Chicopee voter fraud investigation remains active
Date: 9/5/2012
By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.comCHICOPEE — With the voter fraud case in East Longmeadow receiving quick attention from the Secretary of State William Galvin and Hampden County District Attorney Mark Mastroianni, some people have wondered on Internet forums if last summer's voting fraud incident in Chicopee will have a resolution.
Brian Puffer, spokesman for Attorney General Martha Coakley told Reminder Publications that he could not comment on "on-going investigations."
In October 2011 two city councilors, John Vieau and Dino Brunetti, brought forth concerns from voters that their signatures were forged on petitions that would put a referendum question of the ballot extending the mayor's terms from two years to four years.
Fellow councilors George Moreau and Frank Laflamme supported them in their questions as did City Clerk Keith Rattell.
Vieau and Brunetti sent a letter to Coakley urging an investigation. The letter read in part, "It would appear that the forgery of signatures was part of a deliberate intent to deceive the public and circumvent the legal process by which the question could move forward. Voters whose signatures were fraudulently used by others have become victims in this matter. Residents across our community are angry and are seeking answers and a response to this effort perpetuated by the petitioners to deceive the public."
Mayor Michael Bissonnette said he knows that investigators from the Attorney General's Office have been working on the case and said that about 50 people have been interviewed in connection with the investigation.
He said he still wants the person or persons responsible for the forgeries to be revealed.
Mastroianni explained to Reminder Publications that he could only act in a case such as this one if his office is asked to investigate by the attorney general. In the East Longmeadow case, Galvin charged him with the task.
Bissonnette said he is still interested in extending the mayor's term as it has been done in other communities in the Commonwealth. He intends to bring it again to the City Council for the approval of a home rule petition. If it doesn't pass, he will attempt again to place it before the voters on a ballot.
