AG, SBOE Enforcement Counsel Announce Arrest

NYS Board of Elections logoIn a joint press release, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and State Board of Elections (SBOE) Enforcement Counsel Risa Sugarman announced the arrest of Michele Adolphe, a candidate for State Assembly in 2014, for failing to file campaign finance disclosure reports with the state New York State Board of Elections.

Ms. Adolphe finished third in the September 2014 Democratic primary for the 42nd Assembly District seat, which is located in Brooklyn.

She was arraigned in Albany County Court, and has been charged with three counts of the Class A misdemeanor of Knowingly and Willfully Failing to File Statements, in violation of Election Law § 14-126(4).  If convicted, Ms. Adolphe faces up to one year in jail for each count.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said:

“Knowingly and willfully failing to file campaign finance disclosure reports with the New York State Board of Elections is a crime. My office will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that the public trust is not undercut by candidates for public office who fail to properly disclose their campaign’s financial activity.”

State Board of Elections Chief Enforcement Counsel Risa Sugarman said:

“Campaign finance disclosure ensures New Yorkers have confidence that their elected officials are serving them honestly and with transparency. The public has the right to know who contributes to campaigns and how candidates spend those contributions.  The Division of Election Law Enforcement will continue to work together with its law enforcement partners, including the Attorney General, to assure New Yorkers that violations of the public trust do not go unpunished.”

While this particular case might be a major one – Ms. Adolphe finished third in a four-person Democratic primary – it does appear to indicate that there is new prosecutorial attention being paid to Election Law violations by the SBOE enforcement counsel and the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Bureau.

Read news coverage of this story at the State of Politics blog and Capitol Confidential.