Paterson City Council President Alex Mendez and several co-defendants are facing new criminal charges tied to an alleged ballot fraud scheme during the city’s May 2020 municipal election, according to New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA).
A superseding 10-count indictment accuses Mendez—already indicted in 2021—of conspiring with his wife, Yohanny Mendez, and campaign workers Omar Ledesma and Iris Rigo to forge ballots and manipulate voter registrations to sway the election in his favor. A fifth individual, Ninoska Adames of Paterson, has also been newly charged.
Investigators say the scheme involved intercepting ballots and submitting fraudulent mail-in votes, exploiting the pandemic-era switch to all-mail voting. The investigation was launched after hundreds of mail-in ballots were discovered in a mailbox in Haledon.
“This case isn’t just about one city council seat—it’s about protecting the integrity of our elections,” Attorney General Platkin said. “The grand jury has charged the defendants with fraud, theft, and voter deception.”
The updated charges include Theft, Receiving Stolen Property, Election Fraud, Forgery, Witness Tampering, and Falsifying Public Records. Adames is specifically accused of lying to investigators and falsifying a voter certificate to obstruct the inquiry.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Second-degree charges carry potential penalties of five to ten years in prison and fines of up to $150,000.
The case remains under active investigation by OPIA.