Northeast
4 Connecticut Democratic operatives charged in absentee ballot misuse investigation
Four Connecticut Democratic operatives were charged this week with election-related offenses, including one woman who had been previously scrutinized over alleged “ballot stuffing” in a Bridgeport mayoral primary.
Two campaign workers, along with Bridgeport City Councilmember Alfredo Castillo and Democratic Town Committee Vice Chair Wanda Geter-Pataky, were charged with unlawful possession of absentee ballots, among other offenses, according to multiple reports.
Geter-Pataky was in-part accused of failing to sign as an “assister” on an absentee ballot application she had filled out on behalf of a prospective voter, according to an official statement on the case.
Castillo was accused of misrepresenting eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot and failing to sign as an assister, among other allegations.
CONNECTICUT MAYOR DENIES DISCUSSIONS WITH SUSPECTED BALLOT-STUFFER
Three of the individuals, including Geter-Pataky and Castillo, were supporters of Mayor Joseph Ganim’s 2019 re-election, while the fourth supported Ganim’s primary opponent, Marilyn Moore, according to the Connecticut Post.
Ganim, who leads the state’s largest city, has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the alleged behavior of the supporters.
The four defendants are scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on June 24.
A state judge previously overturned the 2023 Democratic mayoral primary in Bridgeport over allegations of absentee ballot fraud. Only 251 votes separated Ganim from his then-challenger John Gomes.
Judge William Clark ordered a new election be held after Geter-Pataky and another individual were purportedly seen on CCTV video making multiple trips to insert a large number of absentee ballots into drop boxes.
JUDGE ORDERS NEW PRIMARY ELECTION AFTER SEEING VIDEO SHOWING POSSIBLE BALLOT-STUFFING
Some of the video aired on Fox News Channel at the time, during which a correspondent for “Jesse Watters Primetime” confronted Geter-Pataky as she was getting out of her vehicle. Geter-Pataky offered no comment to the correspondent.
In remarks captured by Fox News following the 2023 situation, Connecticut Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont dismissed claims the “potential corruption” was caused by the introduction of early voting and expanded absentee balloting.
“I think it’s people who do the corrupting,” Lamont said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Castillo and the Connecticut Democratic Party for comment. Attempts to reach Geter-Pataky were not successful.
Chief Connecticut State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin said in a statement that three of the four defendants were also charged with witness tampering in the current case.
“Integrity of our voting process is vital to our democracy,” Griffin said. “I appreciate the attention and time the Statewide Prosecution Bureau put into these investigations. I hope these prosecutions will send a message that deters tampering with election results in the future in Connecticut.”
Griffin noted all four are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Connecticut
Rain showers slowly spread east today and tonight
Temperatures will warm into the 50s for much of the state unless you’re at the shoreline or near the New York border.
Rain showers will begin in southwest Connecticut this afternoon before slowly spreading to the east through the evening
Much of the state will see rain tonight unless you’re in the far northeast corner of Connecticut.
A few showers could linger in southern and southeastern Connecticut tomorrow morning.
Clouds will linger through much of Sunday with temperatures in the 50s for more of the state.
Monday and Tuesday will be sunnier and seasonal with temperatures well into the 60s.
Cloud cover and rain chances return by the middle of the week.
Maine
Shipwreck Dispute: Maine vs. Salvage Company Claims 1893 Wreck
1893 wreck inspires current court case.
Carrie Jones
Apr 25, 2026
MOUNT DESERT ISLAND—Back in April 1893, the Delhi, a two-mastered schooner sank as it was leaving Somes Sound.
Last week, the state asked a judge for possession of that shipwreck, which is still beneath the water.

According to an 1893 edition of the Ellsworth American, the Delhi sank in 25 fathoms of water. “In beating out of the Sound, she struck a heavy cake of ice and foundered almost immediately, the crew having barely time to escape in their boat,” the short, paragraph-long report reads.
There were 32,000 Baltimore pavers on board that had been loaded by Campbell & Macomber of Quarryville.
Campbell & Macomber had a granite quarry in Mount Desert. At the time, its granite had been used to construct banks and libraries throughout the northeastern portion of the United States.
“In March 2024, JJM LLC filed a salvage rights claim to the ship in U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor,” Marie Weidmayer of the Bangor Daily News wrote earlier this week. ”The company is seeking ownership rights to the wreckage, but the state challenged that claim, saying that federal law has established that unclaimed shipwrecks lying in state waters are the property of the state.”
The state, Weidmayer reported, hoped for a jury trial. However, Judge John Nivison will instead have a written opinion about the case.
No company has claimed the ship’s title, according to Assistant Attorney General Lauren Parker, Weidmayer reported. This, Parker argued, means the ship is abandoned.
“We are talking about a pile of stones underneath the pile of trash,” Weidmayer quoted JJM attorney Ben Ford as saying. “This is not a shipwreck in the sense that one might imagine a shipwreck to be. The Delhi is no longer there.”
Part of the issues are a dispute over how much of the boat exists; how much is not embedded in the floor; and whether or not it would require more than hand tools to remove.
“A JJM diver was able to pick up a granite paver by hand and return it to the surface in a basket, Ford said. There are definitely pavers on the surface of the ocean floor, but some may be under garbage that has accumulated on top of the wreck, he said,” Weidmayer wrote.
According to Weidmayer, the salvage company wants to recover pavers and artifacts, which it would donate to museums.
“The salvage firm filed suit in September against the National Park Service after the service determined the shipwreck is eligible for listing in the National Register. That lawsuit is still pending,” Weidmayer wrote.
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Acadia Brochures of Maine.

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Massachusetts
2 children found dead in Wellesley home, DA says
Wellesley Police discovered two children dead inside an Edgemoor Avenue home.
A police department in Vermont called Wellesley Police at around 9:30 p.m. Friday to ask them to conduct a well-being check at the home. When police performed that check, they found two deceased children inside the residence.
There was no further information immediately available Saturday morning.
The incident is under investigation by the Wellesley Police and the Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Norfolk District Attorney’s office.
The DA says that “there is no risk to the community.”
This is a developing story.

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