropped off at Raia’s office, or the voters would not be paid.
Raia and his workers, including Braxton, Calicchio, Camis, and others, checked the ballots to ensure that voters had voted the way that they had instructed them. They were also instructed to sign declarations stating that they had been paid in exchange for working on the campaign, when in fact they hadn’t.
After the election, the voters received $50 checks from a political consulting firm that was paid by Raia’s PAC.
Those $50 checks were never disclosed on Raia’s publicly-filed PAC election reports.
Braxton and Camis previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy, and Calicchio pleaded guilty to violating the federal Travel Act.
They have not yet been sentenced, and like Raia, they face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Officials weigh in
U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory Ehrie in Newark, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, with the investigation leading to the guilty verdict.
“The defendant in this case tried to rig a Hoboken municipal election by voting multiple times, both for himself and for a ballot question that he supported,” said Carpenito. “He did so by deploying his loyal foot soldiers to buy votes from people who he thought were in need of money, and then creating a phony cover story to conceal his tracks. Fortunately, neither federal law enforcement nor the jury was fooled. Today’s verdict underscores this office’s continued dedication to uncovering, investigating, and prosecuting acts of corruption at every level of New Jersey government.”
Ehrie said, “The health of our democracy relies on the integrity of our electoral system. When people use corrupt methods to work around that system, it deprives every constituent of their right to be heard through their vote.”
“Today’s guilty verdict is an affirmation that no one is above the law, and those that commit voter fraud will be exposed and brought to justice,” said Mayor Ravi Bhalla.
As a result of Calicchio’s testimony, Council Vice President Ruben Ramos said he was “especially disturbed” that Raia exploited vulnerable residents as part of his scheme. Ramos is running for re-election in November of 2019. He said that he would donate the $1,000 in campaign contributions that he received from Raia to two local organizations, Community Lifestyle, and Amazing Truth Society to “remove any doubt that I do not condone Raia’s actions.”
Community Lifestyle is a program that provides free summer camp for Hoboken Housing Authority families. Amazing Truth Society is a free Karate/Self-Defense program for Hoboken Housing Authority kids.
Councilman Mike DeFusco also announced he will donate $5,400 to the Hoboken American Legion Post 107, the exact dollar amount of contributions made by Frank Raia to Councilman DeFusco’s 2017 mayoral campaign. He said, “Politics must work for everybody, and the money donated to me from Frank Raia in 2017 has no place in my campaign. Illegal vote buying has tainted the electoral process in Hoboken for decades, stripping residents of their right to let their voices be heard. Frank’s conviction should send a strong message that this type of illegal behavior is unacceptable, and those guilty of corruption must be held accountable for their actions. I hope the dozens of local and state leaders and Democratic organizations who have also received contributions from Frank Raia will follow my lead by doing the right thing. Giving his donated money to community organizations will make a positive impact on people’s lives for years to come.”
More to come?
“Given the revelations exposed by the trial that additional criminal activity took place in 2015 and other election cycles, further investigation by law enforcement will help ensure that voter fraud is rooted out of Hoboken once and for all,” said Mayor Bhalla. “It is long past time for a clean break from the corrupt politics of the past.”
Bhalla is referring to alleged voter fraud that occurred in the 2015 municipal election. Calicchio testified in Raia’s trial that he was part of a 2015 municipal voter bribery scheme allegedly on behalf of Eduardo Gonzalez who ran unsuccessfully for the council’s fifth ward seat.
In January, William Rojas, 68, was indicted for violating the federal Travel Act in 2015, as part of that same scheme.
During the 2015 election, six ward council seats and three Hoboken Board of Education seats were up for election.
According to court documents, from September 2015 through November 2015, Calicchio and Rojas allegedly agreed to pay certain voters $50 if those voters applied for and cast mail-in ballots for the November 2015 Hoboken municipal election.
They then allegedly provided these voters with VBM applications, allegedly delivered the completed VBM applications to the Hudson County Clerk’s office, and then delivered $50 checks to the voters.
The payments were allegedly made from a second unnamed 2015 council candidate campaign committee’s account.
According to the complaint, this second candidate was the chair for his or her own campaign account.
For updates on this and other stories keep checking www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Marilyn Baer can be reached at Marilynb@hudsonreporter.com.
