By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-08-26 03:16:49 | Updated at 2026-09-04 00:51:18
1 week ago
A Bridgeport City Council member accused of absentee ballot fraud has rejected a state plea deal, opting to go to trial.
The plea offer involved serving 2.5 years in prison, followed by 3 years of probation with the possibility of up to 8 years behind bars if he were to violate the terms of his release.
Alfredo Castillo, a Democrat, rejected the offer, saying he has done nothing wrong.
“I did what the Democratic party asked, which was to get out the vote,” he told The Epoch Times. “They’re the ones who tell us to do this. Who benefits from this? Not me. I didn’t get a job. I didn’t get nothing.”
Going to trial carries a maximum prison sentence of 165 years for the 56-year-old husband, father, and grandfather, who is facing criminal charges alleging election law violations relating to his support of incumbent Democratic Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim who was running for reelection.
Ganim himself was sentenced in 2003 to nine years in prison after being convicted on 16 corruption counts, including racketeering, bribery, extortion, mail fraud, and tax fraud. He served approximately seven before being released, according to the Department of Justice.
In November 2015, Ganim was elected mayor of Bridgeport in a dramatic comeback. On the campaign trail, he acknowledged his wrongdoing, which he had previously denied. “I got involved in the wrong things and I broke the law,” he told a New Year’s Day church congregation in January 2015. “I breached the trust so many had placed in me. And for that, and all that we’ve lost, I’m truly sorry.” [delete delete]
Castillo’s co-defendant, former Democratic town committee vice chair Wanda Geter-Pataky, was offered three years in prison with three years of probation and the same eight-year suspended penalty risk on similar charges.
She also rejected the plea deal offer, which carries the possibility of 500 years in prison if she loses at trial.
The charges against Castillo and Geter-Pataky date back to the 2019 and 2023 mayoral primaries in which Ganim ran first against Democratic challenger Marilyn Moore and then against independent candidate John Gomes.
“I think we'll be tried together in two years because the state sees us as partners in crime … like Bonnie and Clyde,” Castillo said of Geter-Pataky.
Castillo is accused of failing to maintain an absentee ballot distribution list, misrepresenting eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot, and failing to sign as an assister on an absentee ballot application, among other charges.
Gomes declined to remark specifically on any evidence against Castillo or Geter-Pataky. Instead, he commented about the alleged impact on Bridgeport voters.
“The gravest injustice is the disenfranchisement of voter participation in Bridgeport elections,” Gomes told The Epoch Times. “If this trial finally produces a full accounting, it can be a first step toward rebuilding that trust and reversing years of declining participation.”
Geter-Pataky did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
Castillo represents Connecticut’s 136th district in Bridgeport and has plans to complete his term as a local legislator and run for re-election in 2027.
“I have leverage,” he said. “I have the power of the people. Because if the people didn’t have my back, I would not get elected. All my constituents tell me to keep fighting and not to worry about it because they’ve got my back.”
At the heart of the allegations is the handling of absentee voter applications in the elections, which Castillo says voters confused with actual ballots when questioned by authorities.
State officials allege Castillo misrepresented eligibility requirements for absentee ballots, for example, by helping voters apply under categories such as sickness when they did not qualify, or by failing to properly inform them of the rules.
“I didn’t take their ballots, I took the application,” Castillo said. “They’ve got to sign for it and put it in the envelope. So what, I’m forging signatures now?”
These rules changed in May this year, when Gov. Ned Lamont signed legislation establishing universal absentee voting for all eligible voters in Connecticut, removing state requirements of active service, travel, sickness, physical disability, religion, or election duties to vote by absentee ballot.
“The governor removed that requirement so everybody can vote from home without a reason,” Castillo said, “and my lawyer told the state to stop convicting me on this stuff because it’s not illegal.”
Speaking on his decision to turn down the state’s plea deal, Castillo expressed frustration over the harshness of the terms, noting that prosecutors pushed for prison time. His defense team is seeking alternatives.
“My lawyer argued for community service and the state came back with, ‘We want time,’” Castillo said.
