Senator Bradley, BOE Member Jessica Martinez Charged With Federal Wire Fraud In Connection With Campaign Finance Violations–Bradley Consultant: Wouldn’t That Be Illegal? Bradley: No

Analysis and Comment, City Politics, Law Enforcement, State Politics66 Comments

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  1. We know the SEEC is concerned about the actions of these two individuals, but the question is whether the voters of Bridgeport give a damn? If past actions are an indication they won’t, but Time Will Tell!

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    1. C’MON MAN, you know if the voters voted Joe Ganim back into office twice and he did federal prison time and he still can’t get his law license back from the state that these two still have spot coming to them after doing prison time if that happens to them, time will tell (JML).

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    2. It applies to Marylin Moore voters too. Why aren’t the feds looking into her fundraising activities? The Bradley alleged fundraising activities mirrors those of Moore.

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      1. Joel…
        Marilyn Moore has not been accused of wire fraud, lying to The SEEC, falsifying documents to hide spending person funds in excess of $50 in her campaign without reporting it, etc.
        SEEC did investigate multiple complaints against Bradley and Martinez and brought the indictments.
        Bradley will face other consequences. Like Joe G his law license is at risk along with ability to earn a living.
        How many clients are going to hire a lawyer under indictment and facing prison?

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        1. Well, not yet. Moore did lie to SEEC and misled them. For example, she told SEEC that Sauda Baracka was a volunteer assisting her in circulating the petitions. She didn’t quite name the assistant. She didn’t tell SEEC that Sauda Baracka was at the time the Chairwoman of the WFP Bridgeport Chapter. In order to circulate a petition to run for office, one MUST be registered with that candidates party. Remember what took place in 2019 Bridgeport mayoral primary and election? Moore’s campaign and Sauda Baracka (WFP chair) jointly circulated petitions for DEM primary and for ballot position on WFP slate. They each circulated dozens of petitions for both parties. Are you going to say that was legal. Don’t tell me Sauda is a Democrat. After 17 years as a Republican she switched to Democrat about 4 months after I filed Seec complaint. I haven’t filed one on the above mentioned facts. By the way, there’s a video of Baracka and Moore doing their thing. It’s funny how our Senators don’t seem to know the laws. They know it, they just don’t think anyone is paying attention.

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          1. People switch parties.
            The Ganim family was Republican
            Trump was a Democrat
            It has nothing to do with idealogy at times, merely opportunity.

            Complaint to SEEC are meaningless until the SEEC acts and say something was done in violation of the rules. Anyone can make a complaint

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          2. Marshall, why you keep playing stupid. Surely anyone can switch party affiliation. In this case, Baracka and Moore were fully aware that their joint petition circulation activity was illegal. They knew they couldn’t explain the video away. They knew that the SEEC could check on Barack’s party affiliation which at the time was Republican. The video shows her circulating petitions on behalf of a Democrat the reverse applies to Moore. This all should have been picked up or noticed by the Registrar of Voters by checking the names and party affiliation of all individuals having circulated the each petition. The 2019 Mayoral Democratic Primary should have never taken place.

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      1. Ya Joel,unfortunately you are correct,as 2 get indicted,4 more are waiting to pounce ..But maybe(and it’s a BIG maybe,the more that get caught,it will make the others think twice…

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    2. Harvey,
      The swamp isn’t emptying. Like Joe G he can go to prison, serve his term, pay restitution and fines. Then get his vote back and lose his law license and be elected to office in Bridgeport and collect a salary or stipend.
      Bridgeport loves to elect ex/cons

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  3. Another pair that Maria tried to tell everyone were no good!!!! Oh, but that’s right, she’s not a coalition builder. When you speak the truth you offend people and rather than listen they turn you off because they just don’t like the message.
    Cheers!

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    1. I see that you forgot that it was Maria who gave us Dennis Bradley and Joe Ganim together when she was taking photos with the both of them in their campaign to get elected as a team. Rich, how did that workout?

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      1. @Ron Mackey
        Maria didn’t give Bpt Senator Bradley. She worked very hard for Aaron Turner in the primary. In fact her Council district was the only district Aaron Turner won.

        Disclaimer: I supported and contributed to Aaron Turner’s campaign

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        1. Marshall Marcus, Dennis Bradley held no elected or appointed position untilMaria drafted Dennis Bradley to run for the BBOE and she campaign for Bradley for his first elected position.

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          1. @Ron Mackey
            Time for a memory check because you are posting a LIE.

            Dennis Bradley was ELECTED to the 136th DTC (yes in Bridgeport Dems go to the polls and elect the DTC) when Chris Rosario was district leader.

            A few months later after the arrest of then State Rep. Christina Ayala, Rosario announced that he was going to primary Ayala. Outraging many , Dennis announced he would also enter the primary and oppose both Ayala and his District Leader Rosario.

            Maria did recruit Bradley to run for BBOE along with herself and Ben Walker, but it was not his first election. Bradley’s conduct was so egregious with respect to campaign finances that Ben and Maria had nothing to do with Dennis for the remainder of the primary campaign. Dennis changed the agreed upon Deputy Campaign Treasurer from his administrative assistant to his then fiancee. without Maria or Ben’s permission or knowledge.
            After the first campaign finance report was filed the dollar amount was significantly less than it should have been. Maria went to the Town Clerk and obtained a copy of the report it was a disaster. Hundreds of dollars in donations including cash were missing, incorrect donation amounts were reported and much information was missing along with other errors. Sounds like a foreshadowing of the future to me.
            The report had a shocking revelation that 7 days before the primary election Dennis had not donated a single dollar to the campaign, nor had he raised a single dollar.
            A meeting was held which included Bradley, Danny Roach, John Ricci (treasurer) the deputy treasurer (his fiancee) and a few others. When confronted about missing donations/money, Bradley tried to blame Maria and Ben for his actions. claiming they handed him donations just before he was going out door-to door campaigning with Joe Ganim.
            The campaign treasurer was quite distraught because she feared SEEC action because of Bradley’s report.
            From that day forward, Maria and Ben had nothing to with Bradley and they tried to warn Baraka and Gardner not to trust him. Baraka and Garner learned the hard way, as Bradley had committed to support one of them for chair and cut himself a back room deal to get himself. elected chair.

            So, Dennis has a record of mishandling campaign contributions before his State Senate run.
            Dennis won an election before aligning with Maria, so she did not bring him to the forefront.

            I have heard that Bradley and his attorney have pleaded with the SEEC for months to just levy a fine and not seek criminal prosecution, but it didn’t work. He holds a law license and should have been able to read and understand the rules. He is not considered an amateur first timer running for office making an innocent mistake.

            It is the people of Bridgeport, Stratford (his district) and the rest of the state who have been aggrieved by his actions.
            Elected officials must understand that they are not above the law.

            Disclaimer: Some of this history I know from personal knowledge, some from discussion with a named party, and some from news reports and filed election returns.

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          2. @Marshall Marcus, time for a memory check because you are posting a LIE. NOBODY gies a dam about any of the 90 DTC members as you listed. The picture told the whole story about Dennis Bradley and it gave voters a chance to see who Dennis was and all thanks to Maria Pereira.

            Ben Walker, Maria Pereira and Dennis Bradley formed Democratic school board slate.
            Former school board member Maria Pereira, attorney Dennis Bradley and Greenwich music teacher Ben Walker announced Friday night at a fundraiser for Joe Ganim they will be Democratic candidates for the Board of Education.

            http://onlyinbridgeport.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/pereirabradleywalker1-440×247.jpg

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          3. @Ron Mackey
            To quote Judge Judy:”When you tell the truth you don’t have to have a good memory.”

            You wrote the following LIE:”Dennis Bradley held no elected or appointed position until Maria drafted Dennis Bradley to run for the BBOE”

            I disputed it with Bradley’s election to the DTC and you poo-poohed that as not really an election,

            Well MR. LIAR>>>>>Before Bradley ran for BBOE he was an APPOINTED member of the Bridgeport Fire Commission (approved 8/5/2013 by City Council term expired Jan 1, 2015).

            So, Fess up for your LIES (and trying to blame Bradley on Maria) or admit you have a terrible memory or just don’t bother to do research such as checking public records because you’d rather besmirch someone than be bothered with facts/truth.

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    2. Rich it was Maria Pereira who notified the feds at the same time she filed the SEEC complaint. I sounded the alarm on these types of criminal activity years ago. I blame Chris Caruso for creating the cookie jar many pols are sticking their hands in.

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      1. Joel I know that you must be busy on the phone calling the SEEC on your complaint against Senator Moore so that you can get that pat on the back.

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        1. You fool, call in complaints are not acceptable–they must be in writing. For now, she’s safe as I haven’t filed any other complaint. I do have the evidence necessary to prove the violation. Are you rushing me Ron?

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  4. Comrades’ I concur. I don’t think it will sideline his political ambitions nor deter votes. He already admitted his failures. So expect a peal of some sort. The question is, will it take some wind out of his sail to run in 2023 fro mayor. Considering the timing and how long it took for this indictment I don’t think much will come from it. But who really knows how this will play out. This time will tell, most likely before his next election.

    P.S Rich, Maria may not be much of a coalition builder but she did build a coalition with Ganim and Bradley to get elected. In actuality, Maria is a great coalition builder just not a strong coalition keeper. JS

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    1. Chances are he won’t be running for office in 2023. He’ll lose his right to be an elector with his felony conviction and be in prison at the time

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    1. Hear hear!!! And Maria- pay no attention to the person(s) behind the curtain!! The ones with their comments above, who just don’t like you. I’m proud to be in the same club!
      We know that they just blah and blah and blah!!!!!! One of them sometime blah blahs between nips of knotty head.
      Cheers!!!!

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  6. Bradley posted $300,000 bail and Martin Looney removed him from ALL Committee assignments.
    OIB knows that everyone Maria was cool with, including Bradley and they ended up hating each other because with Maria there is two ways to do anything, Maria’s way or the wrong way.

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          1. @Joel……..

            If I remember correctly YOU started it by commenting about Maria’s adult daughter, who is NOT in politics and doesn’t live or work in Bridgeport.

            The point is, everyone has family members and unless they are active in politics they should not be part of the discussion

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    2. Don, Dennis Bradley was a nobody in Bridgeport politics until Maria Pereira recruited him and campaign for him to get elected to the Bridgeport Board Of Education.

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  10. I highly doubt he will go to prison. I read about stuff like this all the time, usually ends up with fines.

    Can’t say I know/understand campaign finance laws. However, it seems it all stems from the initial announcement/fundraiser party. We know he already admits culpability/error. So he has to have a defense of some sort.

    (I believe) unlike Ernie in his campaign finance fraud case, where contributions qualified him. Was money collected on the night at Dolphin, Cove essential to qualifying for the CEP? Could he have qualified without those donors? If so, it’s almost a mote point, at least with wanting to participate in the CEP and far from a conspiracy to qualify for it. I would think. Just a filing mishap like Moore’s ballot mishap. If he can show the contributions at the Dolphin Cove were not essential for filing for CEP and just an ( in his words) Amature mistake, fine, pay back the CEP funds. JMO

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    1. SEEC violations usually result in fines levied by the state.
      Bradley has been charged with counts of Federal Wire Fraud…those charges often lead to prison time

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      1. The trapings of filing SEEC Reports electronically was sorely overlooked. SEEC is pretty much a toothless tiger watching over a golden cookie jar. SEEC has for years failed and for some reasons (obvious to me) simply refused to refer obvious criminal federal violations over to the feds. The timing to commit such scam was bad. Right around the time Pereira filed the SEEC complaint, the feds were poised to look into any possible acts of public corruption and they even asked for tips from the public. One would think that after the feds charged and covicted Ernie Newton for raiding campaign funds, that was the end of it. Heck, Newton crossed the line again and had SEEC referred the case over to the feds, I bet he wouldn’t have walked away.

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      2. From my understanding, considering everything is sent electronically in one way or another that entails fraud, everyone and everything could be charged with wire fraud. The Feds taking on this case says Sen. Bradley’s game is deeper than most.

        Did the Feds get involved in Ernie’s campaign finance violations? Was his method of filing any different?

        The Feds involvement speaks for itself in what could have been handle by the state. They always say the cover-up is sometimes can be worse than the crime.

        As Sen. Bradley stated, an Amature mistake/error” If he can show the Cove donor’s were not essential to his filing for CEP he didn’t try to fraud anybody nor conspire to commit fraud.No!

        Your views seem to be emotionally biased, but that the state of our politics these days. IOM

        However, in my personal experience right, wrong, proven, or not don’t mean much in a court of law. You, as an attorney, know this better than most.

        As I said who really knows how this will play out. .JS

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        1. There’s no way out of this for Bradley and Martinez. The text messages paints a clear picture of what took place before the feds came knocking. What took place after the knock is crystal clear. How did the feds get those text exchanges? They didn’t come from Pereira, that’s for sure.

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  11. Six months and a fine for each. Wire fraud is among the easiest of federal violations to prove along with lying to the feds and or a Grand Jury. I’m wondering what took so long to indict. The pandemic of course. The feds are here for easy picking. The evidence in the Police Chief case was given to them on a silver platter. The evidence on this case was given up by both the accused. Couldn’t make these two cases any easier for the feds. Is this the best they are willing to do? Is this what they call “corruption”? If this is all that can be be prosecute, then we aren’t doing that bad. The same type of uncovered criminal activities in Bridgeport is happening across our border.

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  13. Lennie, I went through the whole indictment. There are two Consultants mentioned but, not by name. Consultants are supposed to steer the client on the right path. One seemed to try keeping the process on a legal path. The one who asked whether it was legal, didn’t say that whatever it was that concerned him or her was illegal. The consultant asking the client for his opinion and going along with it? Why didn’t the feds charge/indict these two consultant described in the indictment as co-conspirator? It’s obvious that they testified in front of the Grand Jury and spoke with the FBI investigator. It looks like the feds are specifically targetting public officials. Look back to the Perez/Dunn probe: The feds didn’t charge two officers who admitted their participation and involvement.

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  14. Is it fitting or ironic?
    On the same day President Pro Tempore of the Connecticut State Senate Martin Looney announced that Bradley would be removed from all of his committee assignments, Connecticut votes to proceed with online gambling.
    In a related matter, look at that picture — is Jessica Martinez Bradley’s campaign manager or girlfriend?

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  15. Ron Mackey

    Attempting to justify your LIE that Denis Bradley had never been elected before his BBOE run by saying no one gives a “dam” (it’s spelled DAMN) about the DTC, doesn’t change your LIE to truth.

    In a one party town that is run by the DTC, election to the DTC is important. They divide the spoils and all those patronage jobs.

    This wasn’t a vote at a DTC caucus. It was an ELECTION at the polling places throughout the district conducted by the Tiwn Clerk under the rules and auspices of the Secretary of State.

    When you have truth and facts to post, feel free. Your opinion that nobody cares is meaningless, as it is obvious that those Democrat Electors who voted in that election cared.

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    2. Marcus, what party are being referred to.? The party of Trump? 🙂

      What’s beyond understanding it’s was so unnecessary.

      I stand by my sentiment. like having extra signatures on petitions because some might be thrown out. If Sen. Bradley can show those donors were not essential to participate in CEP there was no conspiracy to commit fraud, JMO

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    3. Marshall, you got to be joking, what the hell does Dennis Bradley runnig for one of 90 DTC spots, nobody knew him, most DTC election there is only one slate of candidates running with NO challengers at the polling places throughout the district conducted by the Town Clerk under the rules and auspices of the Secretary of State. Dennis Bradley was a nobody in Bridgeport politics until Maria Pereira recruited him and campaign for him to get elected to the Bridgeport Board Of Education. This picture makes my point which you refuse to mention, maybe youcan find a picture or a news article talking about Dennis Bradley and his run for the DTC.

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      1. @Ron Mackey
        That nobody Bradley was an appointed member of the Bridgeport Fire Commission (even though you lied and said he had no elected or appointed position before the BBOE run) confirmed by vote of the City Council the first week of August 2013, with a term that expired Jan 1, 2015.
        He also ran for State Rep, didnlt win but gained some public notice.

        How’s that Crow dinner taste?

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        1. Marshall Marcus, Maria is feeding you a bunch of nothing, Marshall you refuse to address Maria helping to get Dennis Bradley elected to the BBOE. How many people know anything you wrote about Bradley being on the DTC or appointed to be a member of the Bridgeport Fire Commission (even though you lied and said he had no elected or appointed position before the BBOE run) member of the Bridgeport Fire Commission (even though you lied and said he had no elected or appointed position before the BBOE run) confirmed by vote of the City Council the first week of August 2013, with a term that expired Jan 1, 2015.confirmed by vote of the City Council the first week of August 2013, with a term that expired Jan 1, 2015. The LIE part is Maria, she doesn’t like the fact that it’s public that she put Dennis Bradley on the map by being on the BBOE and not on the DTC and the fire commission. Marshall I DID NOT mention anything about Bradley and the DTC and the fire commission.

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          1. Keep deflecting, you posted lies and got called out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
            Maria didn’t appoint Bradley to the Fire Commission and wasn’t on the City Council that confirmed his appointment.
            You attribute far more power to Maria than she has. She was one member of the BBOE, never chair, She is one member of the City Council and has not committee assignments. What she is is persistent,
            Don’t make false claims and you won’t be repeatedly proven a liar.

            Bradley was elected before his BBOE run. he had an appointment to a City Commission dating back to 2013. You cannot dispute the facts. You can take your ass down to the City Clerk and check if you don’t believe it. Right now you sound like a Trumper…failing to accept election reality.

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          2. I LIE, I LIE, I LIE ILE, I LIE, I LIE, I LIE, I LIE I LIE, I LIE, Maria had nothing to with helping Dennis Bradley to get elected tothe DTC and to the board of fire commission. Marshall Marcus, tell me what does this mean?
            Former school board member Maria Pereira, attorney Dennis Bradley and Greenwich music teacher Ben Walker announced Friday night at a fundraiser for Joe Ganim they will be Democratic candidates for the Board of Education.

            http://onlyinbridgeport.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/pereirabradleywalker1-440×247.jpg

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          3. Marshall Marcus, seeing that we are talking about telling LIES, how come Maria Pereira can’t post on OIB?

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  16. Marcus, I wouldn’t refer to Mackey saying elected or appointed with respect to Bradley as a lie rather than any error. His appointment to the nondescript Fire Commissioner’s Board was meaningless as this board is a joke and so much so that Stuart Rosenberg resigned from said board because it became dysfunctional. Now to the point that Mackey made about Bradley being Nothing prior to hitching his wagon to Maria and the mayor, that’s unequivocally a fact!

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    1. @Donald……
      If it was an error and the facts were presented, than Mackey could have said, I’m sorry I posted something that wasn’t accurate. Instead he keeps fighting about it.

      As for Bradley being a nothing before his run for BBOE, I think he’s still a nothing, but it appears he’s a dishonest nothing looking at prison time. Before someone says ‘innocent til proven guilty’ he admitted to some of this wrongdoing already.

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  17. Marshall Marcus, you are still deflecting my original point that it was Maria who recruited and supported Dennis Bradleyfor the BBOE and that act made Bradley a known person to the voters. The fact that Maria gave you her talking points about Dennis being on the DTC and a fire commissoner and that I didn’t mention that and that LIE about it means nothing because it doesn’t change anything about Maria and Dennis Bradley. The only you say is that “As for Bradley being a nothing before his run for BBOE, I think he’s still a nothing, but it appears he’s a dishonest nothing looking at prison time” but you never address my key point about Maria and Dennis Bradley. Marshall Marcus, seeing that we are talking about telling LIES, how come Maria Pereira can’t post on OIB?

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    1. Ron Mackey……………………..

      #1 What you consider your key point is your opinion. I refuted your posted LIE. I have no obligation to write about anything you post. I choose what I wish to address.

      #2 You ask why Maria can’t post on OIB?
      I don’t know if she can’t, because Lennie Grimaldi won’t allow it or if she chooses not to post.
      That is a question that must be posed to both of them. I have no authority to answer for them, nor
      do I know the answer.

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    2. @Ron Mackey
      I asked Maria why she no longer posts on OIB.
      She told me she sent a series of emails to Lennie Grimaldi asking that he delete her account as she has chosen not to blog here. It was her choice to leave, she was not blocked or banned.

      I have her permission to post this publicly.

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      1. Marshall Marcus, do you believe that Maria doesn’t want to post on OIB in order to show off her investigation skills and to put her slant and her interpretation on the topic like the information she gave you to post. Maria supported Joe Ganim, Dennis Bradley and Mario Testa in her effort to get elected, she didn’t separated herself from Ganim, Bradley and Testa, she was out there working for the party. Maria had bad judgment about Bradley who later on held a boycott against Maria on the BBOE. Maria will never admit she made a mistake about anything. Marshall you and some others on OIB believe anything and everything from Maria but she can’t put it on OIB so guys need to help to get her podcast or on Ch. 88 like former Rpublican city council member Alan Stein program “Tuna Talk.”
        “How to Get on Public Access Television”
        https://youtu.be/WSHmlG2WWuA

        Marshall, I don’t believe what Maria told you about not being on OIB, she left something out that’s very important.

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        1. I’m still trying to figure out if Maria Pereira is half-full of shit or half-empty of shit. Her FALSE claim of having video footage of Taylor’s home (interior) convinces me that she is FULL of shit. While some folks give her Koodos for filing the SEEC complaint vs Bradley, It’s a good idea to look at some of the other full-of-shit SEEC complaints she filed. She has filed at least 15 SEEC complaints between 2019 and 2020. FILE # 2020-011 is an example of how stupid she can be. I’ll try to get a link to the files.

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          1. Here’s the link to SEEC decisions
            ://seec.ct.gov/Portal/CommDecisions/Landing?seecNav=%7C

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  18. Marshall Marcus, here’s your LIE that started everything, you chose to LIE about my comment and and told a LIE and more than likely Maria gave you talking points.
    Ron Mackey says:
    May 25, 2021 at 2:31 pm
    I see that you forgot that it was Maria who gave us Dennis Bradley and Joe Ganim together when she was taking photos with the both of them in their campaign to get elected as a team. Rich, how did that workout?

    Marshall Marcus says:
    May 25, 2021 at 8:00 pm
    @Ron Mackey
    Maria didn’t give Bpt Senator Bradley. She worked very hard for Aaron Turner in the primary. In fact her Council district was the only district Aaron Turner won.

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