Lovely Warren, the mayor of Rochester, New York, has officially been indicted on charges that she broke campaign finance rules and committed fraud during her reelection campaign three years ago. Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley announced that Warren’s campaign treasurer, Albert Jones Jr., along with the treasurer of her political action committee (PAC), Rosalind Brooks-Harris, are also being charged as co-conspirators in the alleged scam.
Investigators from the State Board of Elections in New York say they have uncovered “considerable evidence” that Warren, her associates, and a PAC supporting her campaign all intentionally took steps to evade campaign donation limits. Doorley added that Warren and her comrades also allegedly engaged in contribution limit evasion between Nov. 6, 2013, and Nov. 7, 2017.
“The indictment alleges that it was not a mistake,” Doorley is quoted as saying, indicating that the legal process in this case could be a long one. She emphasized, however, that it is “not political” in nature, and that it is being handled just as any other case normally would be.
“I am the chief law enforcement official in Monroe County,” she explained. “I was presented the facts, we handled it as we would any other case, and I am simply doing my job.”
As the case progresses, Warren will remain in office to conduct business as usual, though a conviction could jeopardize her law license. Meanwhile, Warren is denying any wrongdoing in the case, blaming “sloppy bookkeeping” and claiming that there is a “political witch hunt” against her.
“Lovely Warren is still the mayor of the City of Rochester – mayoral business needs to continue and I don’t want to dispute that,” Doorley noted.
Warren also in hot water over police killing of Daniel Prude, a black man
The announcement of Warren’s indictment comes as some area residents are already calling for her resignation over the city’s handling of a police killing involving a black man named Daniel Prude.
Reports indicate that Prude – this all happened before George Floyd, by the way – was in the process of being arrested on Mar. 23 when police officers put a hood over his head to stop him from spitting on them and potentially spreading the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). Prude stopped breathing after being held down for about two minutes, and died about a week later after being taken off life support.
Body camera footage of the incident was not publicly released until five months later when Prude’s family filed an open records request. Police and city officials, including Warren, are now being accused of trying to cover up Prude’s killing, though Warren says she had no idea Prude’s death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner until Aug. 4 when she watched the aforementioned footage.
Warren’s arraignment was scheduled for Oct. 5. If convicted, she will be removed from office. Until then – and again, the case could take some time to reach a conclusion – Warren will continue to function as Rochester’s mayor, that is if her constituents do not force her to resign over the Prude incident.
Warren, Jones, and Brooks-Harris have all reportedly pleaded not-guilty to the charges. As with Warren, prosecutors made no bail request for either of the latter two. All three are scheduled to have their next court appearance on Jan. 12, 2021.
“I don’t believe this affects her ability to serve as the mayor,” Dooley made sure to add concerning the case. “I don’t want to disrupt that and I want us to continue in our community.”
Depending on how the case is ruled, Warren could face no prison time or up to four years in prison, reports indicate.
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