As reported in Hudson County View, Hoboken resident Dio Braxton has plead guilty to conspiring with Frank Raia and others to use the mail to promote a voter bribery scheme during the 2013 municipal election in Hoboken.
Braxton now follows the path of Matt Calicchio, who plead guilty in April to vote by mail fraud during the 2015 election cycle.
After fighting the charges since his October 31, 2018 indictment, what prompted Braxton's decision to plea?
It may have been the breadth and scope of the government's case against him. On May 22, 2019, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito filed a letter of notice of the Government's intention to used evidence from Hoboken's 2011 and 2012 election cycles at trial against both Raia and Braxton.
Now, the letter is chock full of legal mumbo-jumbo, but you catch the drift. The government wielded a large hammer which was going to fall at trial.
The letter describes the role of a "political consulting firm" used as an intermediary to pay "election workers," from lists provided by Raia. It is unclear whether the government finds the "political consulting firm" culpable for participating in the alleged scheme, or not. So far, not.
It is possible the unidentified "political consulting firm" may be providing useful information to the government on other Hoboken campaigns.
New charges cannot be filed against individuals whose "last overt act" has fallen outside of the 5-year statute of limitations. But, clearly the government has shown that it can-- and will-- use evidence from Hoboken's 'old' election cycles (in Braxton's case, from 2011 and 2012.)
Now, that is interesting.
Because the 2015 election cycle may yield more indictments ("Candidate 1" and "Candidate 2"). Should that happen, the government's trial evidence may extend back to 'old' Hoboken election cycles, and ELEC archives. Talk about a target-rich environment.
So, is the unidentified "political consulting firm" giving the government information on earlier election cycles and other candidates? Will they eventually be charged with... something?
Stay tuned for the next shoe to drop.
Who is paying for Matt's lawyer?
ReplyDeleteWill this lead to the election day coffee delivery Madwoman of Hudson Street?
Matt has been enjoying the good life as Mason's pissboy, so if she's paying for his lawyer is she buying his silence OR is he going to turn her in over favor of even lesser punishment?
Smarter crooks go for the dumbest amongst themselves... Beth could be their fall gal?
G'morning Anon. After the bigot-blog made a stink over "who paid" I discussed Calicchio's legal costs with a former criminal defense lawyer who said that Matt's fees will be nominal, in the $10K-$15K range. Why? All his lawyer had to do was appear with him once (and once more at sentencing). Matt's lawyer didn't write the plea-- the government did. Nor did the lawyer have to write a motion. The main expense will be the attorney's time to review the government's materials. Calicchio probably ate up his retainer- or a chunk of it. Since MC's been living/working independently (in Iowa!) surely he can afford to pay that amount.
DeleteRespectfully, it's time for folks give up the ghost of Beth Mason. That era has ended, thankfully. I see no evidence that Mason is involved in Hoboken politics today.
The Mason obsession is crazed and the fantasy that she will get criminally charged is fueled by a combination of stupidity and a calculated attempt to distract attention from the 2015 election and "candidate 1 - specifically the likelihood (IMHO) that candidate 1 is Ruben Ramos, an uncomfortable fact for Ramos's post 2017 allies like Tiffanie Fisherm
DeleteEveryone who is going to be charged in the 2013 election has been. Ryan Yacco's firm seems likely to be the consulting firm through which the illegal payments were laundered, but it's clear he will be a witness not a defendant, likely having been given immunity.
It's possible Mason could also be a witness, and her relationship with Yacco, Raia and Caliccio certainly implicates her in wrongdoing in the eyes of anyone with a brain, but the idea that she will be charged based on what's publicly known is just wishful thinking.
NC, you continually bring up Ramos. Ramos has stated on the record that he's not "candidate 1" So maybe you are fantasizing too.
DeleteI agree with you Anon@ 11:22.
DeleteIMO, it's best not to make educated guesses about who will be indicted next. Whatever we know, rest assured the government knows 1,000% more. Therefore, we cannot know where they are headed next, even though based on facts we do know, it's fair to have an opinion. Nevertheless, IMO, best not to name names. Follow Mueller's example! Just the facts.
Can you link to where Ramos has stated anything "on the record" about whether he is "candidate 1"
DeleteI'd be curious to see what exactly he said, though I'm far more interested in hearing what Matters Caliccio says when he testifies, and what the US Attorney says if he deigns to let the Hoboken public know.
For MSV and possibly others, there's almost a nostalgia for Beth like there was in the years following the "end" of the Cold War. People missed that simplicity and moral clarity. Only 2 sides, good vs evil.
ReplyDeleteAfter the cold war, everything was nuanced and complicated. All those countries we didn't need to know anything about before because they had to line up on one side or the other - became stubbornly relevant. What's a Shia, what's a Suni? Why do I suddenly have to know this? Can't we go back to fighting the Evil Empire and leave it at that?
Beth was all that. Openly corrupt, clueless, buying her way to relevance, preferring to bankrupt the city if it would hurt her enemies.
We don't really have that now.
MSV tries to build Ravi up into all that - and tries to fit this blog for the 411 role, so we can just sit around and replay the greatest hits. But it's tired as fuck.
An article on a fresh outrage from Beth and Co used to rate up to 100 comments. That's over. If Ravi is worse than Beth and GA is worse than 411, no one seems to care. Or they know it's crap. I would bet on crap.
The glory days of crusader blogging in Hoboken are done with. But there's still tons of opportunity for well-told stories. Digging into the details of the Raia case for possible current significance - or exhuming a political corpse. Take yer pick. There are blogs for both.