Alfredo Goes Rogue – Councilman Castillo Accused Of Impersonating Federal Housing Employee To Scrounge Absentee Ballots

Supporting the East Side City Council opponents of incumbents Adiee Nieves and Maria Valle, rogue councilman Alfredo Castillo is accused of impersonating a Housing and Urban Development worker to harness absentee ballots at the Harborview Towers public housing units, allegations that the State Elections Enforcement Commission has referred to state investigators for a criminal probe.

“I personally watched and recorded Alfredo stuff ballots in his sweater along with a Sharpie marker where he then disposed of them then came back at night to finish his job of harboring ballots from voters,” according to last week’s complaint filed by Jazmin Cooper, daughter of councilwoman Eneida Martinez. “He was going to units and sending them down to their mailbox to retrieve their ballots, had them sign and he did the rest.”

An added complaint lodged by Cooper asserts Castillo was seen “collecting” ballots at the Crescent Crossings housing development.

These fresh complaints come on the heels of numerous criminal charges against Castillo that have led to multiple arrests for state election fraud. Castillo denies the allegations, even going so far to blame the Democratic establishment, albeit Castillo has been at the storm of the charges while campaigning for himself.

The latest chapter got so messy that Castillo was “impersonating” a HUD employee and had Cooper “banned” from the Harborview Towers public housing development on East Washington Avenue “with the intention of coercion to mislead voters” before an official from Park Cities Communities arrived to rescind the order.

Last month Superior Court Judge Thomas Welch sided with Nieves and Valle who charged in a complaint their 137th District East Side Democratic primary opponents, Ismael Sanchez and Isaac Dickerson, violated state law by submitting fraudulent and forged signature petition sheets to qualify for a September primary.

Sanchez, however, is on the the general election ballot running on the Independent Party line with Wilfredo Martinez, an elected city sheriff. Sanchez also occupies a council spot on The New Movement Party line with Dickerson. Castillo is campaigning for Sanchez and Martinez and who knows maybe even Dickerson too!

Of seven City Council candidates in the 137th District, two will be declared winners.

The political back story here is some council incumbents such as Castillo support any combination of Sanchez, Dickerson and Wilfredo Martinez while other council regulars back Nieves and Valle with election for council president coming up in December. The machinations are well underway for the legislative body’s top spot led by Nieves for the better part of a decade.