A Democratic Connecticut state senator and a former Bridgeport Board of Education chairwoman surrendered to the U.S. Marshals Service and were charged with wire fraud in a bid to allegedly obtain tens of thousands of dollars in campaign grants, officials said.
“In his 2018 campaign for State Senate,” said DOJ prosecutors, “Bradley, and other[s] entered into a conspiracy and scheme to defraud the Connecticut State Election Enforcement Commission, the Citizens’ Election Fund, and the State of Connecticut by making misrepresentations concerning Bradley’s compliance with state election law and the Citizens’ Election Program’s statutory restrictions and requirements in order to fraudulently obtain or attempt to obtain $179,850 in campaign grants.”
“Based on the current available information regarding Senator Bradley, I have taken a first step to protect the integrity of the State Senate,” Looney, a Democrat, said in the statement.
Bradley had served as the Senate Chair of the Public Safety and Security Committee, Looney noted, and he named state Sen. Cathy Osten, a Democrat, to head the committee.
According to the DOJ, one of the co-conspirators was described as a senior Bradley campaign staffer who started in February 2018, another was described as a volunteer for his campaign, and the others were named as consultants who joined his campaign in February and March of 2018.
Bradley and Martinez were released on bonds in the amount of $300,000 and $250,000, respectively, said the DOJ.
Bradley also worked as a lawyer for the Bradley, Denkovich, and Karayiannis Law Group. He represented Martinez in a case last year on unrelated charges involving a dispute with her boyfriend and was dismissed after she completed a 20-week pretrial domestic violence education program, the Post reported.
The Epoch Times has contacted Bradley’s office for comment.