Wanda Geter-Pataky, Alfredo Castillo opt for jury trials in ballot cases

Two Democratic officials in Bridgeport rejected plea offers in court on Tuesday and chose to put their fate into the hands of a jury, which will decide whether they are guilty of repeated election-related crimes in recent years.

Connecticut’s Chief State’s Attorney offered Wanda Geter-Pataky, the former vice chair of Bridgeport’s Democratic Party, a plea deal that would have required her to spend at least three years in state prison to resolve the dozens of criminal charges that she faces.

The state prosecutors also extended a similar offer to Alfredo Castillo, a sitting city councilman in Bridgeport. That proposed deal would have required Castillo to serve two and a half years in prison for allegedly manipulating Connecticut’s absentee voting system and corrupting the results of several recent mayoral elections in the city.

But the two defendants rejected the plea deals and informed a state Superior Court judge in Bridgeport that they intended to defend themselves at trial.

The judge reminded Geter-Pataky and Castillo that the crimes they are accused of could carry far more serious criminal penalties if a jury convicts them.

The 33 felonies that Castillo is accused of committing, which include illegally taking possession of multiple voters’ absentee ballots and registering a non-U.S. citizen to vote, could carry a maximum sentence of 165 years behind bars. Geter-Pataky is facing 96 counts including conspiracy charges, absentee ballot crimes and witness tampering that could equate to a maximum sentence of more than 500 years in prison.

A judge is unlikely to hand down a sentence anywhere close to that, but those calculations drove home the point of what the two defendants are facing as they prepare for their trials.

Both of them are accused of violating the law during multiple election cycles, including city Democratic primaries in 2019 and 2023, and some of those crimes were allegedly committed even after prosecutors initially charged them in court.

Castillo quickly left the courthouse after he rejected the plea deal, and Geter-Pataky declined to comment in the hallway outside the courtroom, where she was surrounded by supporters.

Frank Riccio, Castillo’s defense attorney, previously told the CT Mirror that he had pressed state prosecutors for a deal that would have allowed his client to avoid prison time, but state prosecutors made it clear they were unwilling to extend such an offer on Tuesday.

John Gulash, Geter-Pataky’s defense attorney, said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on his client’s ongoing case, but he said he will prepare for a trial, which has yet to be scheduled.

Castillo and Geter-Pataky are just the latest Bridgeport residents who have had to make the decision of whether to plead guilty to a host of election-related crimes or face jury of their peers.

Nine other Bridgeport residents were also criminally charged in recent years for misrepresenting when people could vote via mail-in ballot, for illegally taking possession of other voters’ ballots and for being present when the voters filled out those ballots.

Five of those defendants have already pleaded guilty in court and received sentences that allowed them to avoid prison time. Two other defendants opted for criminal trials. And another, former city councilwoman Jazmarie Melendez, was allowed to enter a diversionary program that will allow her charges to be dismissed.

Melendez was charged exclusively with misrepresenting when people were eligible to vote via absentee ballot, which is no longer a crime in Connecticut since the state adopted no-excuse absentee voting.

The only remaining defendant who has not made the choice of whether to accept a plea offer or opt for a trial is Bridgeport city councilwoman Maria Pereira. She will likely need to make that decision later this fall.