A complaint recently submitted to
the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department and Board of Elections has accused
government officials in the Town of Lockport of judicial ethics violations and
identity theft. If the allegations are proven to be true, several top
Republicans could face felony charges.
Among those named in the complaint
are Mark Smith, Rick Updegrove, Nancy Brooks, Cheryl Antkowiak and Mark
Crocker. They are accused of manipulating ballots prior to primary elections.
The complaint claims the following:
“In the Town of Lockport
all Conservative and Independents petitions circulated were not carried by
people of that party, Most were done by Richard Updegrove, Mark Smith, Nancy
Brooks, Cheryl A. Antkowiak, Mark Crocker and more. Being all are
Republicans this violates notary law when they themselves have interest to
circulate petitions not of their own party. Most all of the town elected
officials became notaries to get on ballots of minor party lines.”
The complaint also accuses town officials of
conspiring to elect town residents to the Conservative Party committee without
their knowledge. This tactic allows Republican candidates sufficient
opportunity to monopolize the Conservative and Independent party lines at
election time. Statistics prove conclusively that the more lines a candidate
occupies, the better chance he has of winning.
The complaint was filed by Lockport businessman Dave
Mongielo, a well-known crusader against corruption in Niagara County. For his
past efforts, Mongielo was arrested and prosecuted by various lackeys of the
local political machine positioned in the District Attorney’s office and
judiciary. His case remains unresolved.
Mongielo claims Republicans have attempted to
undermine his bid for Lockport Supervisor by running Marc Smith against him on
the Conservative line. Mongielo believes he should have run unopposed because
he is the only registered conservative. Smith is a Republican.
Perhaps more seriously, Mongielo’s complaint says
judicial candidate Cheryl Antkowiak has disqualified herself by violating
judicial rules of behavior. Ethics code subsection 100.5 states “a judge or
candidate for elective judicial office shall refrain from inappropriate
political activity beginning nine months before a primary election.” Mongielo
claims he has proof Antkowiak violated this section of the ethics code by
collecting petitions for other party candidates, participating in party
meetings and using her notary position despite political conflicts of interest.
According to Mongielo, one of the top priorities of
local Republicans is to control the conservative and independent party
committees so their candidates can monopolize the minor party lines,
significantly increasing their chances of being elected. He also cites several
instances where “friends and family” were used to pull off this unscrupulous
ploy.
· Republican
Town of Lockport board member Paul Sejack appointed his own daughter to the
conservative committee.
· Town of
Lockport prosecuting attorney Bradley Marbles’ wife is on the Niagara County
Conservative Committee. She also works for the county.
· Former
chairman of the Niagara County Republican committee Michael Norris was recently
appointed town government attorney. Lasst summer he illegally used his notary
position to prevent the election of conservative Margi Swan.
· Judicial candidate
Cheryl Antkowiak, who recently won all party lines, is also a Republican
committee member and works at the board of elections. Her husband monitors
voting machines during elections.
Despite his persecution by the county political
machine, Mongielo has persevered in his quest to expose widespread corruption
in local government with the website mylockport.com. The site features videos
that explain the strategies and tactics used by entrenched government officials
to retain power via the manipulation of ballots and elections.
