Atlantic City, NEW JERSEY

ELECTION FRAUD ALLEGED BY CITY COUNCILMAN AND CAMPAIGN WORKERS

ARRAIGNED Nov 4, 2009
Atlantic City Councilman Marty Small (D) (pictured right) and 13 others were indicted in September on various second-degree charges that they improperly handled messenger ballots during this year's Democratic primary. Small lost that election to Mayor Lorenzo Langford, who was re-elected to a four-year term in Tuesday's general election.

In some instances, the defendants opened sealed envelopes to see who the vote went to, then, if it wasn't for "the right person," they would destroy it, Deputy Attorney General Anthony Picione told Superior Court Judge James Isman. Some voters never even received their ballots or got the ballot the same time they were given the application, "Which, your honor knows, is not possible," Picione added.

Small is also director of after-school activities for the Atlantic City School Board. He was endorsed by the Atlantic City Democratic Committee. He was indicted in a similar case in 2005, but a jury eventually acquitted him of the third-degree charges.

New Jersey Attorney General Press Release (dated Sept 3, 2009)

From the Memory Banks
FORMER COUNCIL PRESIDENT SENTENCED
In December 2008, Former Atlantic City Council President Craig Callaway was sentenced to three years in prison after he admitted he masterminded the plot to get a rival councilman to quit. According CBSnews, "Callaway had come to dominate the all-Democrat city government." "His network of family and friends mastered the technique of soliciting and collecting absentee ballots in poor neighborhoods."

In October, 2006, a local DJ reported receiving a DVD that showed Councilman Robinson, 67, having sex with an underage prostitute -- who turned out to be 24 -- that he drove to a motel in his city-issued vehicle. An investigation led to criminal charges against Craig Callaway, his brothers Ronald and David, friend Floyd Tally, and incumbent Councilman John Schultz. They had hired the girl.

A jury convicted [David] Callaway and [Floyd] Tally last month in on invasion-of-privacy and conspiracy charges for trying to blackmail a former political ally, Atlantic City Councilman Eugene Robinson, into resigning his seat. They are set to be sentenced Dec. 10.

Former Councilman Callaway was already is serving a 40 month sentence for taking bribes from an FBI agent. His brother, Pete, was one of 11 New Jersey politicians arrested in a single day in September 2007.

ATLANTIC CITY MAYOR DISAPPEARS, THEN QUITS
In September 2007, Mayor Bob Levy dropped out of sight for two weeks. He reappeared and resigned, admitting he had been abusing painkillers and that he had lied about his Vietnam War service in order to increase his veterans' benefits checks. He resigned in October 2007.

Levy was sentenced to probation, and was ordered to pay back $25,000 in extra benefits he received as a result of falsely claiming he was in a special operations unit that worked behind enemy lines in Vietnam.

At the time of his resignation, four of his eight predecessors also had been arrested on corruption charges.