Westchester Insider/Peekskill Insider: Westchester County District Attorney's Office: PEEKSKILL COUNCILMAN CHARGED WITH FILING FRAUDULENT PETITIONS.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 17, 2024 

PEEKSKILL COUNCILMAN CHARGED WITH FILING FRAUDULENT PETITIONS.

The defendant, who was seeking to get on the ballot for a county legislator seat in the June 2023 Democratic primary, allegedly signed his petitions as a witness verifying forged signatures.

 

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced today that Robert Scott, 44, of Peekskill, was arrested and charged with filing designating petitions containing forged signatures for a seat on the Westchester County Board of Legislators in the June 2023 Democratic primary election. 

 

DA Rocah said: “Free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy. Undermining the petition process in an attempt to get on the ballot in an election violates the public’s trust.” 

 

The defendant, who is currently a Common Council member in the City of Peekskill, was arrested April 16 by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and charged with Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a felony.  

 

The defendant was issued a Desk Appearance Ticket for an April 30 arraignment in White Plains City Court.  

 

It is alleged that on April 10, 2023, the defendant filed, with the Westchester County Board of Elections, designating petitions containing forged signatures of eight individuals, who told DA’s Office investigators that they never signed a petition for the defendant.  

 

The alleged forged signatures appeared on three of the 37 sheets that the defendant signed as a witness. 

 

The defendant was seeking to get on the June 27, 2023 ballot as a candidate in the Democratic primary election for Westchester County Board of Legislators District 1, which encompasses Peekskill and parts of Cortlandt and Yorktown. 

 

The Criminal Investigators Squad of the DA’s Office launched an investigation in July 2023 after receiving complaints from individuals who attested their signatures were forged. 

The case is being prosecuted by the Public Integrity and Law Enforcement Integrity Bureau. 

 

The charges against the defendant are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.